At the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” Secretary Arne Duncan spoke before a group of students, community leaders, and elected officials about impediments to equal educational opportunity and the administration’s intentions to work with schools and postsecondary institutions to address them.
“The struggle for equal opportunity in our nation’s schools and universities is not at an end,” he said at the site where peaceful civil rights protesters were beaten 45 years ago, leading to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. “We will work with schools and enforce laws to ensure that all children — no matter what their race, gender, disability or native origin — have a fair chance at a good future.”
Duncan later spoke with reporters by conference call about his intent to reinvigorate equity and enforcement activities in the Office of Civil Rights.
See the text of his remarks. Read the press release or listen to the conference call with reporters.
ED Staff
Click here for an accessible version of the video.
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