Secretary Duncan and his family, Assistant Secretaries Peter Cunningham and Russlyn Ali, and other Department of Education employees participated in Saturday’s “Reclaim the Dream” Rally at Dunbar High school in Washington, DC. The rally drew thousands of students, teachers, parents, community organizations, along with numerous national civil rights, and other organizations.
Secretary Duncan was one of a number of speakers that included Ben Jealous from the NAACP, Marc Morial from the National Urban League, and Rev. Al Sharpton from the National Action Network. The speakers reminded the audience of the impact and importance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Dream”. Secretary Duncan reiterated, “Education is the Civil Rights issue of our generation.”
After the rally, Secretary Duncan and his family joined the 3-mile march from Dunbar High School to the future site of the Martin Luther King Memorial. Thousands more people joined the march along the way. Martin Luther King III spoke at the culmination of the march reminding the crowd of how far we have come as a nation since his father’s famous speech, but how much more work we need to do before the dream will become a reality.