Brenda Girton-Mitchell, director of the U.S. Department of Education's Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will join a coalition of parents, teachers, clergy members and community leaders on Saturday, May 17, at John Philip Sousa Middle School in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. She will discuss the significance of the court ruling, the progress that has been made and the challenges that lie ahead.
The event, consisting of a news conference, prayer breakfast and forum, will take place at Sousa Middle School because of the school's historic significance in the national battle for school integration. The court case Bolling v. Sharpe involved the admission of 11 African American students to Sousa, which led to the integration of D.C. public schools.