Deputy Education Secretary and Gospel Star Marvin Sapp Among Speakers at Black Male Summit

ATLANTA - White House officials, a Grammy-nominated gospel artist, and education leaders from across Georgia and the nation will visit Morehouse College on Feb. 13 and 14 to speak at the 2014 Black Male Summit.

The Black Male Summit, which focuses on improving high school graduation rates and college completion rates for black males, will be held Thursday and Friday during Morehouse’s Founder’s Week in partnership with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and Ebony Magazine.

More than 200 people are expected to attend the free two-day event, which will feature workshops for the public and a free concert by Grammy-nominated gospel singer Marvin Sapp, a public charter school founder and national advocate of education reform.

"The Black Male Summit features speakers and discussions that challenge the status quo regarding the education of black males from pre-K through college," said Bryant Marks, an associate professor of psychology who serves as executive director of the Morehouse Research Institute, which is sponsoring the event. “Whether it’s universal pre-K, school choice, or the value of higher education, participants are likely to consider new perspectives and make more informed education-related decisions for their children, both male and female.”

The theme for this year’s Black Male Summit is “African-American Educational Excellence: Addressing the Socio-Cultural Factors Impacting the Academic Achievement of Development of African-American Males.” The event will gather more than a dozen experts to discuss educational, economic, social, and psychological issues facing black men.

Some of the featured speakers include author and scholar Jawanza Kunjufu, who serves as a national consultant on learning styles for black students; James Moore III, director of Ohio State University's Resource Center for African-American Males; and Pedro Noguera, a professor of sociology and education at New York University.

Black Male Summit activities will begin at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 with a talk by documentary filmmaker Janks Morton, who will show clips from the film "Hoodwinked" and lead a discussion on dispelling stereotypes. A luncheon will follow later that day featuring special guest, David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Johns will discuss philanthropy and education reform.

Public charter school students from KIPP WAYS Academy and KIPP STRIVE Academy will join Johns Thursday afternoon for a workshop about high school.

On Friday, Feb. 14, Jim Shelton, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, will speak at 3:15 p.m. on the Obama administration's investment in improving the education of African Americans.

The final workshop Friday will feature Kunjufu, Noguera, and David Rice, chair of the Department of Psychology at Morehouse College, among others, in a discussion on supporting communities and schools that serve African Americans.

The Black Male Summit will end in celebration with a free concert to support education reform starring Sapp, a Stellar award-winning recording artist, pastor, and founder of the charter school, Grand Rapids Ellington Academy of Arts and Technology. The Sapp concert will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.

For more information on the 2014 Black Male Summit, call Bryant Marks, executive director of the Morehouse Research Institute at 404-215-2627.