Friday, January 11th, 5-6:30PM
Public Forum with Brian Jones: Real VS. Phony Education Reform
COST: FREE (donations appreciated); if you need childcare, contact OregonSOSinfo@gmail.com
LOCATION: Redeemer Lutheran, 5431 NE 20th, Portland, OR 97211
REGISTRATION: Register is free.

Often ‘reformers’ claim that the sweeping changes they want will bring genuine educational justice for communities that have long been underserved — especially for poor and working-class African American and Latino families. They claim they are fighting on behalf of the civil rights issue of our time, but will their efforts actually create racial and economic justice for these families and their communities? Are their efforts valuable for any student? Do our communities and schools suffer or benefit? We will explore this and more in this free forum.

BRIAN JONES is a teacher, actor and activist in New York City. He has been a public elementary school teacher in Harlem for eight years. Jones is on the board of directors of the non-profit organization, Voices of a Peoples History of the United States founded by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He co-narrated the film “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman.”

Brian’s visit to Portland is made possible by Multnomah County Cultural Coalition in conjunction with the opening of the play A Noble Failure by Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Organizers of this forum include Oregon Save Our Schools, Rethinking Schools, and Social Equality Educators.