AFC's Kevin Chavous Unites Education Reform with Civil Rights Legacy at Indiana MLK Event

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AFC Senior Advisor Kevin P. Chavous electrified a crowd of over 600 Indiana residents who gathered today at the State Capitol in Indianapolis, calling for a renewed commitment to courageous education reform during a keynote address at the 21st annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Indiana Holiday Celebration and Youth Summit.

Invoking the spirit of Dr. King's revolutionary passion for civil rights in America, Chavous said that the need for education reform is a national imperative, declaring that the biggest obstacle to comprehensive reform is a lack of willingness to take courageous stands on education. He told the crowd—a mix of students, teachers, public employees, and state officials—that bold change is integral to decreasing the dropout rate, closing achievement gaps, and giving true educational choice to American families.

"We need a revolution in education in this country," said Chavous, who is also a founding board member for the American Federation for Children.  "Movements for change are successful when they become personal to those fighting for change."

Indiana has been at the forefront of the reform movement, having passed the country's most expansive voucher plan ever last spring. The program began this fall with nearly 4,000 students, the most for a first-year program.

A native of Indianapolis, Chavous was joined at today's Summit by Gov. Mitch Daniels, as well as members of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, which hosted the event. 

The former D.C. Councilman used his keynote address to remind listeners that they have a moral imperative to act on behalf of school children, declaring the need to improve the American education system "the last civil rights struggle." 

"Like you, I won't rest until we achieve our noble goal; the goal of knowing that each and every child born in this country has equal access to a high quality education," he said. "But for that to happen, the education of our children must be on the hearts, minds, and souls of everyone. It must be personal; it must be driven by the fierce urgency of now; and it must be acted on with a revolutionary spirit, a spirit found in freedom fights throughout time."

SOURCE American Federation for Children