Ben Crump speaks about education, Robert Brooks’ death, and other topics during visit to Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Hundreds gathered at the Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Rochester to hear civil rights attorney Ben Crump speak on a variety of issues.
The forum focused on improving education in Rochester but Crump also spoke about the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. He also spoke about Robert Brooks, the Greece man who died after corrections officers beat him at Marcy Correctional Facility.
“When we fight for justice for the Robert Brooks of the world,” Crump said. “When we fight for justice for the least of these, we help America be America for all Americans. And we give all of our children equal opportunity at the American dream.”
Charter Champions, a nonprofit advocating for charter schools, organized Crump’s visit to discuss what they call Rochester’s educational crisis. Following his speech, Crump joined a panel of four to discuss the challenges facing the Rochester City School District.
The panel addressed issues such as funding, parental involvement, food insecurity, and policing in schools. Former RCSD Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small shared her perspective.
“The board is complex. And I think when I was working with them, they each had the things that mattered to them, and I think the hardest part was trying to get them all on the same page,” Myers-Small said.
The forum lasted two hours and attracted so many attendees that organizers had to turn some people away.
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