Now we'd like to invite the members of the African-American male advisory task force up.
We're going to give you 10 minutes.
And for those folks in TV land this extraordinary report that represents thousands and thousands of hours of folks.
is on our Web site.
We encourage you to read it.
And we encourage you to be loud and proud.
Thank you.
Dr. Jones thank you for excellent work.
Our AAMAC group thank you for amazing work.
I've been able to poke my head in a few times and I always see lots of hard work underway and I've been very impressed with the partnership where the committee has come up with great ideas.
They've worked back and forth with staff.
So it truly has been a great partnership and you're right at the heart of our SMART goal focused on eliminating the opportunity gap which we continue to say is the issue of our time.
So thank you for the great work that has been accomplished along the way and I hope that great work continues.
Thank you Dr. Nyland.
Thank you board.
Thank you for the adjustment to allow us to have this representation of vested individuals community scholars intellectuals and activists organizers and this passion about African-American males and their progress and their ascension from where they are to where they're going to be soon.
So represented behind me is a group of respected leaders from the community.
Many of them came together in 2014 and they've made a three and a half year commitment.
In 2016 they became the African-American male advisory committee.
And today we have representatives from the breakfast group the men of the Middle Passage Equity Race Advisory Committee, teachers, principals, faith based community, Native American education, Department of Race and Advancement, University of School of Engineering, human resources, research and evaluation, behavioral health, our best advisory committee with the city, parents and students and friends of Dr. Felder.
So without further ado one of our partners our premier partners is the city of Seattle and one person that has really helped us to move into a place where we're being recognized on the national scene is Mr. Anthony Shoecraft and he's going to be the representative from the African-American male advisory committee.
Brother Shoecraft.
I'm going to invite folks behind me.
Come on.
This is a family affair, y'all.
Come on.
Come up.
Come up.
Come up.
Come up.
This is not about me.
This is about us.
Thank you Dr. Jones for those opening remarks.
And I also want to acknowledge the brothers leadership for stewarding this important work for this district to our dear friend and brother Superintendent Nyland to the board directors.
Thank you all for this opportunity to speak for you and address you today.
Before I go any further though you know as a as a black man whose ancestral lineage is of the Cherokee Nation as a collective of leaders from our community.
that really believes in working in alliance across all communities of color.
It is important that I begin by honoring the first people of Seattle the indigenous inhabitants of the greater Seattle area.
And the people that this very whose land is very building stands upon that is the Duwamish people.
My name is Anthony Shoecraft like the brother said I'm a father I'm a husband I'm a community member and I'm a very proud member of this group.
the African-American male advisory committee.
And I say that I'm proud because as you see we've got elders we've got young people.
We have people representing this community that have chosen me to speak on their behalf and so it is an extreme honor that I can address you on their behalf today.
I also proudly serve as the special advisor to the mayor on black male achievement for the city of Seattle.
And last year you know under the city's commitment to race and social justice or I should say racial equity through the race and social justice initiative.
We launched our best.
Our best is a bold...
Very historic initiative that's really focused on expanding opportunity and improving life outcomes for young black men and boys in Seattle in five areas education being one of them.
And it's through our best that the city and the district really find alignment.
Our best is really connected to the mission of the AMAC.
It's really connected to the district's commitment to racial equity right to eliminating.
And I love that it's eliminating not just closing but eliminating opportunity gaps.
That is particularly for black males and other students of color as it's articulated in the superintendent's smart goals.
You all might be able to complete this for me.
If you want to go quickly then go alone.
Y'all ain't got to be shy.
If you want to go far then go together.
Right.
This African proverb aptly describes the journey of the AMEC over the last three to four years.
collaborating with Superintendent Nyland district leaders really around the education of black males.
Superintendent Nyland you charge the AMAC with providing guidance on systemic transformation to ensure the educational excellence and equity for all Seattle students SPS students and in particular black males.
And it was with this responsibility that we set out to put a fresh set of eyes on what the district was doing and really like a decades long district and community issue.
We also set out to develop a set of recommendations that was consistent with our charge.
We also sought to ensure that in that process authentic community engagement was part of this effort by the district.
And it's worth noting that the AMAC, again as you see, is truly a village effort.
More than 50 academic, higher education, K-12, business, government leaders, and allies are really committed, deeply invested into uplifting the academic outcomes of young black men and boys that are being served through this district.
And so in 2015 we developed a set of I will say foundational recommendations.
Then as the brother mentioned as the African-American male think tank subsequently in 2018 a more robust and comprehensive set of recommendations.
And it's worth noting that those recommendations really came at the behest of input from students, parents, teachers, community members and the like.
And given that journey and this collaboration with Superintendent Nyland and I do want to give a shout out to some extraordinary brothers and sisters like Keisha Scarlett, Director Tolley, Dr. Jones, Lois Brewer, Pat Sander, I can go on, right?
Several principals and teachers, right?
We've been really encouraged by the fruits of this collaboration.
And I'll just point out a few specific fruits.
Dr. Nodden, for example, in taking the recommendations, took those and made some decisive leadership decisions.
And he assigned ownership of some of our recommendations to key departments.
He also directed them to both incorporate those recommendations into existing work plans and then also had them identify procedural supports for operationalizing them and we're thankful for that, we appreciate it.
So as you see up here is this body of leaders committed to this cause.
The AMAC, our allies, we are really here today to highlight this collaboration and momentum.
The reason why is because it's very easy to get bogged down in the politics, city, district, right, left, take your pick, blue, green, right?
But it's easier to not celebrate the progress, to not celebrate the relationships that have been deepened and really not celebrate the understanding that has been gained through this collaboration, that's worth That's worth pulling out specifically.
We the AMAC and our allies were also here to urge you all the board to continue to focus on African-American males being served being nourished being supported by this school district.
And we want to continue to foment them.
Let me just point out what the brother just mentioned not too long ago.
The nation is watching this district and this city.
As an example, Seattle's work is being recognized nationally as one of the leaders.
Putting aside all the data we can say, oh really?
One of the nation's leaders in this movement around black male achievement is the Campaign for Black Male Achievement.
It was the reason why former President Obama launched My Brother's Keeper.
It started 12 years ago, dedicated to this movement.
Every two years they produce a report, promise of place, and they score cities that are doing work for young black men and boys.
Seattle made the largest gain of all metropolitan cities as of January 17 in this year's report.
So the work of the AMAC was actually cited in that.
So it's more than a notion.
On the national stage, again, we've got more work to do.
The AMAC and our allies were also here to cite a number of expectations that we have of the board as well.
There's six in total.
Number one, that the board maintain a focus on ensuring the operational goals of policy 0030 the district's equity policy.
That work is not finished yet nor are we here to say that.
And I think you all agree that there's more work to be done.
Number two that the superintendent the incoming superintendent Juneau and the board will continue the specificity of African-American males and the superintendent's SMART goals.
That will start in 2015. Number three that the board will continue the moratorium on discipline.
We know that it disproportionately causes harm and trauma on our black males all of our black children right.
The board will maintain, number four, the board will maintain a focus on aligning with the state, specifically through House Bill 1541, the state's opportunity gap.
Number five shortly after the sister arrives incoming superintendent Juneau that the AMAC will continue having the same level of quality access to her as the superintendent that we have robustly enjoyed with outgoing superintendent Larry Nyland.
And lastly as soon as reasonable that the district Because I've heard all of you all we have heard all of you all on the dais say you all can't do this alone and we're here behind you brothers and sisters.
But we wish for you all to hold a work session with the city and the school district to run a line initiatives that are in service to black men and boys.
Let me close by saying this.
Black males are the largest student segment identified of those identified as lowest performing.
I phrase it like that because we can't call our young black men and boys underachieving.
The system is doing them bad.
It's not their fault.
So of the students that are identified as underperforming.
That's five thousand black males in the school district.
And even as a group dedicated to their cause we stand in alliance and astute solidarity with other communities and other student groups.
because we have a mutual destiny.
Right?
We stand in alliance with other populations of color groups deemed underserved or underperforming.
In fact we walk side by side with them and we honor their struggle and furthermore we view the work of the AMAC as reinforcing that alliance with other communities of color.
The district's mantra is every student, every child, every day.
Come on y'all.
I'm an old church boy, I've got to do call and response, come on.
Disparity is not a level playing field, that's worth saying and citing unapologetically.
Disparity is not a level playing field and we know that the pathway to achieving a universal goal like eliminating the opportunity gap can only come through targeted means.
It's the very definition of targeted universalism that is blazoned on this district's website.
And we honor you all for having that courageous sort of leadership for that.
But we want to reinforce that is the pathway.
Targeted universalism matters.
You achieve broad equity goals, universal goals through targeted means.
Lastly, thank you again for listening but this group, this body, we openly welcome the opportunity to continue to work with this board and this work.
This is critical work.
This is generational work and we hope that you're very open to it.
And again, thank you again for listening to me on behalf of this remarkable group.
Thank you.
Oh, getting caught up.
We also have, um, In the spirit of building this momentum and in the spirit of looking backwards and how far we've come we actually want to honor the brother Dr. Nyland and I'm going to ask him to come down because this group actually has a token of appreciation for his leadership.
So we just have we have a gift.
We also have a certificate for Dr. Nyland.
I won't read it all but it simply says that the African-American male advisory committee presents this certificate of appreciation to Superintendent Larry Nyland.
Brother we hope that it is a reminder of part of the legacy that you've helped continue here and hopefully several years from now you can look back on even more progress that we've made since the time that you spent with us.
Thank you brother.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And a nice book for you to read during retirement.
So I believe there's a picture to be had.
Aaron, will you organize this?
Oh there's a question.
Director Harris.
I do get to speak for the board.
Yes.
And we can say yes to all six of your asks with respect to your work session.
We need staff to find a time because our schedule is plenty full.
But let's make all due effort.
Thank you very very much.
Thank you Director Harris.
We'll make that happen.