U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Visit Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Highlighting Education as the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time

As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s third annual back-to-school bus tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Michael Yudin, acting assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, will visit the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kan., on Tuesday, Sept. 18 to honor the legacy of hope and courage represented by the U.S. Supreme Court case that ended legal segregation in the nation’s public schools. Secretary Duncan will discuss the imperative to provide all students with equal educational opportunities.

“America’s future is directly linked to the quality of education that we provide our children, young people and adults,” said Secretary Duncan, who began the tour on Wednesday, Sept. 12 in Redwood City, Calif. “This bus tour is an opportunity to highlight what’s working and create momentum for education reforms that improve the lives of all students.”

Secretary Duncan and his senior leaders are crisscrossing the country from Sept. 12-21, leading a series of events that reinforce the message that Education Drives America. Besides Topeka, some of the other stops include Sacramento, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Denver; Emporia, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis; Evansville, Ind.; Lexington, Ky.; Charleston, W.Va.; Roanoke, Va.; Richmond, Va.; and Washington, D.C.

Secretary Duncan will join Topeka Mayor William Bunten, educators, and local officials for a series of speeches and a presentation by area students at the national historic site in Topeka. Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, and David Smith, superintendent of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, will deliver remarks.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is an official U.S. National Park Service site, which is celebrating Constitution Day from Sept. 16-18 this year. The site’s education department provides resources and activities for educators and parents on the U.S. Supreme Court case, the Civil Rights movement, topics in social justice, and African-American history, and offers educational opportunities through distance learning activities, outreach programs, and museum visits.

For live, up-to-the-minute updates from the road, follow the Education Drives America tour on Twitter using the hashtag #edtour12, or visit the Department’s bus tour blog. To receive media advisories, press releases, notifications about postings to the blog, and other special updates during the tour, subscribe to the Department’s Education Drives America e-mail updates by clicking here.