WASHINGTON (May 11, 2016)--The Howard University Ronald Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center will host a one-day conference on Black Male Achievement and diverting youths from criminal conduct on Thursday, May 12, 2016, at the Cambria Suites Hotel in Washington.  

The conference, "Toward a Policy and Legislative Agenda to Address the School-to-Prison Pipeline," will be an opportunity for educators, policy makers and program experts to discuss how to stem the tide of young black males entering the prison pipeline. Increasing black male academic achievement has been identified as one of the primary strategies for reducing the number of black males entering the prison pipeline.  Education researchers Dr. Ivory Toldson, director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Dr. Oscar Barbarin, chair of the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, will present research findings on black male academic achievement during the morning session.

This convening of experts comes near the end of a project that includes a review of legislation passed in southern states that seems to fuel or reduce the prison pipeline.  The parent project, the Five-Fifths Agenda for America, includes a demonstration project at Southern University in New Orleans (SUNO) that is focused on increasing the number of black males graduating from college. Warren Bell, director of the Honoré Center at SUNO, and General Russel Honoré,  who coordinated the military relief response to Hurricane Katrina, will be among the conference speakers.  

Daniel Losen, author of several books on stopping the prison pipeline, will address the group on his research findings related to the impact of law and policy on the rights of children of color during the afternoon session.

Other notable experts participating as speakers are Ronald Mason, president of the University of the District of Columbia; Don Cravins,  policy director for the National Urban League; Dr. Benjamin Williams, principal of Empowering Males High School; and Dr. James Moore, director of the African American Male Resource Center at Ohio State University.  Some of the organizations participating include the Children’s Defense Fund, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Advancement Project and Concerned Black Men. Representatives from local government black male initiatives in the District of Columbia, New York City and Philadelphia as well as state legislators will also be a part of the discussion.  

“We are pleased to be hosting this gathering of persons who are engaged on a daily basis in the work of disrupting the prison pipeline,” said Dr. Elsie Scott, director of the Ronald Walters Center.  “Their input will be invaluable to our effort to draft a model policy and legislative agenda to reduce the number of African-American males who get caught up in the criminal justice system at an early age. This involvement with the criminal justice system can have a detrimental effect on their ability to become productive members of society.”

The Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center was established by Howard University to serve as a focal point for research, publications, service, policy discussions and leadership development activities in areas involving the engagement of African Americans in the U.S. political process and in U.S. national and foreign policy. This interdisciplinary center that will preserve the legacy of Dr. Ronald Walters, a scholar-activist who conducted research, served as a mentor to students and political leaders, provided strategic direction and thinking in the political and civic arenas, was a prolific writer and served as a political commentator.

Media Contact: 

Stephanie Zerweck

stephanie.zerweck@howard.edu

 202-238-2442