Open Spaces:: The New Civil Rights Movement
|
Posted By: Brandalyn Gill on February 05, 2020 NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 6, 2020 Contact: Brandalyn Gill – 346.704.4431, mlkdaysummit@gmail.com, www.mlkdaysummit.com “Open Spaces:: The New Civil Rights Movement :: The 2020 Martin Luther King Mental Health and Literacy Summit – Presented by the People’s Family Workshop – Connects with SNAP Program Coordinator, Taylor Kaminksy” Diving deeper into history and current at the same time Program Director of the 2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. Mental Health and Literacy Summit, Brandalyn Gill, decides to expand fundraising options starting next week. Houston resident, Houston Independent School District endorsed (2011) self-published author, producing actress, motivational speaker, ghost writer and activist for any under-privileged or un-represented populace reads her daughter, Sinai Gill, a bedtime story; it is a poem from her book, “Life” titled “Breathe”. Pondering on her journey of healing her daughter from what has been diagnosed as emotional defiant and disturbance disorder including conduct for the last six months of her life, Gill feels it is due time to speak about the “open spaces” of our society that could do worse than cause a World War III but a worldwide civil rights movement. “I really find it comical that Texas – and many other states – still believe that they are going to hide behind the guise of being a conservative state and cover racial displacement, modern day slavery, and racism. I was recently introduced to the fact that the Houston Independent School district – just two years ago – had to pay $300,000 because of an audit on their special education database. The American Institutes of Research conducted the search and found that Texas ‘systematically denied special education services to thousands of eligible students” Gill states, “It is even more baffling that the Homeless Children and Youth Act has been rendered unsponsored for years. It is an act that was to represent homeless children and youth, regardless of their situation. In turn, it has been very exclusive and our neither of our state representatives have signed off on the sponsorship … It has been 19 years”. Gill stresses this situation as her five year-old was discriminated against by an HISD school as a disabled and homeless child who was illegally suspended more than seven times with the school’s knowledge. “I can’t even speak on the damage it has done to me financially but the hurt it caused my heart ... I was willing to sit in her classroom for over a month to ensure she received proper treatment, initialization of testing, and the support she needed while going through the various stages of her disorder … It was heartbreaking to see how unconcerned most of the staff at the school were”. Speaking of Blackshear Elementary, Gill sympathizes with the students at the primarily minority school because - as she noted and the research clearly entails – they are still a vastly under-represented group. “We live in modern times of society but some of our most powerful people choose classism over compassion, but we are supposed to believe that ‘this is how we make America great, again? No wonder over half of the country doesn’t even believe in the American governmental system anymore. We still have too many open spaces, that are overdue to be filled”, Gill goes on to state. Now, closely working with the Peoples Family Workshop as the Development Officer, she urges those who were trained and nurtured by the organization – such as Beyonce Knowles – to be involved with the community when it needs them most. “I am not a racist and I believe in fair opportunity for all, but let’s just be honest. One in four people have a mental disorder and one in four people are not literate. Minorities make up the smallest percentage this nation, so who does that fall on? After African American people have been this nation’s highest paying consumers; many of Asian descent built the first railroads; and Hispanic people were here before any cowboys in Texas, that strikes me as absurd” Gill challenges any to become what seems to be a new Civil Rights movement to contact the People’s Family Workshop and become a sponsor, volunteer, intern, or partner for the Summer Events of the Summit by visiting www.mlkdaysummit.com. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
Brandalyn Gill
Program Director, Illumination Literary Publish Company Member Since January 2020 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest News
 |
Virginia State University Breaks All-Time Enrollment Record With Largest Class in Its HistoryVirginia State University has enrolled more than 6,350 students for the 2026-27 academic year, the largest in its documented history, along with the biggest first-time freshman class ever at 1,725 stu ...more
Roger Gates • 31 Views • October 21st, 2026 |
 |
FAMU Rattler Great Andre Dawson Receives Florida Governor's Medal of FreedomToday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis presented the Governor’s Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the Governor can bestow on a Floridian, to Baseball Hall of Famer and proud Florida A&M University (FA ...more
Reginald Claremont • 172 Views • October 19th, 2026 |
 |
STARZ Named Presenting Sponsor as HBCU First LOOK Film & TV Festival Returns to Howard University Nov. 5-7For three days this November, Howard University will transform into the epicenter of Black film. The 4th Annual HBCU First LOOK Film & TV Festival (HBCUFLF) returns to the nation's capital Novembe ...more
Roger Gates • 127 Views • October 19th, 2026 |
 |
NCCU Awarded $4.9 Million to Accelerate Its Path to R2 Research StatusDURHAM, N.C. — North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has been awarded $4.9 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Research and Development Infrastructure Grant Program to expand its ...more
Roger Gates • 200 Views • October 14th, 2026 |
Popular News
 |
Louisiana Upholds Life Sentence to Black Man For Stealing Hedge Trimmers in 1997While this may not be HBCU related news, as an AFrican American male, I had to share this appalling decision by the Louisiana court system to keep a man in jail with a life sentence for such a petty c ...more
Roger Gates • 406,090 Views • August 6th, 2020 |
 |
Blonde Instagram Model Goes Viral for Graduating from HBCU and Pledging Delta Sigma Theta!A blonde woman is going viral this morning, for graduating from A Historically Black College while pledging a Black sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
@Blonde_HBCU
The woman, an IG ...more
Roger Gates • 190,455 Views • November 30th, 2020 |
 |
Apple to Invest over $40 Million Dollars into HBCUs - Time to major in Computer Science!!!On Tuesday Johnny C. Taylor, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund stopped by “NewsOne Now” to make a major announcement that could literally change the lives of thousands of HBCU st ...more
Roger Gates • 131,174 Views • March 11th, 2015 |
 |
North Carolina HBCU Unity DayShaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Claremont • 119,120 Views • August 8th, 2016 |
 |
Black Billionaire Robert F. Smith to Donate $50 Million to Support STEM Students at HBCUsThe Student Freedom Initiative announced today a $50 million personal gift from Robert F. Smith, philanthropist and Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. This gift matches the initial fu ...more
Roger Gates • 86,802 Views • October 22nd, 2020 |
