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RCSD Students to Participate in 2024 My Brother’s Keeper Symposium in Albany

(May 29, 2024) Students from four Rochester City schools will participate in a statewide symposium to help boys and young men of color realize their full potential.

On Thursday, May 30, in Albany, the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Symposium will feature students from Rochester who will serve as mentors and develop projects designed to instill leadership skills to benefit their schools and the Rochester community.

This event will include keynote speeches from award-winning journalist Cheryl Wills, and professional speaker, entrepreneur, and author Jemal King. Willis, a news anchor/reporter with Spectrum News 1 in New York, is the author of Emancipated, My Family’s Fight for Freedom. The book is based on the tragic story of her father’s untimely death and how it affected Willis as a young girl.

King, known as the 9 to 5 millionaire, invested in real estate and used those profits to own and operate multiple childcare centers in Chicago. He has four multi-million-dollar companies including a security company that grossed several million dollars in its first few years of operation.

The students from the RCSD include:

2023 – 2024 MBK Fellows

Cameron McClaney, Joesph C. Wilson Magnet High School Commencement Academy
El-Amin Ortiz-Price, Rochester Early College International High School
James Preston, Joesph C. Wilson Magnet High School Commencement Academy
Michael Stroughter, Rochester Early College International High School

2024 – 2025 MBK Fellows

Shahmir Ellis, Edison Career and Technology High School
Marcus Freeman, James Monroe Upper School
DaJuan Jackson, Edison Career and Technology High School
Styhles McKenzie Baker, James Monroe Upper School

James Preston will be featured during a speaker showcase at the symposium, and Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. and State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa will deliver welcoming remarks. In 2014, former President Barack Obama established the MBK initiative to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity.

The Rochester City School District does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status or political affiliation, and additionally does not discriminate against students on the basis of weight, gender identity, gender expression, and religious practices or any other basis prohibited by New York State and/or federal non-discrimination laws in employment or its programs and activities. The District provides equal access to community and youth organizations. NYS CR Part #154 requires the District to provide communications to ELL families in the home language that they best understand. In order to request interpretation or translation services, employees may visit www.rcsdk12.org/translationservices. For emergencies or immediate communication needs, please use the Language Line at 1-866-874-3972. School secretaries in each school or program can provide the access code for this service.