Black Women for a Better Education will host a virtual town hall titled We Demand a Better Education for Pittsburgh’s Children on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.
During the town hall, the group will release a list of demands to Pittsburgh Public Schools and will share their intention to run a slate of candidates for the PPS school board in 2021. Featured speakers include:
• Ashley Comans, former Wilkinsburg School District board member
• James Harris, Woodland Hills School District superintendent
• Amber Thompson, PPS parent and principal consultant of Leaders of Change
• Sala Udin, PPS District 3 board member
Distinguished invitees include:
• Gov. Tom Wolf
• Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera
• County Executive Rich Fitzgerald
• Mayor William Peduto
• Pittsburgh City Council
• PPS Board of Directors
• Pittsburgh Black Elected Officials Coalition
• City and county controllers
• Pittsburgh foundation heads
Black Women for a Better Education is a coalition of Black women PPS parents, alumni, former employees, retirees, and concerned community members committed to ensuring that all Black children in this region receive the high-quality education they deserve.
The group started meeting in May 2020 out of frustration with the district’s response to COVID-19 and the subpar remote learning rollout, which they say is rooted in a number of organizational inadequacies and shortcomings. Black Women for a Better Education is currently advocating for the PPS school board not to renew Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s contract but has broader aspirations of dismantling systems that perpetuate racism and oppression in and around the school district.