Over 600 young people of different races came together Monday at a park adjacent to Milwaukee Public Schools’ administrative offices for a rally organized by youth to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Aside from celebrating the significance of the high court’s decision making it legal for every student to attend any public school regardless of race, the rally also served as a way for students from public, private and suburban high schools to reflect on the impact of the watershed decision.

The rally also served as a mechanism that allowed the students to formulate an agenda that would address the myriad of issues they face that go beyond race.

The rally held at Wick Field—52nd and Vliet Street—was organized by two teen organizations, Urban Underground and Voices Unheard.

Reggie Moore, co-founder and executive director of Urban Underground, said his group and Voices Unheard decided to hold the rally near the MPS administrative building as a symbolic gesture to show that youth can come together to dialogue and learn without violence.

"And besides, it’s a beautiful day," Moore said a little tongue-in-cheek during an interview amidst the energy of celebratory youths wanting to express their views and listen to new ideas on a wide variety of issues that impact them in school and beyond.

"This is the beginning of a movement," Moore said about the rally and what it was trying to accomplish.

"We plan to remain engaged and develop an educational agenda based on school experiences—whether they be public or private.

Moore said the agenda of the day was to have students identify what is needed for quality education. "We don’t hear from youth enough," said Moore.

"It’s students who impact on the quality of education," he continued. "For students, it’s a matter of life and death as far as getting an education. Without one, you can’t survive in this society. Education is critical."

Former MPS Superintendent Dr. Howard Fuller, who was one of the keynote speakers during the rally and an advisor to the youth committees that organized the rally, said the event shows youth do care about the type of education they receive.

"Our responsibility (as adults) is to tap into their energy and commitment in order to make the changes that need to happen (in education); it has to happen," said Fuller who is the head of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning.

Reflecting on the Brown decision, Fuller called it "a revolutionary decision" that helped end state-sanctioned apartheid.

"There are flaws in the decision. But there are flaws in any decision," he said.

But 50 years after the Court’s decision, Fuller lamented that the promise of Brown has not yet been completely fulfilled.

Fuller said the Black community must do its part to reverse the negative educational trends and statistics that still plague Black youth and stagnates any hope for success—academically or in the workforce.

"The (negative) statistics hurt. But they’ll hurt more if we allow this to continue happening to our children," Fuller said.

"We have to say ‘this is unacceptable what is happening to our children.’ It’s our responsibility to change it."

The rally also featured workshops on leadership, school issues, financial aid, public speaking, HIV & AIDS, job skills, scholarships, applying for college, teen domestic violence, racism, politics and other issues.

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