8:00pm - New York City
After the Board meeting, I was lucky enough to catch a show (it's hard to resist when staying so close to the Theater District). I nabbed a ticket to “Thurgood," starring Lawrence Fishburne. It is a 90-minute, one man show in which Fishburne is incredibly impressive telling the story of the life of Thurgood Marshall.
Marshall is best known for successfully arguing the “Brown v. Board of Education” case to end segregation in public schools, and later as a Supreme Court Justice. The play, however, told the more nuanced story of a man who even as a child was a fighter. He was always focused on “righting wrongs” and fighting for racial justice. He did so with conviction, humility, and humor.
As you know, my motivation for returning to Sac and Oak Park was to improve the life outcomes of young people. At St. HOPE, we are doing just in our schools. The play reminded me how education must be the crux of everything we do. When he won “Brown v Board of Education”, Marshall guessed that segregation in schools would end within five years. He was wrong. We still have significant problems in our public education system. If we’re going to live up to our promise as a nation to be the land of equal opportunity, then we have to fight for great schools for all kids with the same vigor that Thurgood Marshall did in the 50’s. As Mayor, I will prioritize ensuring that we have one of the state’s best public education systems. We owe that to our kids.
I highly recommend the show to anyone who might have the opportunity to see it. Four stars!