Rev. Al Sharpton invited one of the strongest opponents of mayoral control onto his live radio broadcast tomorrow morning.
This is not the first time the reverend has publicly distanced himself from Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s support for mayoral control. In April, at a conference for their shared group, the Education Equality Project, Sharpton ceded the floor to Assemblyman Charles Barron, who called for ending mayoral control of the schools. (Barron also called for Mayor Bloomberg to fire Klein.) Sharpton said he invited Barron because he wants the Education Equality Project to “hear all views.”
The appearance was postponed late this afternoon in light of the recent police shooting. Instead, Sharpton will devote his radio broadcast to a vigil for the slain officer and will address mayoral control at a later date.
Zakiyah Ansari, a parent organizer with the Campaign for Better Schools, said that she had been invited by Sharpton’s National Action Network to appear on the Saturday morning rally. Ansari said Sharpton was responding to parents’ calls for more input on how their children are educated. “My sense is that he supports the parents’ need to have a meaningful voice,” she said.
A spokesman for the Campaign for Better Schools, Shom Shamapande, said there was a possibility Sharpton would make an announcement regarding education on air.
Update: this post has been updated to reflect the program’s postponement.