Former Vice President Kamala Harris will be the keynote speaker at a back-to-school rally organized by a New Orleans charter school.
“This is a major moment for our students,” said Jamar McKneely, CEO of InspireNOLA, which operates seven schools across the city. “This is a major moment for our city to have the opportunity to hear from her.”
The rally will take place Aug. 7. The network has not finalized a venue and has not decided whether the event will be open to all New Orleans students, McKneely said.
Congressman Cedric Richmond, State Sen. Jimmy Harris, New Orleans City Councilmember Freddie King III and Jonathan Everett, senior pastor of Rock of Ages church, are also slated to attend the back-to-school event.
Harris announced last month she would be the keynote speaker at the Louisiana Democratic Party’s annual fundraiser in Riverside Hilton Hotel in New Orleans on Aug. 7. She also visited New Orleans in January to swear in Mayor Helena Moreno and promote her latest book, “107 Days.”
InspireNOLA began hosting student rallies in 2022 amid a wave of gun violence as a way to bring New Orleans young people together.
The first iteration, held in Xavier University’s convocation center, drew about 4,000 students from schools across the city. Subsequent rallies have hosted a range of speakers and performers, including rapper Juvenile, Ruby Bridges, a civil rights advocate who helped desegregate New Orleans public schools as a child, and Essence CEO Caroline Wanga.
The InspireNOLA network includes Alice M. Hart Charter Schools, Andrew H. Wilson Charter School, Dwight D. Eisenhower Charter School, Pierre Capdau S.T.E.A.M. Charter School, Edna Karr High School, Eleanor McMain High School and McDonogh 35 Senior High School. Their students return to school Aug. 3.
Several of the network’s schools were among the top ten performing open enrollment schools across the city, according to state test results released earlier this month.
“This is a pivotal moment to continue the gains we’ve made academically,” McKneely said.