It is that time again!

Please join Black Young Professionals of Metro Detroit as we support the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan (SAC) for their second annual Detroit Story Soiree! This will be an evening at the impressive and exquisite Kresge Mansion in Detroit.

The purpose of this event is to celebrate and amplify the stories of success and triumph of Detroit area youth and their education in face of institutional adversities inflicted by school administrations. SAC is the only non-government organization in metro Detroit focused on defending students’ right to not be pushed out of school by excessive disciplinary action and educational resource deficiencies.

We have worked with SAC to provide mentors and volunteers to work with students facing academic challenges, and as they have expanded their operations in Detroit we have supported their connection with local businesses and organizations who look to support their amazing work.

This event includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, craft cocktails, live music, live art, and of course, stories! Free street parking is available throughout the evening.

Tickets are $75 and are all-inclusive; All tickets support SAC’s work to ensuring our most vulnerable students stay in school and realize their rights to a quality public education.

Additionally, Black Young Professionals of Metro Detroit is a sponsor of this year’s event.

Reserve A Ticket

About Student Advocacy Center (“SAC”)

SAC works collaboratively with metro Detroit students and their families to fight against school pushout. This includes excessive disciplinary actions, suspensions, and denial of their right to education aides. School pushout is an often veiled and unrecognized battle ground where students’ futures hang at the whim of administrators’ daily discretionary actions in managing emotionally, financially, or intellectually challenged youth present in metro Detroit schools today.

It has been found that students with in-school behaviors met with harsher, more frequent discipline are at higher likelihood of interaction with police and entering the criminal justice system, especially since today’s schools are staffed with police officers as security. Also, in some cases if expelled from a school in Michigan, a student is barred by law from attending any other general schools in the state, and must “re-apply” and have a hearing to be allowed back into the general school population. Their education options then become even less accommodating and workable for reasonable academic progress, including having to attend underfunded alternative schools, strict disciplinary academies, or even having to move to Ohio or other states to complete their schooling. This forced break in their school attendance can leave students behind in academic progress, destroy personal motivation, and increase likelihood of dropping out for good. Unfortunately, this is how many Black children end up outside of the education system, and finding themselves in the school-to-prison pipeline.

Learn more about SAC here.