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4th Student Summit on Race

Alex Crichton

Hundreds of people attended the 4th Student Summit on Race Fridayat the Wegmans Conference Center in Rochester. 

It's an event that started with far fewer participants in West Irondequoit in January of 2016.

The Superintendent of Schools in West Irondequoit, Jeff Crane, says the summit brings students together so they can have discussions and enter into activities with new friends from other districts.

"Exercises that help everyone understand some of the things and gain empathy for each other's lives and some of the things that happen in each other's lives," he said.

Student ambassadors from various Rochester City schools help lead discussions on race at this summit, and City School Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams says they participated in various activities to continue the dialogue about racial equity, and what they can do personally to build understanding and connections across Monroe County.

"What I find is students have a deep passion and deep willingness to want to figure out what is going on in the world and how they personally are connected to building better futures not only for themselves but for each other," she said.

Penfield sophomore Frankie Gissendanner

Sophomore at Penfield High, Frankie Gissendanner, told his fellow students that the future lies with them.

"We can dwell on the past, and the history, you know you can never change that.  Once history's made, history's made.  But what we can do, we can a make a difference for tomorrow," he said.

And Libnah Rodriguez, a senior at School Without Walls, said these are important discussions.

"We're talking about race right now. We just want to bring awareness of how people are treated different because of their skin color and how racism exists. A lot of people don't think it exists. It exists in our schools, it exists everywhere we go," she said.

Organizers of the event say these young students are meeting new people from other districts and are have no problem discussing topics that make many adults feel uncomfortable.

The next Student Summit is scheduled for November at the College at Brockport.

Students from Teen Empowerment performing at the event: