Canada Gives ‘Call of Service’ Lecture

Prominent social activist Geoffrey Canada passionately denounced the barriers to education reform as he delivered the Phillips Brooks House Association’s annual Robert Coles “Call of Service” Lecture in Memorial Church last Friday.

Canada, a 1975 graduate of the Graduate School of Education, is the President and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, a non-profit organization that operates in a 100-block area of Harlem and helps low-income students bridge the achievement gap through a comprehensive set of programs and services.

After receiving the Robert Coles “Call of Service” Award” from University President Drew G. Faust, Canada commenced Canada commenced his speech with a series of humorous stories about his appearances on “60 Minutes” and “Oprah,” but quickly switched gears as he discussed his slow realization that the government was not doing anything to improve the state of education.

“Unless we do something radically different in educating our most vulnerable children, there is no way we will remain the kind of superpower that we are today,” Canada said. “I am convinced that this is a crisis.”

Canada also presented his vision of an improved educational system, which includes a longer school year, an expectation that all students will attend college, and, most of all, a greater degree of accountability on the part of adults involved in education process.

“I don’t care about unions. I don’t care about tenure,” Canada said. “I just care when lousy teachers ruin the lives of children, and we feel like there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Canada was selected by PBHA student officers to receive this year’s “Call of Service” Award and to give the associated speech as part of the University-wide Public Service Week, which concluded on Sunday. The week also included a number of volunteer opportunities and seminars, concluding with the celebration of PBHA’s third annual alumni weekend.

Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons prefaced Canada’s talk by presenting him with a signed proclamation from the Cambridge City Council in recognition of his work, and called the Harlem Children’s Zone “an incredible representation of what can be done when you put all your energy into doing what it takes to educate children.”

As Canada laid out his main points, the audience spontaneously burst into cheers and applause. Canada concluded his talk with a call to action through a reading of his poem “Take a Stand,” upon which the audience arose for a minute-long standing ovation.

PBHA President Richard S. Kelley ’10, who estimated that more than 1,000 students and local residents showed up for the event, said he was impressed by Canada’s ability to capture a wide range of emotions through his words.

“His speech was both hilarious and, at times, it brought me almost to tears,” Kelley said. “I really appreciated his frankness, his honestly, and his challenge for service to all of us.”

For some PBHA volunteers, Canada’s challenge served to renew their sense of purpose in their service on campus.

“Lately, I’ve been wondering if my work was actually worth anything,” said Jarell L. Lee ’10, who is involved in a number of PBHA programs. “After hearing his speech, I literally felt like I had a tune-up, and I was ready to go on for a longer ride.”

— Staff writer Evan T. R. Rosenman can be reached at erosenm@fas.harvard.e