Houston Attorney Michael Harris paid for more than 700 students from Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men to see the movie “Selma” on Jan. 28, so that they could learn more about the civil rights movement.
“Lots of people have invested in me over the years,” said Harris, “and I hope this movie encouraged these young people to be productive, proactive citizens in society, much like the men and women they saw portrayed on screen. These students come from the same type of circumstance that I do, and I would like them to understand that their environment does not have to determine the outcome of their lives.”
YWCPA students attend a screening of the movie “Selma.”
Mickey Leland Principal Dameion Crook was happy his students had a chance to see the movie, which chronicles the period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., that resulted in President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“As the principal of an all-male college prep academy, it is my responsibility to ensure that we are developing and inspiring the next generation of great civil rights leaders,” Crook said. “So a big thanks to our community partner, Michael Harris, for his generous support.”
We would like to thank Attorney Michael Harris for this generous act of kindness. Just think, this upstanding citizen of our community unselfishly gave to 700 children who will someday be the decision-makers of our future. Mr. Harris, this gratuitous act has touched our hearts and we appreciate your benevolence. And you are right, we do come from the same circumstances that you came from; and we will NOT let our “environment…determine the outcome of our lives.” God bless you, sir! 🙂