Abandoned by his father and orphaned at age 6 after the death of his mother to cancer, Tony Thurmond believes he could have easily ended up in prison.
Instead, the 50-year-old Richmond resident is the new state superintendent of public education. He is the second African-American in the position after Wilson Riles, who served 1971-83.
“I’ve spent years analyzing my experience,” he said. “Why is my experience not the experience of many of my peers? If you look who is in jail, it is largely African-American and Latino men and people in low-income backgrounds.”
Thurmond said he was able to succeed because he had extended family who stepped into raise him and because he went to schools where teachers believed in him and pushed him. “They were sending me a message that no matter how your life started, it can be bettered through education,” he said. “I accepted the message that education makes your life better.”
To continue reading this article by Lisa Renner, go to: http://capitolweekly.net/educa...monds-silver-bullet/
Comments (1)