ABOVE PHOTO: Jaisaan Lovett is the first black valedictorian to graduate from the University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men in Rochester, N.Y. (Video still)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A high school valedictorian in upstate New York has delivered his graduation speech at City Hall amid a tense relationship with the school’s leader.
The Democrat and Chronicle reports Wednesday that Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren invited Jaisaan Lovett to speak after he was denied an opportunity to address his classmates upon graduating last month.
Lovett is the first Black valedictorian to graduate from the University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men. He received a full scholarship to attend Clark Atlanta University in the fall. He’d previously interned in Warren’s office.
The school’s board of trustees says it’s reviewing what happened.
School leader Joseph Munno didn’t respond to the paper’s request for comment.
Lovett says he’s previously clashed with Munno, including once after protesting safety conditions in the school’s lab.
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