In the invocation that opened the general session, the Rev. Anita Burson led delegates in a prayer "to lift up our thoughts of gratitude, to share our common interests and problems, and to make this organization in particular, and the world in general, a better place."
The Rev. Burson, pastor of the Elpida Community Church of Christ-Baptist in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has a long track record of working with organizations that seek social change. She serves as first vice president of the NAACP Brooklyn Chapter and is active with the Living Wage NYC coalition.
The fifth generation of her family to serve in the clergy, she has vivid memories of her father leading civil rights demonstrations.
Her invocation asked for guidance for NYSUT members "to the purposes that will renew and restore."
— Maia Davis