Try this for a dynamic duo. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) appeared with rap star Ludacris at an elementary school near Atlanta on Friday. The two are natives of the state and apparently have a mutual interest in improving the education of America’s next generation.
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has more [emphasis added]:
The governor and Luda appeared together at Clayton County’s Utopian Academy for the Arts, the first charter school to be approved by a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that gave the state new power to create the systems.“As impressed as I am with what you have done, I want you to see what you can become,” said Deal in (very short) remarks introducing the hip-hop star.
Luda then told the 150 or so students, who were not told he was coming, “not to take no for an answer” and to keep striving in the classroom.
“We already made history and now it’s about continuing to make history, and encouraging people to join this school,” Ludacris said, adding: “You have street smarts and when you add book smarts to that, you’re unstoppable.”
Deal is running for re-election against Democrat Jason Carter, the grandson of the 39th president of the United States Jimmy Carter. The two are in a close race, according to the latest results on our Poll Tracker:
According to Deal, Ludacris’ participation in the event was not an endorsement. The governor had merely met the singer at a Grammy Award winners festival and had stayed in contact with him. He said he believed Ludacris’ success would spark students to acknowledge what they could become with a little hard work.