Hi John,

For the second week of our learning series commemorating Black August, we are exploring the relationship between segregation and educational inequality, and how privatizers — whether charter schools or other corporate-driven “education reform” movements — are profiting from the failure to ensure a high-quality education to all children.

New York City’s school system is the most segregated in the country. But integration isn’t so simple as ensuring that every classroom has students representing every race. The inequity and segregation we see in NYC’s schools today is in part a consequence of resources being given to some schools and not others. For decades, New York State chronically underfunded schools serving a majority Black, Brown and low-income students. Educational inequality is deepened by intersections with other forms of racial inequality, from housing discrimination to police brutality to voter disenfranchisement.

Explore the resources below to learn more about the history and present-day impact of segregation in education.

In 2019, a Queens school district announced that they were chosen to get a "diversity plan." One reaction from local parents? Outrage. But to back up: Why would a school district in the middle of Queens even need a diversity plan? And why would that potential plan be met with such intense opposition?

Book: 

Cutting School: The Segrenomics of American Education By Noliwe Rooks looks at how 19th century Reconstruction-era policies led to the creation of separate, segregated and unequal systems of schooling — in which black children from poor families got inferior educations. And, coining the term “segrenomics,” she links that era to today, when companies and individuals are profiting handsomely from segregated and inequitable education.

You can also read this interview with Professor Rooks from The Washington Post or listen to an interview with Professor Rooks here.

Interview: 

Writer and reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks with The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, on racial inequity in schools and how it is upheld by segregation. (You can also read excerpts of the interview here.)

Teach-in:

The History of the Movement for School Integration, Integrate NYC. Learn the history behind each of the 5R’s of Real Integration: race and Enrollment, resources, relationships, restorative justice and representation.

Film series: 

A Perfect Storm: The Takeover of New Orleans Public Schools. The Perfect Storm series documents the transformation of the New Orleans public school system into a 100% charter urban school district; the first in the nation. The series of short episodes chronicles the impact of state run, free market education reforms on the children and communities of New Orleans from 2005 to 2017.

Film: 

Backpack Full of Cash. Narrated by Matt Damon, this feature-length documentary explores the growing privatization of public schools and the resulting impact on America’s most vulnerable children. Filmed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville and other cities, exposes the world of corporate-driven education “reform” where public education -- starved of resources -- hangs in the balance.

Podcast: 

Nice White Parents: We know American public schools do not guarantee each child an equal education. Two decades of school reform initiatives have not changed that. But when Chana Joffe-Walt, a reporter, looked at inequality in education, she saw that most reforms focused on who schools were failing: Black and brown kids. But what about who the schools are serving? In this five-part series, she turns her attention to what is arguably the most powerful force in our schools: White parents.

Pick one of the resources above that you found particularly interesting. Share it with 10 people in your network and encourage them to read, watch or listen — either by tagging them in a tweet, sending them and email, texting it to them or mentioning it in conversation. (Remember to tag @AQE_NY in your tweets!) 

Until next week,