The promise of a free, high quality public education is supposed to guarantee every child a shot at the American Dream. Yet, today many children of color do not have access to equal educational opportunities due primarily to white supremacy and class privilege and inequality. In Integrations, historian Zoë Burkholder and philosopher Lawrence Blum investigate the relationship between school integration, societal disparities, and the long struggle for just and equitable schooling in the United States. Importantly, Integrations focuses on multiple marginalized groups in American schooling: African Americans, Native Americans, Latinxs, and Asian Americans. Ultimately, the authors show that in order to grapple with integration in a meaningful way, we must think of integration in the plural, both in its multiple histories and in the many possible meanings of and courses of action for integration. A justice-informed mode of school integration is essential for students to learn how to become engaged, knowledgeable citizens, capable of steering our experiment in multiracial democracy toward its professed ideals.
Industry Reviews
"The comparative strengths of this book make this an important contribution to our understanding of the past and present . . . [it] places the long arc of activism to advance racial justice in education in historical context and explains the often swift reactions to such efforts. In so doing, it can help us better understand the roots of our contemporary politics and more precisely conceptualize arguments to advance racial justice in education." -- Erica Frankenberg * American Historical Review *
"Blum and Burkholder begin this book with a hard truth: regardless of legislation meant to desegregate public schools, students are still very much separated by race, which has implications for income, housing, and incarceration. . . . This book seeks not only to discuss racial inequality in public schools but also to inspire readers to take action. . . . The authors offer a solution to the current state of public education: integrations (plural), thought of as a series of policies and evaluations of outcomes, rather than as a singular concept. Tied to these integrations is civic education, which will allow students to become active social justice organizers for themselves and their peers. . . . Recommended." * Choice *
"The book . . . offers a timely affirmation of the civic purpose of public schooling, pushing back on contemporary privatizing trends that frame education as an individual good with a reminder of the ways in which society itself has a deep stake in equitable public education. For these well-argued points, and many others, the book will be an excellent primer for students to guide their developing understandings of race and schooling." -- Bethany L. Rogers * Journal of African American History *
"Calling for school integration as a remedy, the authors champion a civic-minded conception rooted in training students for democratic citizenship. But for egalitarian integrations to be successful, structural injustice must be dismantled. This book will be invaluable for scholars, educators, and activists fighting for educational equality." * Derrick Darby, coauthor of 'The Color of Mind: Why the Origins of the Achievement Gap Matter for Justice' *
"A revolutionary call to confront, challenge, and reform race-based inequity and injustice in the public school system in the United States-a must-read for parents, teachers, administrators, and students." * K. Tsianina Lomawaima, coauthor of ''To Remain an Indian': Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native American Education' *
"The challenges arising from racial and ethnic inequalities in the United States are complex and defy simple solutions such as integrating schools. Using rich historical analysis and philosophical insights, Blum and Burkholder show us how to promote the civic and other educational goods necessary for a pluralistic democratic society. The book could not be more timely and relevant." * Helen F. Ladd, coauthor of 'Educational Goods: Values, Evidence, and Decision-Making' *
