A powerful and uncompromising indictment of the public school system.
Far from the dream of educational equality.
Rooks eloquently begins: “I believe a morning will come when we as a nation will collectively toast our wrestled defeat of inequitable education….Before that future can find us, we who believe that educational equality is a requirement for healthy democracy will need to fully acknowledge the failure of the dream of shared access to resources and institution governance that was to have been complete integration.” The book charts the history of that failure, from the founding of the republic to the present day. It offers individual stories of segregation and—after the Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in public schools—resistance to integration. These historical narratives intertwine with personal accounts of the author’s own family during these times. Taken together, they create a vivid account of the emotional and economic damage done to generations of children of color. They sustain the position that systemic racism, rather than individually focused discrimination, often motivates institutional inequality. But, in the end, this is a book of people rather than laws and institutions. It shows that Black families were not, in fact, unanimous in their support of the Brown decision; there was dissent and disagreement about how best to serve communities and allocate resources. While the author does not support a pre-Brown world, she does celebrate the older, Black structures of belonging—the church, the school, and the community. The goal of this book is, as the author concludes, to “find another way” beyond our present systems to make education available with equal resources and equal impact to children of all socioeconomic and ethnic groups in America. Rich with statistics and historical narrative, the book comes fully alive when the author writes about her son’s struggles as a Black child in an exclusive white school system and about her challenges as a Black professor in the Ivy League.
A powerful and uncompromising indictment of the public school system.Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780553387391
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.
A former NFL player casts his gimlet eye on American race relations.
In his first book, Acho, an analyst for Fox Sports who grew up in Dallas as the son of Nigerian immigrants, addresses White readers who have sent him questions about Black history and culture. “My childhood,” he writes, “was one big study abroad in white culture—followed by studying abroad in black culture during college and then during my years in the NFL, which I spent on teams with 80-90 percent black players, each of whom had his own experience of being a person of color in America. Now, I’m fluent in both cultures: black and white.” While the author avoids condescending to readers who already acknowledge their White privilege or understand why it’s unacceptable to use the N-word, he’s also attuned to the sensitive nature of the topic. As such, he has created “a place where questions you may have been afraid to ask get answered.” Acho has a deft touch and a historian’s knack for marshaling facts. He packs a lot into his concise narrative, from an incisive historical breakdown of American racial unrest and violence to the ways of cultural appropriation: Your friend respecting and appreciating Black arts and culture? OK. Kim Kardashian showing off her braids and attributing her sense of style to Bo Derek? Not so much. Within larger chapters, the text, which originated with the author’s online video series with the same title, is neatly organized under helpful headings: “Let’s rewind,” “Let’s get uncomfortable,” “Talk it, walk it.” Acho can be funny, but that’s not his goal—nor is he pedaling gotcha zingers or pleas for headlines. The author delivers exactly what he promises in the title, tackling difficult topics with the depth of an engaged cultural thinker and the style of an experienced wordsmith. Throughout, Acho is a friendly guide, seeking to sow understanding even if it means risking just a little discord.
This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-80046-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Essential guidance on proactively navigating the challenges of gender-diverse student bodies.
A comprehensive look at gender-diverse youth in the classroom.
As the transgender student population continues to become more widely visible, navigation tools have become critical for educators and parents alike, notes Key, a veteran gender diversity educator. While written with parents of trans+ children in mind, the book is primarily directed at teachers, administrators, and school staff who directly impact students’ lives on a daily basis. Key shows readers what is involved when a child considers a gender transition process, and he confronts the challenges of gender inclusion, which may be a new topic for some readers. Particularly striking are the stories from parents of trans+ students who are managing the stages of their own apprehension alongside those of their child. Key incorporates learning points on gender vernacular and fighting community stigmatization. Personal anecdotes and timely discussions from school educators complement instructive illustrations and Q&A sections that answer sensitive questions regarding sports participation, bathroom choices, and changing areas. In an encouraging, consistently positive manner, Key addresses the overt political and/or cultural resistance that proliferates within heated debates and public forum discussions, and he asserts that accurate information is the best way to educate and collaborate. He stresses the importance of delivering practical, real-world discussion tools and assistance to parents and educators of trans+ children, who often find themselves without resources, advice, answers, or support to fortify what can often be an overwhelmingly complex experience. Key’s checklists of suggestions successfully bridge the gap between trans+ kids, adults, and school educators with strategically supportive approaches and behaviors. Authoritative yet written in pleasant, straightforward language, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding what it clearly means (and doesn’t mean) to be transgender while ensuring that every student has access to an optimal learning environment free from discrimination.
Essential guidance on proactively navigating the challenges of gender-diverse student bodies.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780190886547
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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