School Closure as a Neoliberal Strategy: Who Defines Racial Justice in Public Schools?

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Anatomy of a School Closure: A Multiproject Case Study

Abstract

In the context of the US, school closure battles have been a key site of intersecting movements for social, economic, and racial justice. In Oakland, California, school closures have been a site where discursive notions of what counts as “public” and what counts as “racial justice” have been contested by multiple social actors. In this study, we examine how opponents and proponents of a school closure mobilized racial discourses as a means for justifying opposition or justifications for school closures. Using video data of school board meetings surrounding the vote to close Roots, we will engage in discourse analysis of the interactions and dialogues occurring in these public meetings to explore how racial discourses are mobilized by parties who propose and oppose school closures. We will also explore the ways in which the context of an impending teachers’ strike motivated and underscored these discourses for those on both sides of the class struggle.

Authors

• Rekia Jibrin, University of California - Berkeley

• Alexander Mejia, Stanford University

• Divya Farias, Oakland Unified School District