Black Politics and Policy Alternatives: Racial Representation and Resistance in a Privatizing District

• In Event: Race, Policy, Justice, and School Choice

Abstract

Since 1991, advocates offer publicly-funded, privately-managed schools as a policy lever to improve educational opportunities for Black students – with substantial federal and philanthropic support – despite mixed evidence on their effectiveness to improve educational outcomes. This study investigates how veteran Black educators and district leaders in a majority Black city navigated charter growth in their respective district, including racial representation in market governance and resistance to reforms. Despite the structural forces constraining their power over public education, findings show how Black Memphians leveraged local, cultural, and racial consciousness to develop place-based alternatives to privatization, aiming to reshape the terms of Black educational experiences and political power, which illuminate the possibilities for public education emanating from Black lived experiences.

Author

• Rachel E. Williams, University of Wisconsin - Madison