The University Area Public School Development: Racial Liberalism and Philanthropy’s Vice Grip on Neighborhood Control

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Doing Equity Work: A (Critical) Policy Analysis Approach to Complex Issues (Table 25)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the historical trajectory of the University Area Public School Development Association in New Orleans during the 1970s and the establishment of the McMain Magnet Secondary School. It foregrounds the intersection of race, class, philanthropy, and educational reform, revealing how the initial aim of genuine integration of a multiple-school subdistrict devolved into a narrower focus on one institution, leading to systemic exclusion of Black and poor communities in New Orleans and escalating disinvestment. The paper offers a nuanced understanding of racial liberalism and philanthropy, uncovering their instrumental role in shaping educational policy. Ultimately, the paper underscores the theoretical necessity of interrogating the historical marketization of public schools, thereby offering a foundation for future scholarship on equitable educational reform.

Author

• Mark E White, University of Wisconsin - Madison