Black School Choice as Refusal: The Political Context of Black Families’ School Choice

• In Event: Equity in the Crosshairs: Leadership, Closure, and Advocacy in Contentious Times

Abstract

This study investigates Black families’ decisions to opt out of traditional public schools following the global pandemic, interpreting an increase in non-traditional public school enrollment as acts of refusal against antiblack educational environments. Drawing on U.S. Census Household Pulse data and state-level political indicators, the study explores how sociopolitical conditions—particularly critical race theory bans and political leadership—shape Black families’ school choice. The analysis reveals that these enrollment shifts are not merely pragmatic but reflect responses that refuse racialized harm in traditional public schools. The findings call for policy reforms that affirm Black students’ humanity and restore trust in public education.

Author

• De'Ja Wood, Vanderbilt University