Segregated Civics: Documenting and Disrupting Segregated Educational Experiences and Political Understandings in a ‘Red’ State”

• In Event: Democracy Needs Education: Civic Learning Across Global Contexts in Troubling Times

Abstract

In the context of rising political extremism, U.S. public schools are simultaneously targets of far-right politics and sites of grassroots resistance. This paper examines these dynamics in the politically conservative (“red”) state of Ohio, which has shifted decisively rightward in recent election cycles (Henry, 2024). Education in Ohio presents a critical case for understanding how educational segregation—rooted in settler colonialism, antiblackness, redlining, and persistent school funding inequities—shapes students’ political socialization and participation (Diamond & Lewis, 2022; Dunbar-Ortiz, 2021; Jacobs, 1998; Rothstein, 2017). We argue that segregated schooling reflects and reinforces racial, geographic, and ideological divides, producing what we call segregated civics: divergent civic learning experiences based on where students live, what schools they attend, and how they encounter society along lines of race, class, and political identity. This paper situates segregated civics within long-standing structural forces and contemporary political pressures, including national and local efforts to limit discussions of race, gender, and power (The Heritage Foundation, 2025; Pendharkar, 2022).

Drawing on critical pedagogy, democratic education, and discourse theory (Freire, 2000; Gutman, 1990; Pratt, 1991; Rodin, 2003), we analyze nearly a decade of practice and research with Erase the Space (EtS), a nonprofit initiative that bridges racially segregated schools through narrative exchange, cross-district partnerships, and democratic civic learning (Burth & Gordon, 2021). EtS partners with thirty-five schools across ten districts in Central Ohio, focusing on teacher collaboration to design and facilitate curriculum that addresses issues relevant to students’ lives. The program brings students and teachers together across segregated spaces to engage in civic inquiry and collaborative projects.

We examine EtS as a model of democratic education characterized by four elements: disrupting uncritical personal narratives, engaging in “abnormal” discourse, fostering attention to structural change, and demystifying segregated space by creating “contact zones.” Students write, reflect, and ultimately meet in neutral public spaces to exchange stories and challenge dominant narratives. These exchanges create opportunities for cross-boundary civic collaboration that disrupts patterns of isolated, local civic learning.

One example illustrates this transformative potential: a cross-district student partnership that began with narrative exchange evolved into joint public lobbying at the Ohio Statehouse for equitable school funding. This collaboration demonstrates how intentionally structured, cross-boundary engagement can begin to desegregate civics, both by expanding students’ political horizons and by modeling forms of civic action that challenge structural inequities.

Through this analysis, the paper highlights the intertwined nature of educational segregation, political socialization, and democratic practice in conservative U.S. contexts. By documenting the work of EtS, it illustrates how schools can serve as sites of grassroots resistance to political extremism and cultivate democratic learning across segregated spaces.

Author

• dinorah sanchez loza, The Ohio State University