Stolen School: What Desegregation Took and One Black Community's Fight to Get it Back

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

We are thrilled to see President Winn’s thoughtful theme for this year’s AERA Annual meeting, and we are excited to participate in collective thinking around the role of research in interrogating what it means as a community to un-forget. And Evanston, Illinois represents a quintessential example of the power of looking back to look forward. Between the imminent opening of a new school in the historically Black 5th ward and ongoing conversations about “educational reparations” (ross, 2021), Evanston is a dynamic context to investigate how Black communities and families work towards educational justice for Black children, past and present, in school and in out of school spaces. This session will introduce you to Evanston, our broader research on reparations, methodological reflections on oral histories and documentary production, and implications for futuring for education and educational research (Winn, 2025). You will then watch STOLEN SCHOOL, a 35-minute documentary, and engage in conversation with a multigenerational, interdisciplinary group to discuss how we continue to look back so that we may move forward in and beyond Evanston.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chair

• kihana miraya ross, Northwestern University

Participants

• Shannon Paige Clark, University of Maryland - Eastern Shore

• Dino Robinson, Shorefront Legacy Center

• Oliver Ruff, Evanston / Skokie School District 65

• Monique Parsons, McGaw YMCA