The Politics of Education in the Post-Brown Era: Race, Markets, and the Struggle for Equitable Schooling

Purpose: In this essay, we examine the racial politics of education in the six decades after Brown. We consider the state of educational policy in an era in which market reform advocates often invoke the spirit of the Brown decision even as the Supreme Court has largely vacated the legal framework provided by Brown to desegregate schools. Background: Educational policy post-Brown has focused largely on expanding market reforms such as school choice, high-stakes testing, and federal and state accountability mechanisms in lieu of the radical shifts in the distribution of educational opportunities for which Brown called. Setting: We discuss these market-oriented trends in San Francisco and Philadelphia. Findings: While many of these interventions have contributed to the growing racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic segregation in public education, efforts to realize more just and democratic schooling persist in these same urban school districts. Conclusion: We conclude with a call to educational leaders to partner with local communities to revive Brown's promise for more just, diverse, and equitable schooling.