Will This Pandemic Force Us to Boldly Address the Inequities in Our Schools?

I live right off Route 206, a mostly two-lane road that begins in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey, winds 130 miles north to Stokes…

Our Kids Can No Longer Wait for Educational Justice, And They Shouldn’t Have To

I wanna talk about three things: movements, public education and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words foreshadowing what would be an ongoing and urgent fight.…

Lakisha Young Talks About How Oakland Is Tackling the Reading Crisis

Lakisha Young is the executive director of The Oakland REACH. Her work began through witnessing the disparities faced by Black and Brown students, including members…

Let’s Help Our Young People Unlearn What White Supremacy Taught Them

True story. The other day I was recording an episode of my podcast with 11th graders at a school on the far south-side of Chicago.…

I Don’t Want to Hear Another Argument About How Charter Schools Are Killing Public Schools

Dear America,  Please don’t bother my community with anti-charter school arguments in 2020. That’s unless you’re willing to get involved with majority-Black attended public schools…

We Shined a Light on What Many Refuse to See: World-Class Cities With Third-World Educational Results

You mad, bro? That seems like the most appropriate question to ask after my team released “The Secret Shame of Progressive Cities” last week, a…

Here’s What It Really Means to Move to a ‘Good School’ in a ‘Good Neighborhood’

Many White folks, especially Northern White liberals who voted for Obama, would argue they are not racist, even while they actively cause harm to Black…

Everyone Progresses With a Progressive Platform, Except for Black and Brown Children.

I’ve had the chance to travel a lot in my work as an educator and activist, and frequently I find myself in what I call…

I’ll Believe Chicago Is Progressive When We Close the Gaps for Black and Brown Kids

Shame on it all! In a new report, “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunities for All,” brightbeam…

Progressives, If We Really Care About Education, Then Let’s Act Like It

In the hallway of my apartment growing up in Brooklyn, there was a poster of a cover from the New Yorker Magazine entitled “View of…