Learning in a Burning House: Educational Inequality, Ideology, and (Dis)Integration

by Sonya Douglass Horsford

Overview

The negative consequences of school desegregation on Black communities in the United States are now well documented in education research. Learning in a Burning House is the first book to offer a historical look at the desegregation dilemma with clear recommendations for what must be done to ensure Black student success in today’s schools. This important book centers race and voice in the desegregation discourse, examining and reconceptualizing the meaning of “equal education.” Featuring the unique perspectives of Black school leaders, Horsford provides a critical race analysis of how racism has undermined the integration ideal and the subsequent schooling of Black children. Most importantly, the book discusses how meaningful education reform must be grounded in a moral activist vision of equal education through a cross-racial commitment to racial literacy, realism, reconstruction, and reconciliation in our schools and society.

With an engaging style that invites us on a journey of discovery, Learning in a Burning House presents new insights into Black education and proposes leadership and policy solutions that can be immediately adopted to improve urban education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807751763
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	02/24/2011
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Sonya Douglass Horsford is a senior resident scholar of education with the Lincy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She received the 2022 AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award.

Table of Contents

Foreword Marian Wright Edelman ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

The Desegregation Dilemma 1

Desegregation v. Integration 3

Centering Race and Voice in the Desegregation Discourse 5

Black Superintendent Perspectives 7

Purpose and Overview 9

Part I Educational Quality And Inequality

1 Neither Separate nor Mixed nor Equal 15

An Unequal and Improper Education 16

Is Separate Inherently Unequal? 22

Our Colorblind Constitution 25

The End of Racism? 27

Conclusion 30

2 A Safe House: Life in Segregated Schools 32

From Negro Student to Black Superintendent: An Informed Perspective 33

Black Schools as Pillars of Strength 37

Preparing Students for the White World 40

Conclusion 47

Part II The Ideology Of Integration

3 Integration and Interest Convergence 51

From Jim Crow to Oliver Brown 52

Why Brown Happened When It Happened 54

Education as a Civil Right 59

Too Much Deliberate, Not Enough Speed 60

Conclusion 63

4 Vestiges of Desegregation: Proximity Without Affinity 64

Consequences for Black Families, Schools, and Communities 65

Diversity as Education Policy: The Illusion of Inclusion 70

From Vestiges of Segregation to Vestiges of Desegregation 72

Underestimating the Prejudice of Race 76

Conclusion 78

Part III The Integration Goal

5 A Burning House: The Disintegration of Integration 81

Dangerous Conditions: A Loss of Moral Vision 82

Fanning the Flames: The Problem with Liberalism 83

Assessing the Damage: The Importance of Structural Integrity 89

Conclusion 90

6 On Becoming Firefighters: Our Moral Activist Duty to Equal Education 92

A Moral Vision of Equal Education 93

A Critical Race Approach to Equal Education 94

Conclusion 104

Conclusion: Learning in the World House 106

The Death of Distance: Preparing Global Citizens through Education 107

Improved Means to an Improved End: Aligning Meaningful Goals to Meaningful Outcomes 108

Our Great Inheritance: Learning in the World House 109

References 111

Index 123

About the Author 130

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I hope Dr. Horsford’s book will spur much discussion about the greatest national security threat faced by our nation: millions of illiterate and poorly prepared children.... Wake up, America!”
—From the Foreword by Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund

"Learning in a Burning House tackles head on the complex issues of race, power, and politics in education and is a must-read for anyone troubled by the current state of urban education and committed to doing something about it."
—Joyce E. King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning & Leadership, Georgia State University