Race

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how race and racism affect schools and how they are taught about in schools

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Fourth graders work together to plan life for their “colony” during a class activity focused on colonial America at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 2017.
Fourth graders work together to plan life for their “colony” during a class activity focused on colonial America at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 2017.
Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages
Equity & Diversity Lessons From 4 District Leaders Who Conducted Equity Audits
Four district leaders emphasize the importance of equity audits, including the process, the results, and the changes made based on findings.
Eesha Pendharkar, April 26, 2023
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7 min read
Photo of dictionary definition for reparation.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Equity & Diversity Reparations for Black Americans: How K-12 Schools Fit In
Cities, states, and school districts are studying ways to atone for past injustices and prevent future ones, including in K-12 education.
Mark Lieberman, April 13, 2023
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5 min read
Pedestrians walk past a sign in Evanston, Ill., on April 30, 2021. The Chicago suburb is preparing to pay reparations in the form of housing grants to Black residents who experienced housing discrimination. The city is being hailed as the first to do so, and is being held up as a model in its approach for other cities looking to do the same.
Pedestrians walk past a sign in Evanston, Ill., on April 30, 2021. The Chicago suburb is preparing to pay reparations in the form of housing grants to Black residents who experienced housing discrimination. The city is being hailed as the first to do so, and is being held up as a model in its approach for other cities looking to do the same.
Shafkat Anowar/AP
Equity & Diversity Schools Are Confronting Centuries of Racial Injustice. Will They Offer Reparations?
Reparations efforts have multiplied recently, with some districts considering how they can atone for discrimination against Black Americans.
Mark Lieberman, April 11, 2023
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11 min read
Image of a female student playing the flute, and another student in the background playing a horn.
iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Laws That Limit Teaching About Race and Gender Imperil Music Instruction
Music educators in states with laws restricting discussions of race, gender, and sexuality aren't sure how to explain spirituals or jazz.
Alyson Klein, March 31, 2023
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4 min read
Illustration of a woman of color in distress with hands in her face and hair blowing upwards.
Fedrelena/iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity How Can Schools Help Students Process Racial Trauma? A New Program Provides Answers
The pilot program sheds light on the role schools play in helping students heal from racial trauma.
Ileana Najarro, March 24, 2023
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6 min read
Student alone in an empty school hallway (blurred). Bullying, discrimination and racism.
Pornpak Khunatorn/iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Q&A How Schools Can Address Racial Stressors, An Expert Explains
A Stanford researcher looks at how schools play a role in interventions for students of color dealing with racial stressors.
Ileana Najarro, March 23, 2023
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6 min read
This May 8, 1964 file photo shows Linda Brown Smith standing in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan. The refusal of the public school to admit Brown in 1951, then nine years old, because she is black, led to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the "separate but equal" clause and mandated that schools nationwide must be desegregated.
This May 8, 1964 file photo shows Linda Brown Smith standing in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan. The refusal of the public school to admit Brown in 1951, then nine years old, because she is black, led to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the "separate but equal" clause and mandated that schools nationwide must be desegregated.
AP Photo
Equity & Diversity Educational Inequality: 4 Moments in History That Explain Where We Are Today
A new Columbia University report highlights how inequality was embedded in the creation of public education in the United States.
Ileana Najarro, March 20, 2023
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5 min read
In this May 13, 2014, file photo National Education Association staff members from Washington joining students, parents and educators at a rally at the Supreme Court in Washington on the 60th anniversary Brown v. Board of Education decision that struck down "separate but equal" laws that kept schools segregated.
In this May 13, 2014, file photo National Education Association staff members from Washington joining students, parents and educators at a rally at the Supreme Court in Washington on the 60th anniversary Brown v. Board of Education decision that struck down "separate but equal" laws that kept schools segregated.
AP Photo
Equity & Diversity The Origins of Racial Inequality in Education
"Uncovering Inequality," a project from Columbia University, chronicles how policies created and sustained inequalities in schools.
Ileana Najarro, March 20, 2023
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4 min read
One of a few students is singled out.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Opinion Every School Has Bias. Here’s What Principals Can Do About It
How do we build combating bias into the who, how, and why of teaching, leadership, and school organization?
Sharif El-Mekki, February 28, 2023
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4 min read
Illustration of woman standing at doorway.
Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion Why Black Teachers Stay
It's not easy to stick with the profession, but the rewards for teachers and students can be profound.
Rann Miller, February 15, 2023
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5 min read
Photo illustration of black people at historic moments in time leading up to a young black student today.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + AP Photo + E+/Getty
Equity & Diversity Opinion America Must Confront the Black History It Teaches
How can a Black student make sense of racism as historical artifact when it remains ever present, asks Bettina L. Love.
Bettina L. Love, February 9, 2023
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3 min read
People gather to demand police reforms in the wake of the Tyre Nichols killing outside of the Memphis Police Department Ridgeway Station, Sunday Jan. 29, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.
Protesters demand reforms outside a police station in Memphis last month, in the wake of Tyre Nichols' beating and death at the hands of five Memphis officers.
Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP
Teaching Talking to Students About Tyre Nichols and Police Violence: Ideas From 3 Experts
Educators can't ignore the traumatic effects of such violent events on young people, especially their Black students, experts say.
Eesha Pendharkar, February 8, 2023
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5 min read
Illustration of many hands are raised against a giant hand stopping them
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
Equity & Diversity Opinion Educators, We Must Defend AP African American Studies
In an open letter to colleagues, a former Florida educator urges teachers to speak out. "No one will save us."
Monika Williams Shealey , February 2, 2023
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5 min read
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Illustration by Chris Whetzel for Education Week
Equity & Diversity The Ongoing Challenges, and Possible Solutions, to Improving Educational Equity
Schools across the country were facing major equity challenges before the pandemic, but its disruptions exacerbated them.
Eesha Pendharkar, January 26, 2023
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4 min read
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