Divided We Fail: The Story of an African American Community That Ended the Era of School Desegregation [Hardcover]

Sarah Garland (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 29, 2013

Examines why school desegregation, despite its success in closing the achievement gap, was never embraced wholeheartedly in the black community as a remedy for racial inequality
 
In 2007, a court case originally filed in Louisville, Kentucky, was argued before the Supreme Court and officially ended the era of school desegregation— both changing how schools across America handle race and undermining the most important civil rights cases of the last century. Of course, this wasn’t the first federal lawsuit to challenge school desegregation. But it was the first—and only—one brought by African Americans. In Divided We Fail, journalist Sarah Garland deftly and sensitively tells the stories of the families and individuals who fought for and against desegregation. By reframing how we commonly understand race, education, and the history of desegregation, this timely and deeply relevant book will be an important contribution to the continued struggle toward true racial equality.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Divided We Fail is, quite simply, an extraordinary book. Garland grapples with divisive social and educational issues, puts them into historical perspective, and shows a path out of our current confusion.”
—Diane Ravitch, former U.S. assistant secretary of education, historian, and author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System
 
"With all the noise about failing schools, standardized tests, teacher accountability, and America’s educational decline, only the courageous are willing to acknowledge the persistence of racism—let alone, address the problem in a serious, clear-eyed way.  Sarah Garland has written a courageous book, documenting the struggles of courageous community activists, educators, parents, and children who continued to fight for equity and racial justice long after our nation declared victory over segregation.  In telling this gripping, often tragic, often inspirational story, Garland reveals that integrating a classroom is not the same as dismantling racism.  Divided We Fail is one of those rare books that will move even the most cynical to act.  And act we must."
—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

“Sarah Garland has brilliantly and humanely filled in a missing piece of America’s civil rights narrative. Divided We Fail is a story about the beloved institutions black Americans made for themselves—in this case, a formerly segregated high school in Louisville—and their fight to preserve and protect them. Garland renders this saga with a deep, compassionate knowledge of her own home city and equal empathy for all the partisans in a bitter legal battle.”
—Samuel G. Freedman, author of Letters to a Young Journalist

"A nuanced and thoroughly researched look at the complicated history of school desegregation in the United States."
—Publishers Weekly

"A useful journalistic examination of a troubling societal phenomenon."
—Kirkus Reviews 

"A compelling look at the complexities of race and class in the continued struggle for racial parity and high-quality education.”
 —Booklist 

About the Author

Sarah Garland is a staff writer at the Hechinger Report. She has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, American Prospect, New York Sun, Newsweek, Washington Monthly, Newsday, New York, and Marie Claire, among other publications. She was a 2009 recipient of the Spencer Fellowship in Education Reporting at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Garland now lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (January 29, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807001775
• ISBN-13: 978-0807001776
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Garland is the author of the forthcoming, "Divided We Fail: The Story of an African American Community That Ended the Era of School Desegregation" (Beacon Press, 2013). She is a staff writer at the Hechinger Report. She has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, American Prospect, New York Sun, Newsweek, Washington Monthly, Newsday, New York, and Marie Claire, among other publications. She was a 2009 recipient of the Spencer Fellowship in Education Reporting at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Garland now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Photo Credit: Nick Pandolfo, 2011.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Divided we Fail January 30, 2013

By Stacie D. Wyatt

Format:Hardcover

I read Divided We Fail, in exchange for review from Netgalley.com. The book was written by Sara Garland and published by Beacon Press.

The book discusses how schools used to admit (or not admit) students based on race. Students would be bussed to other schools to receive a sub-par education. For example, the book discussed Central high. Local students were being bussed to a different, sub-par school, while the higher quality school in the neighborhood, was set for closure. To maintain an open status, Central high had to have a Caucasian majority, but the school did not attract enough Caucasians. According to the book, no school in that district could have more than 42% African-American population to ensure compliance.

The African-American parents were upset. Send the kids to the closer, better school. A lawsuit followed and the school was allowed to remain open. The Caucasians also sued because their children could not attend their school of choice.

The book basically discusses the Central High case because it was brought together by an African-American community. The African-American communities were facing teacher firings and school closings once desegregation ended. The firings and closings led to an increase in protests and lawsuits.

I also enjoyed the story of Dionne. Dionne wanted to be a lawyer and thought Central High's law magnet program will be a starting point to achieving her dreams. She applied for admission to the school around 1996. She been wanting to be apart of the program since middle school. The letter said she was being considered for admission to Central High. Her mother received another letter, asking about first and second choice schools, just in case Central did not accept Dionne. Dionne already had to be bussed over an hour away to attend Elementary and middle school, even though another elementary school was in walking distance. Dionne was rejected for Central high because the middle school sent her transcripts to her house, instead of the school. She was placed in her regular high school but she missed orientation because the letter arrived late. Dionne was an interesting story and chapter to read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, wanting to hear more about desegregation and how this community fought to end it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How government failure can destroy a public school system January 29, 2013

By Paul A. Mastin

Format:Hardcover

As a nation, we have made great strides toward racial equality--there's a popular African-American in the White House, after all--yet in certain segments of American society, disparities persist. There is perhaps no greater glaring disparity as the differences in achievement levels between African-Americans and other students in our public schools. School desegregation arguably led to some progress for blacks, but, as Sarah Garland tells the story in Divided We Fail: The Story of an African-American Community that Ended the Era of School Desegregation, many African-Americans recognize that desegregation is not a panacea leading to equality but may make things worse for black students.

Garland focuses on the story of public school desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky. Like many communities, in Louisville, students were bused all over the district to satisfy mandated quotas of black and white students. Many blamed the decline of black neighborhoods on this dispersion of students from neighborhood schools. Without the anchor of a common school, neighbors felt less attachment and pride in the neighborhood. In fact, some of the traditionally majority black schools had seen great improvements, winning battles for better facilities and materials. But when busing began, the student base dispersed, and the black community lost some of its unification.

Many black students lost the opportunity to attend schools in their neighborhoods. They also lost the opportunity to attend school with black peers, and to be taught by black teachers. In fact, many black teachers and administrators lost their positions. White parents weren't happy about their children attending class with black kids, but to be taught by black teachers, well, that was unthinkable. The end result "felt like an effort to assimilate black people and erase their identity and culture, and, at the same time, seemed like a not-so-subtle way of reasserting white dominance over blacks."

Another part of the irony was that black students were being excluded from special programs based on their race! This is what triggered the case about which Garland spends the most time in her book. In order to revitalize the traditionally black high school, several magnet programs and special emphasis programs were created. But white students generally didn't want to attend that school. As the white population declined, few quota slots for black students were available. When black students were then denied entry, parents started the lawsuit that, thankfully, led to the end of mandated desegregation in Louisville. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote, "The was to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."

The most troubling, overarching theme of Divided We Fail is the sick consequences of excessive government intervention. One sure way to destroy something is to add more and more government policies. The school system, black neighborhoods, African-American cultural identity, and black-white race relations were all harmed by the misguided hand of government intrusion in Louisville. I like to think that there were good intentions behind many of these policies, but the cynic in me tends to think that white, racist leaders were perfectly happy and had full knowledge of what they were doing. This case, and the whole Louisville busing experience, demonstrates yet another example of the many and varied ways that government harms society, especially the poorest and most marginal.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars crucial context to the contemporary education debate March 2, 2013

By Elizabeth

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Contemporary education reform is often positioned as the next phase of the civil rights movement. Reformers say they are working to fulfill the unmet promise of Brown v. Board of Education. But before charter schools and accountability, civil rights activists had another answer to the problem of educational inequity: school desegregation. Why did desegregation fail to lead to equal opportunity? Sarah Garland's book answers this question -- and, in doing so, previews challenges facing current attempts to transform educational opportunity.