Education & Youth

Do you believe that children are our future?  So does Race Forward.  Unfortunately, our education system is a disservice to people of color, denying them adequate knowledge and skills for a 21st century job market. 

The following resources illustrate the importance of closing the gap on racial disparities in education and provides important information for exposing the inequities that afflict U.S. public schools.

Youth Rising

October 15, 2003

By Mattie Weiss. Excerpted from the Introduction: In Chicago, African American youth actively support the rights of undocumented students, while Latino students join Black youth in their fight against racial profiling.

Education Inequity In Mississippi

August 7, 2003
Cover for report

The purpose of this report and study is to better understand the potential impact of the Mississippi Adequate Education Plan (MAEP), which has recently received full funding from the Mississippi State Legislature. It is also intended to help identify inadequacies in the education reform system and implications for further education reform efforts. The MAEP is the latest effort to improve education in Mississippi, which has only recently centered on desegregation, adequacy and equity. Yet, these efforts and their impact can only be fully understood in the context of race and class cleavages, which have hampered the development of an effective and impartial education system benefiting all Mississippians. Reform efforts have not eradicated education disparities based on race and class because they have not addressed sufficiently the structural relationship between racism and classism.

Facing the Consequences

March 15, 2001
An Examination of Racial Discrimination in U.S. Public Schools. Executive Summary.

Vouchers: A Trap, Not A Choice

October 15, 2000

California School Vouchers Will Increase Racial Inequality. by Tammy Johnson, Libero Della Piana and Phyllida Burlingamea. October, 2000. Executive Summary.

Creating Crisis

August 15, 1999

How California Teaching Policies Aggravate Racial Inequality in Public Schools. © Applied Research Center, August 1999. Principal Researchers: Terry Keleher, Libero Della Piana & Manijeh Fat. Executive Summary.

No Exit?

February 15, 1999

Testing, Tracking, and Students of Color in U.S Public Schools. © Applied Research Center, February 1999. Principal Researchers: Rebecca Gordon & Libero Della Piana. Additional research by: Phyllida Burlingame, Akilah Monifa & Oliver Wan. 

Sex, Lies & Politics

June 20, 1997

Abstinence-Only Curricula in California Public Schools by Phyllida Burlingame, 1997.