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A review by mindfullibrarian
Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School by Courtney E. Martin
5.0
(free review copy) Damn, this is complicated. Usually with books that have a major impact on me, I'm able to run around yelling, "YOU need to read this book, and YOU, and YOU, and YOU!". But I don't think that's appropriate here, because this book hit me so hard because of who I am, what I've lived, and what I haven't. It won't be THE book for everyone.
For context: I'm a 40-year-old White mother and school librarian living in rural Wisconsin, working in a small city school district. I grew up in even more rural Wisconsin and went to college in the same small city where I work. I consider myself liberal and progressive and passionate about social justice issues. But the school I work in is 98% White and the schools my kids attend are too, mostly because of the demographics of the communities the schools are in. Where I live, most towns are small and have exactly one school to choose from. You can open enroll to other towns and districts or to parochial schools, but the racial make-up doesn't change a ton. My parents were public school educators (my mom attended college while I was in elementary school), and I work in public schools now and my husband is a Teamster driver. We get by okay but are in no way as wealthy as the community of White parents portrayed in this book. We have so much privilege, but not the money.
All that context to help you understand why the book was such an eye-opener for me. Sure, I've read academic works on school segregation and integration, and know on a conceptual / professional level the disparities in schools. However, the motherhood lens that this book was written through was what gave it such power for me. As someone who considers myself on an anti-racist journey, I squirmed HARD at a lot of what Martin shared about her own family's decision in this book. Her skewering of White progressives was aimed at both herself and me, and it's always harder (less easy to dismiss) to hear a critical message from one of your own. There are so many worthy and academic voices to listen to on this topic, but just like your mom telling you she's disappointed in you, the sting of disapproval hurts most from those closest to you.
Readers who have lived in Oakland, Black readers, readers who live in other communities like Oakland, anyone who has a different background than I do ........... you might know all this already. You may live it everyday and roll your eyes and get pissed at the rich White lady coming in and writing about your lived experience. Readers who care zero about integrating schools and who are just fine with things the way they are now, you probably won't read this book. There are many, many scholarly works out there about this topic, but the tone of this and the narrative style are why I finished it in a day. Do we have a White Savior on our hands, you may ask? Well, that's what Martin is asking herself and wrestling with the entire time. Personally, I think she does an okay job of laying her White guilt over the entire story and ensuring that readers understand she's sharing her own journey of trying to do better, but not always knowing exactly how. That listening to and letting Black parents lead is the best way to help majority-Black schools.
Another thing to note is that like the rest of the damn world, COVID brought the arc of this story to a screeching halt and completely changed where it was going. The last section of the book (about 60 pages out of a total 365) was a bit of a disappointment to me because of course, EVERYTHING CHANGED as soon as COVID hit and of course Martin's experience in the neighborhood and with her reporting had to change. I don't know if anything could have been done with that, and I guess it's just a sign of the times. Also, I struggled to relate to the wealth Martin writes about because it's just not the world I live in, and have honestly never really even been exposed to. However, this book overall left me thinking hard on this topic and discussing it with friends. If it gets me digging deeper and reading harder and investigating more, then the author did her job exceptionally well.
Highly recommended for White progressives who are open to a hard reality check.
For context: I'm a 40-year-old White mother and school librarian living in rural Wisconsin, working in a small city school district. I grew up in even more rural Wisconsin and went to college in the same small city where I work. I consider myself liberal and progressive and passionate about social justice issues. But the school I work in is 98% White and the schools my kids attend are too, mostly because of the demographics of the communities the schools are in. Where I live, most towns are small and have exactly one school to choose from. You can open enroll to other towns and districts or to parochial schools, but the racial make-up doesn't change a ton. My parents were public school educators (my mom attended college while I was in elementary school), and I work in public schools now and my husband is a Teamster driver. We get by okay but are in no way as wealthy as the community of White parents portrayed in this book. We have so much privilege, but not the money.
All that context to help you understand why the book was such an eye-opener for me. Sure, I've read academic works on school segregation and integration, and know on a conceptual / professional level the disparities in schools. However, the motherhood lens that this book was written through was what gave it such power for me. As someone who considers myself on an anti-racist journey, I squirmed HARD at a lot of what Martin shared about her own family's decision in this book. Her skewering of White progressives was aimed at both herself and me, and it's always harder (less easy to dismiss) to hear a critical message from one of your own. There are so many worthy and academic voices to listen to on this topic, but just like your mom telling you she's disappointed in you, the sting of disapproval hurts most from those closest to you.
Readers who have lived in Oakland, Black readers, readers who live in other communities like Oakland, anyone who has a different background than I do ........... you might know all this already. You may live it everyday and roll your eyes and get pissed at the rich White lady coming in and writing about your lived experience. Readers who care zero about integrating schools and who are just fine with things the way they are now, you probably won't read this book. There are many, many scholarly works out there about this topic, but the tone of this and the narrative style are why I finished it in a day. Do we have a White Savior on our hands, you may ask? Well, that's what Martin is asking herself and wrestling with the entire time. Personally, I think she does an okay job of laying her White guilt over the entire story and ensuring that readers understand she's sharing her own journey of trying to do better, but not always knowing exactly how. That listening to and letting Black parents lead is the best way to help majority-Black schools.
Another thing to note is that like the rest of the damn world, COVID brought the arc of this story to a screeching halt and completely changed where it was going. The last section of the book (about 60 pages out of a total 365) was a bit of a disappointment to me because of course, EVERYTHING CHANGED as soon as COVID hit and of course Martin's experience in the neighborhood and with her reporting had to change. I don't know if anything could have been done with that, and I guess it's just a sign of the times. Also, I struggled to relate to the wealth Martin writes about because it's just not the world I live in, and have honestly never really even been exposed to. However, this book overall left me thinking hard on this topic and discussing it with friends. If it gets me digging deeper and reading harder and investigating more, then the author did her job exceptionally well.
Highly recommended for White progressives who are open to a hard reality check.