Overview

Education Reform and Gentrification in the Age of #CamdenRising: Public Education and Urban Redevelopment in Camden, NJ examines the perceptions and interpretations of Camden—a New Jersey community whose population is predominately minority, historically impoverished, and rapidly employing neoliberal strategies in public education and urban redevelopment. Using the framework of standpoint theory as a lens to alternatively view change and ""progress"" in Camden (dubbed by city officials as #CamdenRising), this book highlights the views of Camden residents who hold little sociopolitical capital yet are profoundly impacted by the city’s efforts in employing neoliberal approaches within urban development and public education. This book will center current and future resident viewpoints on living in a city whose leadership employs neoliberal tactics in redevelopment and in rebranding public education. Participants in this work reported feelings of political alienation pertaining to participation in redevelopment and public education decision-making. Further, participants also believe such recent efforts for change in Camden are intended to benefit a targeted, potentially gentrifying, population and not the majority low-income minorities who currently reside there.

Full Product Details

9781433160714

Table of Contents

Reviews

This book is important to understanding the dynamics of gentrification on long-standing residents in Camden, NJ. From tax breaks for corporations, the suspension of democracy for residents, and the dismantling of public education in the city, Black and Latino residents are being pushed to the margins in lieu of more desirable groups-young, white, affluent residents. Rarely are these issues analyzed from the perspective of people crushed by such policies, but this text offers context, gives voice, and validates the experiences of the most vulnerable residents across the city. At a time when history seems to be repeating itself (e.g., gentrification as urban renewal 2.0), understanding the consequences of institutional racism and discrimination is an important point for consideration. Dr. Keith E. Benson's analysis shifts the focus from individual failures to highlight the long-standing effects of systemic practices and biased political preferences, which has reinforced injustice for so many of Camden's residents. This book is timely, comprehensive, and critical in all the ways that empower us to learn from the past but offers ways to demonstrate how communities survive in spite of intentional attempts to dismantle it. -Brandi Blessett, Associate Professor and Director of the Masters of Public Administration program at the University of Cincinnati In Education Reform and Gentrification in the Age of #CamdenRising, Keith E. Benson tells the story of gentrification from the perspective of people in the communities most directly suffering its impact. For these vulnerable citizens, 'progress' involves the takeover of local public institutions, resulting in a profound sense of civic alienation and disempowerment. We ignore these voices at the risk of imperiling our democracy. -Beth C. Rubin, Professor in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and author of Making Citizens: Transforming Civic Learning for Diverse Social Studies Classrooms Policymakers, philanthropists, and developers pledge 'renaissance' for working class and poorer communities. Their policies and performance often contradict their promise. Keith E. Benson's fascinating book about schools in Camden illustrates this while making readers recognize how community residents experience and challenge the contradiction. -Michael Leo Owens, Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory University and author of God and Government in the Ghetto: The Politics of Church-State Collaboration in Black America

This book is important to understanding the dynamics of gentrification on long-standing residents in Camden, NJ. From tax breaks for corporations, the suspension of democracy for residents, and the dismantling of public education in the city, Black and Latino residents are being pushed to the margins in lieu of more desirable groups-young, white, affluent residents. Rarely are these issues analyzed from the perspective of people crushed by such policies, but this text offers context, gives voice, and validates the experiences of the most vulnerable residents across the city. At a time when history seems to be repeating itself (e.g., gentrification as urban renewal 2.0), understanding the consequences of institutional racism and discrimination is an important point for consideration. Dr. Keith E. Benson's analysis shifts the focus from individual failures to highlight the long-standing effects of systemic practices and biased political preferences, which has reinforced injustice for so many of Camden's residents. This book is timely, comprehensive, and critical in all the ways that empower us to learn from the past but offers ways to demonstrate how communities survive in spite of intentional attempts to dismantle it. -Brandi Blessett, Associate Professor and Director of the Masters of Public Administration program at the University of Cincinnati In Education Reform and Gentrification in the Age of #CamdenRising, Keith E. Benson tells the story of gentrification from the perspective of people in the communities most directly suffering its impact. For these vulnerable citizens, `progress' involves the takeover of local public institutions, resulting in a profound sense of civic alienation and disempowerment. We ignore these voices at the risk of imperiling our democracy. -Beth C. Rubin, Professor in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and author of Making Citizens: Transforming Civic Learning for Diverse Social Studies Classrooms Policymakers, philanthropists, and developers pledge `renaissance' for working class and poorer communities. Their policies and performance often contradict their promise. Keith E. Benson's fascinating book about schools in Camden illustrates this while making readers recognize how community residents experience and challenge the contradiction. -Michael Leo Owens, Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory University and author of God and Government in the Ghetto: The Politics of Church-State Collaboration in Black America

Author Information

Keith E. Benson’s areas of research are urban schooling and critical pedagogies, urban education reform policy, and school choice within contemporary urban redevelopment. Benson is also interested in eliciting and highlighting the voices of forgotten urban community members impacted by both urban redevelopment and the education reforms that accompany it. As an urban education researcher and activist, he is an active member of local activist civic groups Save Camden Public Schools, Communities United, and currently serves as President of the Camden Education Association.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available