Overview

The Big Lie About Race in America’s Schools delivers a collective response to the challenge of racially-charged misinformation, disinformation, and censorship that increasingly permeates and weakens not only US education but also our democracy. In this thought-provoking volume, Royel Johnson and Shaun Harper bring together leading education scholars and educators to confront the weaponized distortions that are currently undermining both public education and racial justice. The experts gathered in this work offer strategies to counter these dangerous trends and uphold truth in education. In focused, practical chapters, the contributors examine efforts both broad and specific, from restrictive education legislation, to book bans, to twisting terminology like Critical Race Theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), that are obscuring truth in public education. They demonstrate how this narrowing of allowable ideas does a disservice to all students and especially to those who are underrepresented in curricula, including students of color and LGBTQ+ students.   Ultimately, the book offers clear, actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and advocates who seek solutions that will counter recent trends and transform educational contexts within both K–12 and higher education. Among other actions, this volume advocates strengthening educational alliances through shared leadership, organized collaboration, and parental involvement. It also presents innovative countermeasures to help defend public education.

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9781682539132

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Reviews

"""For all the brave educators committed to teaching and leading for social justice, The Big Lie About Race in America's Schools offers much-needed validation, encouragement, resources, and strategies to resist the efforts to silence them. It belongs in the hands of all those educators, parents, and policymakers concerned about the fate of American education and our democracy.""--Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita, Spelman College, and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race ""Legislative bans on teaching, learning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are predicated on distortions about how race and racism have shaped public and private institutions. To counter these fallacies, Johnson and Harper have assembled an excellent collection of essays that help make sense of why these attacks on the freedom to learn or ensure multiracial inclusion and equity are occurring, and perhaps more importantly, what we can do about it. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in fostering democratic, open, and equitable K-12 and higher education that prepares students to repair our fractured multiracial democracy.""--Janelle Scott, Robert J. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Distinguished Chair in Educational Disparities, University of California, Berkeley"

""For all the brave educators committed to teaching and leading for social justice, The Big Lie About Race in America's Schools offers much-needed validation, encouragement, resources, and strategies to resist the efforts to silence them. It belongs in the hands of all those educators, parents, and policymakers concerned about the fate of American education and our democracy.""--Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita, Spelman College, and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race ""Legislative bans on teaching, learning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are predicated on distortions about how race and racism have shaped public and private institutions. To counter these fallacies, Johnson and Harper have assembled an excellent collection of essays that help make sense of why these attacks on the freedom to learn or ensure multiracial inclusion and equity are occurring, and perhaps more importantly, what we can do about it. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in fostering democratic, open, and equitable K-12 and higher education that prepares students to repair our fractured multiracial democracy.""--Janelle Scott, Robert J. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Distinguished Chair in Educational Disparities, University of California, Berkeley

Author Information

Royel M. Johnson is an associate professor and PhD program chair in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. He also serves as the director of the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus at USC’s Race and Equity Center and is a faculty member in the Pullias Center for Higher Education.  Shaun R. Harper is the Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership, University Professor, and Provost Professor of Education, Business and Public Policy at the University of Southern California. He also is the founder and executive director of USC’s Race and Equity Center.

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