Education and Civil Rights

Catalog description

The United States is in the midst of a demographic transformation and by the middle of the 21st century, demographic projections suggest no one racial group will constitute a majority in the U.S. More than half of children under 5 are children of color, and the nation's K-12 public schools are also serving a majority of minoritized children. At the beginning of the 21st century, economic inequality grew, as well. Policies and laws that had been implemented to expand access to educational opportunity during the civil rights movement have been curtailed as a result of legal and political pushback. Yet, communities, educators, advocates and leaders continue to push for new strategies to fully realize protecting the civil rights of all students in the U.S. This course will help students examine the history of efforts to adopt policies and laws to advance civil rights in education as well as resistance to them.