There is perhaps no issue in American education more intractable or more painful than the persistent gaps in educational outcomes between Black and Brown students and their white peers. In our ongoing coverage of education, The Hechinger Report explores how white students are given advantages every step of the way, how racism is woven into the system — from the way schools are funded to the material students are taught — and what’s being done to make change.

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A college where the graduation rate for black students has been zero percent — for years

Alexis Turner listened carefully as the administrators at the freshman orientation for Kent State University at Ashtabula ticked through the student groups she could join on campus that fall: English Society, Psychology Club, Student Veterans Association. She left the auditorium apprehensive. There was no Black Student Union, Latino Student Union or Multicultural Society.


Latest Race and Equity stories and voices

School Segregation: A visual timeline

Images depicting these events may contain themes or terms that do not reflect current acceptable language. The Hechinger Report edited the original captions for clarity and style. 1954: The Supreme Court rules that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools violates the 14th Amendment in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The decision overturns…

7 realities for Black students in America, 70 years after Brown

Linda Brown was a third grader in Topeka, Kansas, when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white public school four blocks from her home. Otherwise, she would have had to walk across railroad tracks to take a bus to attend the nearest all-Black one. When she was denied admission, Oliver Brown…

OPINION: 70 years after Brown vs. Board decision, key takeaways remain buried

Even as we approach the 70th anniversary of Brown vs. Board this May, key parts of its history remain buried. Reporting has begun to engage with some of the lost, and often complex, aspects of Brown’s legacy, such as the mass firing of Black educators following the Brown decision. At least one critical piece, however,…

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