Children of the Dream - by Rucker C Johnson & Alexander Nazaryan (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared the racial segregation of American schools unconstitutional, is universally understood as a landmark moment in our nation's history. Yet looking back from the present day, we judge the integrationist dream post-Brown as an utter failure, in the belief that it harmed students and deepened racial divisions in our society. Though integration efforts continued into the 1980s, reaching a highpoint in 1988, since then we've reverted to a situation in which segregation-no longer de jure, but de facto-prevails. In Children of the Dream, economist Rucker Johnson and Newsweek staff writer Alexander Nazaryan unearth the astonishing true story of integration in America. Drawing on immense longitudinal studies tracking the fates of thousands of individuals over the course of many decades, Johnson and Nazaryan reveal that integration not only worked, but worked spectacularly well. Children who attended integrated schools were far more successful in life than those who didn't-and this held true for children of all races and backgrounds. Indeed, Johnson and Nazaryan's research shows that well-funded, integrated schools were nothing less than the primary engine of social mobility in America across the 1970s and 1980s. Yet the experiment was all-too-brief, owing to a racial backlash and the unwillingness of even self-professed liberals to send their kids to integrated schools. As Johnson and Nazaryan argue, by allowing educational segregation and inequality to fester, we are doing damage to society as a whole. Explaining why integration worked, why it came up short, and how it can be revived, Children of the Dream offers a prescription for ending inequality and reviving the American Dream in our time"--

Book Synopsis

An acclaimed economist reveals that school integration efforts in the 1970s and 1980s were overwhelmingly successful -- and argues that we must renew our commitment to integration for the sake of all Americans
We are frequently told that school integration was a social experiment doomed from the start. But as Rucker C. Johnson demonstrates in Children of the Dream, it was, in fact, a spectacular achievement. Drawing on longitudinal studies going back to the 1960s, he shows that students who attended integrated and well-funded schools were more successful in life than those who did not -- and this held true for children of all races.
Yet as a society we have given up on integration. Since the high point of integration in 1988, we have regressed and segregation again prevails. Contending that integrated, well-funded schools are the primary engine of social mobility, Children of the Dream offers a radical new take on social policy. It is essential reading in our divided times.

Review Quotes

"If you long for compelling arguments to reinforce a commitment to equal opportunity, Children of the Dream is a must-read. This well-written book integrates analyses of original quantitative data sets with engaging discussions of eye-opening qualitative evidence to reveal in sharp relief why the combination of integrated education, quality preschools, and equitable school funding works for disadvantaged students. Rucker C. Johnson has written an important volume that is bound to not only engage academics and policymakers, but general readers as well."--William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University

"In a highly diverse society and world like ours, integration matters. Most of us learn to live integrated lives through integrated schools. Rucker C. Johnson's ground-breaking research should raise alarms for policy makers, educators, parents, and any other citizen concerned about America's future in the face of classrooms that look today as segregated as they were when that practice was declared unlawful in 1954."--Deval Patrick, Managing Director, Bain Capital Double Impact, former Governor of Massachusetts

"There is no more urgent issue in America today than closing the gaps between Americans of different races and ensuring that everyone has a decent life and living. Education is central to that aspiration. This book is a bracing and informative summary of the history of segregation, desegregation, and resegregation. It demonstrates that integration works and that it is a goal towards which our entire society should work."--Diane Ravitch, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System

"This book is fuel for hope. No other work addressing race so powerfully combines first-class social science with historical, social, and policy analysis. Passion shapes the narrative without compromising the science. Indeed, here is a model for how to advocate equity by being advocates for evidence rather than ideology. Children of the Dream joins Richard Rothstein's recent work as essential reading for anyone committed to understanding our racial divisions and then addressing them with public policies and moral courage."--Christopher Edley, professor and former dean, U.C. Berkeley Law School, and co-founder, The Opportunity Institute

About the Author

Rucker C. Johnson is the Chancellor's Professor in the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He lives in Oakland, California