Transforming the Elite - by Michelle a Purdy (Paperback)

About the Book

"When traditionally white public schools in the South became sites of massive resistance in the wake of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, numerous white students exited the public system altogether, with parents choosing homeschooling or private segregationist academies. But some historically white elite private schools opted to desegregate. The black students that attended these schools courageously navigated institutional and interpersonal racism, but ultimately emerged as upwardly mobile leaders. 'Transforming the Elite' tells this story. Focusing on the experiences of the first black students to desegregate Atlanta's well-known Westminster Schools and national efforts to diversify private schools, Michelle A. Purdy combines social history with policy analysis"--

Book Synopsis

When traditionally white public schools in the South became sites of massive resistance in the wake of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, numerous white students exited the public system altogether, with parents choosing homeschooling or private segregationist academies. But some historically white elite private schools opted to desegregate. The black students that attended these schools courageously navigated institutional and interpersonal racism but ultimately emerged as upwardly mobile leaders. Transforming the Elite tells this story. Focusing on the experiences of the first black students to desegregate Atlanta's well-known The Westminster Schools and national efforts to diversify private schools, Michelle A. Purdy combines social history with policy analysis in a dynamic narrative that expertly re-creates this overlooked history.

Through gripping oral histories and rich archival research, this book showcases educational changes for black southerners during the civil rights movement including the political tensions confronted, struggles faced, and school cultures transformed during private school desegregation. This history foreshadows contemporary complexities at the heart of the black community's mixed feelings about charter schools, school choice, and education reform.

Review Quotes

Transforming the Elite will resonate with many readers -- particularly, those interested in the historical intersections of race, education and school culture in America. . . . Purdy's timely book challenges us to acknowledge the ways in which histories of inequality reverberate today."--History of Education

Purdy's meticulously researched book examines racial desegregation in historically white elite schools in the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on board meeting minutes, national reports, bulletins, school newspapers, and oral histories, she interrogates how and why school leaders decided to admit black students even though the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision only applied to public schools. . . . Transforming the Elite enriches scholarship on desegregation and the educational experiences of black children in the United States."--Historical Studies in Education

Purdy's work demonstrates how our current attention to diversity and inclusion in private schools is rooted in the history of desegregation. By offering some insights about the ways in which various parties navigated these decisions . . . Purdy helps us to understand how much work remains to be done in creating educational spaces that are truly diverse, inclusive, and equitable."--Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

About the Author

Michelle A. Purdy is assistant professor of education and affiliate faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Program in Urban Studies and the Center on Urban Research and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis. She is co-editor of Using Past as Prologue: Contemporary Perspectives on African American Educational History.