Racist norms until interests converge: a long tradition of egregious educational policy patterns and global implications

ABSTRACT

This article contextualises the crisis in Black education and the death of a 100-year-old Black educational system resulting from an unintended consequence of Brown: the excavation of thousands of highly educated and skilled Black educators. This theoretical article advances the literature on Brown using two critical race theory (CRT) tenets, the permanence of racism and interest convergence, to discursively trace the regression of Black education. This article illustrates the myriad ways interest convergence and the permanence of racism contribute to crises in Black educational systems and the death of a 100-year-old Black educational system. A limitation of CRT in education is the homogenous treatment of Black people despite their variations and conditions. Additionally, analysing connections between Brown, ESEA, and NCLB needs further examination. Finally, I advance that Black resistance to the permanence of racism in the US had global interest convergence implications and aligned with decolonial and independence movements.

KEYWORDS:

• Brown v. Board of Education
• takeovers
• CRT
• the permanence of racism
• interest convergence
• educational policy
• Black education

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James Wright

James Wright, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. As of Fall 2023, James is part of the School of Education at the University of California at Berkeley’s 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA). His research critically analyses how race and culture shape educational policy and practice. Specifically, he examines how historically racialised inequities have informed contemporary educational practices and become school norms.