by Bettina Love
First published 2019
Educator Bettina Love examines how America's schools perpetuate harm against children of color rather than serving them. She documents her experiences teaching and conducting research in urban educational settings. Love contends that the current system generates profit from the suffering of minority students. She identifies what she terms the educational survival complex, where reformers provide band-aid solutions like test prep strategies, motivational slogans, resilience training, and moral instruction instead of addressing root problems. Love advocates for complete transformation rather than incremental fixes. She calls on teachers, families, and community organizers to adopt the mindset of historical abolitionists when approaching educational change. The book presents concrete alternatives to conventional reform efforts and broadens concepts of community action and justice across multiple social issues.
Genres: african-american, social-issues, education, non-fiction, social-justice, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: call-to-action, social-commentary
Setting: America, Urban
Period: 21st-Century
Audio CD · Dreamscape Media
Content warnings: racism