For a period of eighty-five years, the M Street / Dunbar High School was an academically elite, all-black public high school in Washington DC. As far back as 1899, its students came in first in citywide tests given in both black and white schools. Over this eighty-five-year span, approximately 80 percent of M Street / Dunbar’s graduates went on to college even though most Americans, white or black, did not attend college at all. Faculty and students were mutually respectful to one another, and disruptions in the classroom were not tolerated. Yet in this era of best practices, this public high school has received virtually no attention in the literature or in policy considerations for inner-city education. The Dunbar High School today, with its new building and athletic facilities, is just another ghetto school with abysmal standards and low test score results despite the District of Columbia’s record of having some of the country’s highest levels of money spent per pupil. The purpose of this study is to explore the history of a high school that was successful in teaching black children from low-income families and to determine if the learning model employed there could be successful in a modern inner-city public education environment.

For a period of 85 years, the M Street/Dunbar High School was an academically elite, all-black public high school in Washington, D.C. As far back as 1899, its students came in first in citywide tests given in both black and white schools. Over this 85-year span, approximately 80 percent of M Street/Dunbar's graduates went on to college, even though most Americans, white or black, did not attend college at all. Faculty and students were mutually respectful to one another, and disruptions in the classroom were not tolerated. Yet, in this era of best practices, this public high school, whose founders experienced slavery and segregation firsthand, has received virtually no attention in the literature or in policy considerations for inner-city education. The purpose of this study is to explore the history of a high school that was successful in teaching black children from families at all income levels to excel and to determine if the learning model employed in the past could be successful in a modern inner-city public education environment.

Powerfully synthesizing major currents in the field, this book addresses the issue of inequality across American politics and society, using race as a lens for the exploration of major themes in American history. It considers the concept of race as a social construction, against the background of the historical struggles for “fairness” in a society based on the framework of democracy, whose principle is that majority’s consent be necessary for the fulfillment of “justice.” Foregrounding problems of race, capital, and political economy, it particularly examines the connections between race and class, the relationship of slavery and national politics, and the distinctive intellectual framework that Americans have developed to discuss “race.” Offering a detailed account of civil rights legislation, an overview of immigration law and policy, and comprehensive overviews of debates about affirmative action, immigration, and the causes and solutions to racialized urban poverty, this book emphasizes what is distinctive about the United States and offers a unique comparative framework for thinking about America’s racial past.

A brutal, bloody, and at times hopeful history of the vote; a primer on the opponents fighting to take it away; and a playbook for how we can save our democracy before it’s too late—from the former U.S. Attorney General on the front lines of this fight Voting is our most important right as Americans—“the right that protects all the others,” as Lyndon Johnson famously said when he signed the Voting Rights Act—but it’s also the one most violently contested throughout U.S. history. Since the gutting of the act in the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case in 2013, many states have passed laws restricting the vote. After the 2020 election, President Trump’s effort to overturn the vote has evolved into a slow-motion coup, with many Republicans launching an all-out assault on our democracy. The vote seems to be in unprecedented peril. But the peril is not at all unprecedented. America is a fragile democracy, Eric Holder argues, whose citizens have only had unfettered access to the ballot since the 1960s. He takes readers through three dramatic stories of how the vote was won: first by white men, through violence and insurrection; then by white women, through protests and mass imprisonments; and finally by African Americans, in the face of lynchings and terrorism. Next, he dives into how the vote has been stripped away since Shelby—a case in which Holder was one of the parties. He ends with visionary chapters on how we can reverse this tide of voter suppression and become a true democracy where every voice is heard and every vote is counted. Full of surprising history, intensive analysis, and actionable plans for the future, this is a powerful primer on our most urgent political struggle from one of the country's leading advocates.

Fifteen years after its hardcover debut, the FSG Classics reissue of the celebrated work of narrative nonfiction that won the National Book Award and changed the American conversation about race, with a new preface by the author The Ball family hails from South Carolina—Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, Slaves in the Family is, in the words of Pat Conroy, "a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the complexity and strangeness and beauty of the word ‘family.'"

Without clear direction, without understanding of one's past, without heroes (including women) and positive role models, without family, without connections to neighbors and a viable community, without social tranquility or firm rootedness, without at least one parent who can be at home to parent, without community control, power, and influence, without a reference group with whom to identify, without stability of one's personal world, without clearly designated leaders, without hope and a clear vision of life's expectancies and survival prospects, without a spiritual and moral centeredness, there is chaos. Where there is chaos and lack of vision, the people perish. Without economic opportunity and outlets to release despair and anger, without a feeling of safety and security, without an unlimited future, without controls on the use of drugs, violence (including gun violence), and sexual promiscuity, without responsibility and consequences for inappropriate behavior, without responsibility as well as rights, without commonly agreed upon expectations for structure and discipline, without religious, family, and personal values to help connect people, without concern for the collective as well as the individual, without nurture, without a circle of support from a responsible, caring parent, coach, teacher, grandparent, minister, neighbor, or community member, without someone who will take the time to reach out to make one feel special and valued, the children suffer and the people are dysfunctional. Where there is dysfunction, the people are a threat to themselves and the institution of family and society. How do you promote ways to shape success out of circumstances, so as, to empower future generations to come? The expression of music, especially in African American spiritual and gospel tradition provides insight into how trials, threats, and traditions have sustained us over the generations. Whether we are talking about our personal storms, or our family, societal, or global threats, the first stanza of an old gospel hymn, written fifty years ago by Ruth Caye Jones, entitled, "In Times Like These" rings true, inspires, and calls out to each generation still today: "In times like these, we need a Savior, We need an anchor; In times like these We need a friend; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips a Solid Rock."

Inspired by love of country, her Italian heritage, and this nation’s ongoing quest to raise its children to aspire and achieve their greatest dreams, Jeanne Allen wrote An Unfinished Journey, which uniquely challenges us to think big about the education of our youth. The author—a well-known pioneer and veteran of education policy, politics, and culture—provides a compendium of powerful yet brief essays that will have parents, policy makers, and the general public both laughing and crying at the way the nation’s education institutions have developed or mishandled all that it takes to help children achieve their greatest potential. From musings on Columbus Day to how kids behave in school and from the role of parents to politicians, this book is a uniquely informative and instructive firsthand account of the people, policies, and players that have shaped American education and why it matters. Combining a fascinating personal story with political acumen from more than thirty years in the arena, Allen paves the road to finishing the journey to the American dream.