Artwork and poems by such writers as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Askia Toure portray the creativity, strength, and beauty of their African American heritage.

All schools have an ethical and legal responsibility to prevent bullying around racism, culture and religion, and to deal robustly and sensitively with incidents that do occur. But there are complex practical and theorectical questions. This book handles such questions by describing a range of recent projects and initiatives at national, local and institutional levels and quotes extensively from the voices, experiences and stories of young people.

This volume examines the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to a number of interrelated concepts and activities that most often include the criminalization of students, the police-like state found in many schools throughout the country, and the introduction of youth into the criminal justice system at an early age. The school-to-prison pipeline negatively and disproportionally affects communities of color throughout the United States, particularly in urban areas.

Trainor illustrates the manner in which racist ideas are subtly upheld through social and literacy education in the classroom—and are thus embedded in the infrastructures of schools themselves. It is the emotional and rhetorical framework of the classroom that lends racism its compelling power in the minds of students, even as teachers endeavor to address the issue of cultural discrimination. This effort is continually hindered by an incomplete understanding of the function of emotions in relation to antiracist persuasion and cannot be remedied until the root of the problem is addressed. Rethinking Racism calls for a fresh approach to understanding racism and its causes, offering crucial insight into the formative role of schooling in the perpetuation of discriminatory beliefs.

Though issues of race in the public education system may take an overt or covert form; racial injustice in public schools is still pervasive, complex and cumulative. The authors in this book explore various ways that racism are manifest in the American school system. Through a plurality of perspectives, they deconstruct, challenge and reconstruct an educational leadership committed to equity and excellence for marginalized students and educators.