On a Monday night inside the board chambers of the Atlanta Public Schools headquarters, there was a palpable tension. As APS officials trickled in, concerned parents and residents of Thomasville Heights packed the room. They filled every available seat, some standing against the wall. Parents still in work clothes brought their children. Officers from the […]
Education
Posted inEducation, Equity
How a Potential Sports Ban Would Affect Black Trans Youth in Georgia
When Laith Stevenson left her hometown of Ozark, Alabama, to attend college at Emory University, she was looking for an escape. The former high school track athlete wanted to leave the rural Southern town and embrace her queer identity. Stevenson found refuge in track and field. She competed on the boys team, and identified as […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Violence Isn’t New for Black People Trying to Get an Education
Black educators are on edge amid a flurry of political attacks and violent threats on the institutions, curricula, and books at the center of their work. From the bomb threats on Black college campuses to the legislative bans on teaching “critical race theory,” the assaults on Black learning are raising uncomfortable ghosts of historical efforts […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
For Black College Students, AUC Was Their Safe Space. Now That’s Threatened, Too.
When Mikayla Sharrieff got her acceptance letter from Spelman College two years ago, she was extremely emotional. “I just remember feeling so proud to call myself a Spelmanite,” she said. “I even cried because I felt like all of my hard work paid off.” The junior engineering major chose Spelman because she wanted to experience […]