Learning in Public

From the time Courtney E. Martin strapped her daughter Maya to her chest for long walks she was curious about Emerson Elementary a public school down the street from her Oakland home. She learned that White families in their gentrifying neighborhood largely avoided the majority-Black poorly-rated school. As she began asking why a journey of a thousand moral miles began.

Learning in Public is the story not just Courtney's journey but a whole country's. Many of us are newly awakened to the continuing racial injustice all around us but unsure of how to go beyond hashtags and yard signs to be a part of transforming the country. Courtney discovers that her public school the foundation of our fragile democracy is a powerful place to dig deeper.

Courtney E. Martin examines her own fears assumptions and conversations with other moms and dads as they navigate school choice. A vivid portrait of integration's virtues and complexities and yes the palpable joy of trying to live differently in a country re-making itself. Learning in Public might also set your family's life on a different course forever.