Born Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption (SUNY Series, Praxis: Theory in Action)

Demonstrates how critical race theory can be useful in real-world situations. Rooted in the initial struggle of community members who staged a successful hunger strike to secure a high school in their Chicago neighborhood, David Omotoso Stovall’s Born Out of Struggle focuses on his first-hand participation in the process to help design the school. Offering important lessons about how to remain accountable to communities while designing a curriculum with a social justice agenda, Stovall explores the use of critical race theory to encourage its practitioners to spend less time with abstract theories and engage more with communities that make a concerted effort to change their conditions. Stovall provides concrete examples of how to navigate the constraints of working with centralized bureaucracies in education and apply them to real-world situations. Contents 8 Foreword: Patricia Maria Buenrostro and Carolina Gaete 10 Struggle from the Outside-In: Joining Movements for Change 10 Struggle from the Inside-Out: Sustaining Movements 13 Acknowledgments 18 Introduction: Responsibility to the Word: Into the Work of Putting Our Theories to Practice 20 Yo . . . Meet me on the corner of Thirty-First and Kostner . . . there’s gonna be an event there . . . 20 Into the Heart of the Matter 22 The Need for Counterstory 23 Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Praxis: Putting Theory to Work 23 Toward a Politics of Interruption 31 A Note on Social Justice: Against the Rhetoric of Popular “Activist-Speak” 32 In and Out of the Contradictions— Some Notes on Where I Enter 33 Method and Mistakes: Struggle and Accountability in Community Contexts 37 Scope and Limitations 38 Overview of Chapters 40 Chapter 1 Hunger Strike: History, Community Struggle, and Political Gamesmanship 42 Interest Convergence in the City: Chicago as Metaphor for Neoliberal Urban Education “Reform” 45 Greater Lawndale in Context: La Villita (South Lawndale) and North Lawndale 48 La Villita: Transition, Struggle, and Community Stability 52 North Lawndale: Containment, Destabilization, and the Will to Fight 54 Resisting the Machine: Community Organizing and Electoral Politics in North Lawndale and La Villita 60 Hunger Strike as Political and Ideological Opposition to “Business as Usual” 63 Chapter 2 To Create a School: Uneasy Partnerships with the Central Office 70 From Promise to Vision 71 Kitchen Table Meeting 72 Layers of Community Engagement from La Villita and North Lawndale 74 First Interaction with the Large Group 77 From “Board in Formation” to the TAC 79 CPS Interpretations of Desegregation and a Consent Decree 82 The Idea of Including Youth 88 The Story of the Five Worlds 90 A Question of Governance 93 Chapter 3 Counterstory as Praxis: Confronting Success and Failure on the Design Team 94 Preparing a Proposal 94 To Create a Design Team 97 The Weak Kitty in the Litter 99 Putting Research to Work: My SOJO Fact-Finding Mission 99 Final Touches 101 Speaking “With” or Speaking “For?” 103 Chapter 4 Paper Proposals Do Not Equal Real Life: Race Praxis and High School Creation 110 Final TAC Approval 110 Recruiting a Lead Teacher 112 Developing/Hiring Staff 113 To the “Nut!”: Professional Development and Team Building 114 Truth and Transparency 114 Struggle and Sacrifice 114 Ownership and Agency 115 Collective and Community Power 115 Authentic College Connections 116 Schedule 117 School Culture 118 Early Student Engagement 120 Chapter 5 Educational Debt Relief: Classroom Struggles, Critical Race Praxis, and the Politics of School 124 Trying to Make it Work: Putting Theory to the Test 126 The Course: Education, Youth, and Justice 128 A Good Teacher Is a Good Thief: Pushing for Relevant Curriculum 129 Pairing the 3 Cs with IRPIE 131 Hip-Hop, Urban Renewal, and Gentrification 132 A Twenty-Eight-Person Article 136 The Racial Contract 137 Bringing It All Back Home 139 The Unit 139 Reflexivity and CRP: Unpacking the Disconnects and Contradictions for Liberation 140 Chapter 6 Struggle, Failure, and Reflection in the First Cycle (2003–2009): Practical Lessons in Creating a School 144 Process, Implementation, and Navigational Capital 146 Researcher Accountability to Community-Driven Efforts 147 Justice in Contested Space 149 Theory to Action While Falling 152 Trudging Forward 154 What of the “Real Life” Conditions Faced by Communities in Troubling Times? 156 Chapter 7 Always on the Run: School Struggle in Perpetuity 158 Disinvestment: If There’s a Hell Below— Budget Shortfalls and Purposeful Neglect 160 Disenfranchisement: Collective Responses to Burnout, Departure, and Flux 162 Destabilization: School Upheaval, Resistance, and a City in Flux 168 In Reflection: Collateral Damage and Recovery 183 Epilogue 186 Glossary of Acronyms 192 Bibliography 194 Index 200 "Rooted in the initial struggle of community members who staged a successful hunger strike to secure a high school in their Chicago neighborhood, David Omotoso Stovall's Born Out of Struggle focuses on his first-hand participation in the process to help design the school. Offering important lessons about how to remain accountable to communities while designing a curriculum with a social justice agenda, Stovall explores the use of critical race theory to encourage its practitioners to spend less time with abstract theories and engage more with communities that make a concerted effort to change their conditions. Stovall provides concrete examples of how to navigate the constraints of working with centralized bureaucracies in education and apply them to real-world situations."--Back cover Machine Generated Contents Note: Ch. 1 Hunger Strike: History, Community Struggle, And Political Gamesmanship -- Ch. 2 To Create A School: Uneasy Partnerships With The Central Office -- Ch. 3 Counterstory As Praxis: Confronting Success And Failure On The Design Team -- Ch. 4 Paper Proposals Do Not Equal Real Life: Race Praxis And High School Creation -- Ch. 5 Educational Debt Relief: Classroom Struggles, Critical Race Praxis, And The Politics Of School -- Ch. 6 Struggle, Failure, And Reflection In The First Cycle (2003 -- 2009): Practical Lessons In Creating A School -- Ch. 7 Always On The Run: School Struggle In Perpetuity. David Omotoso Stovall. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.