Erika Wilson

Monopolizing Whiteness

Social Science Research Network, 2020

The New School Segregation

Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), 2016

cludes by introducing a normative framework to evaluate the legitimacy of the localism justificat... more

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Towards a Theory of Equitable Federated Regionalism in Public Education: Reversing the Role of School District Boundary Lines in Dismantling Brown V. Board of Education

School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students wh... more School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students who live mere miles apart have access to vastly different and disparate educational opportunities based upon which side of a school district boundary line their home is located. Owing in large part to metropolitan fragmentation, most school districts and the larger localities in which they are situated, are segregated by race and class. Further, because of a strong ideological preference for localism in public education, local government law structures in most states do not require or even encourage collaboration between school districts in order to address disparities between neighboring school districts. As a result, the combination of metropolitan fragmentation and staunch adherence to localism in public education leads to poor and minority students being excluded from access to high quality school districts which are for the most part clustered in more affluent and predominately white localities. This Article contends that given the race and class based exclusionary effects that metropolitan fragmentation and localism have on public education, the time has come to reconsider the wholesale commitment to localism in public. It suggests that in some instances public education should be disseminated on a regional basis rather than a local basis. It examines how regionalism-a theoretical framework which advocates for the enactment of regional government or governance structures-might be enacted in public education. Borrowing from two specific theories of regionalism, equitable regionalism and federated regionalism, it proposes a framework entitled "Equitable Federated Regionalism" for disseminating public education on a regional basis.

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The New White Flight

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, 2019

White charter school enclaves-defined as charter schools located in school districts that are thi... more White charter school enclaves-defined as charter schools located in school districts that are thirty percent or less white, but that enroll a student body that is fifty percent or greater white-are emerging across the country. The emergence of white charter school enclaves is the result of a sobering and ugly truth: when given a choice, white parents as a collective tend to choose racially segregated, predominately white schools. Empirical research supports this claim. Empirical research also demonstrates that white parents as a collective will make that choice even when presented with the option of a more racially diverse school that is of good academic quality. Despite the connection between collective white parental choice and school segregation, greater choice continues to be injected into the school assignment process. School choice assignment policies, particularly charter schools, are proliferating at a substantial rate. As a result, parental choice rather than systemic design is creating new patterns of racial segregation and inequality in public schools. Yet the Supreme Court's school desegregation jurisprudence insulates racial segregation in schools ostensibly caused by parental choice rather than systemic design from regulation. Consequently, the new patterns of racial segregation in public schools caused by collective white parental choice largely escapes regulation by courts. This article argues that the time has come to reconsider the legal and normative viability of regulating racial segregation in public

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Reverse Passing

Throughout American history untold numbers of people have concealed their true racial identities ... more Throughout American history untold numbers of people have concealed their true racial identities and assumed a white racial identity in order to reap the economic, political, and social benefits associated with whiteness. This phenomenon is known as passing. While legal scholars have thoroughly investigated passing in its conventional form, the inverse process of reverse passing-the process in which whites conceal their true racial identity and present themselves as nonwhite-has not been closely investigated within legal scholarship. Rachel Dolezal provides a timely study of the process of reverse passing. Dolezal-an Africana Studies Instructor and head of the Spokane, Washington NAACP-was outed as being white after years of phenotypically and culturally presenting herself as a Black woman. Dolezal's "outing" generated much popular debate and scholarly discourse, most of which tended to frame her actions as a one-off occurrence by a deviant actor. This Article argues instead that her actions were evidence of a deeper structure of incentives rooted in the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action jurisprudence. Though reverse passing is often framed as deviant or irrational, this Article demonstrates how the Supreme Court's affirmative action jurisprudence creates tangible and intangible incentives for white actors to identify as nonwhite. It suggests that the Court's entrenchment of the diversity rationale as the primary compelling state interest that can be used to justify race-conscious affirmative action programs generated situational value in nonwhiteness. That situational value in nonwhiteness now creates incentives that previously did not exist for whites to reverse-pass in order to obtain access to opportunities in education, employment and beyond. This Article is the first to coin, analyze, and propose a theory of reverse passing. It also deepens the rich and rising scholarship examining performance theory and the pliability of racial identity. Finally, given the reconsideration of the diversity rationale by the Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, this Article also provides an opportunity to critically examine the merits and shortcomings of the diversity rationale.

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Leveling Localism and Racial Inequality in Education through the No Child Left behind Act Public Choice Provision

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportuni... more School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities. Living on one side of a school district boundary rather than another can mean the difference between being able to attend a high-achieving resource-enriched school or having to attend a low-achieving resource-deprived school. Despite the prominent role that school district boundary lines play in dictating educational opportunities for students, remedies formulated by the federal judiciary-the institution frequently looked upon to address issues of school segregation and inequality-are ineffective in ameliorating disparities between school districts. They are ineffective because the federal judiciary evidences a doctrinal preference for localism in its school equity jurisprudence. This doctrinal preference for localism has led the federal judiciary to, among other things, find inter-district school desegregation plans unconstitutional while upholding the constitutionality of school ...

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The Great American Dilemma: Law and the Intrasigence of Racism

City University of New York Law Review, 2017

At the start of the twentieth century, W.E.B. Du Bois noted that, “the problem of the Twentieth C... more At the start of the twentieth century, W.E.B. Du Bois noted that, “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.”1 Over a century later, Du Bois’s words remain prescient. In the twenty-first century, the problem of the color line persists. This should come as no surprise. The subordination and marginalization of people of color is embedded into the very fabric of America’s political and social arrangements.2 Indeed, even American citizenship3 is color-coded, inextricably tied to whiteness. This was the case initially as a matter of law.4 It is now the case as a

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The Legal Foundations of White Supremacy

DePaul Journal for Social Justice, 2018

Recent events have upended this "post-racial" narrative. In the wake of the racially charged elec... more Recent events have upended this "post-racial" narrative. In the wake of the racially charged election of Donald J. Trump and the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, race generally and white supremacy specifically are again taking center stage. 4 For many, the reemergence of the kind of overt manifestations of white supremacy that were unveiled in Charlottesville was particularly jarring. It forced many people to grapple with the reality that white supremacy, a phenomenon that many believed had been relegated to a historical footnote, still exists and is stronger than ever. Yet those such as myself who examine race critically have long been aware that the fissures caused by race generally and white supremacy specifically, never went anywhere, notwithstanding the election of the country's first self-identified African-American president. 5 Race generally and white supremacy specifically are embedded into the framework of most American social institutions. As a result, now more than ever, it is imperative that we critically examine all forms and manifestations of white supremacy. This paper focuses on a very important part of white supremacy -the legal foundations of white supremacy. The central thesis of this paper is that American law has historically played a vital 2

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Gentrification and Urban Public School Reforms: The Interest Divergence Dilemma

West Virginia Law Review, 2015

Cities across the country cities are experiencing rapid increases in gentrification: the influx o... more Cities across the country cities are experiencing rapid increases in gentrification: the influx of middle-class, usually white, residents into cities with large minority populations. Reversing a decades long trend of white flight out of urban city schools, a significant number of white middle-class gentrifiers are now also enrolling their children in urban city public schools. Local officials in many gentrifying cities value the renewed interest of middle-class white in urban public schools because it represents an opportunity to finally racially integrate urban public schools. Further, it also represents an opportunity to keep middle-class gentrifiers,and their tax dollars, from fleeing to the suburbs and suburban school districts once they have school aged children. In order to attract white middle-class gentrifiers, this Article suggests that some local officials in gentrifying cities are implementing certain public school reforms for the specific purpose of making their school s...

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Why Diversity Fails: Social Dominance Theory and the Entrenchment of Racial Inequality

National Black law journal, 2017

use the term diversity here to mean characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability... more

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Toward a Theory of Equitable Federated Regionalism in Public Education

School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students wh... more School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students who live mere miles apart have access to disparate educational opportunities based on which side of a school district boundary line their home is located. Owing in large part to metropolitan fragmentation, most school districts and the larger localities in which they are situated are segregated by race and class. Further, because of a strong ideological preference for localism in public education, local government law structures in most states do not require or even encourage collaboration between school districts in order to address disparities between them. As a result, the combination of metropolitan fragmentation and localism in public education leads to the exclusion of poor and minority students from access to high-quality school districts, which are largely clustered in more affluent and predominately white localities. This Article contends that, given the raceand class-based exclus...

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Blurred Lines: Public School Reforms and the Privatization of Public Education

PSN: Education (Topic), 2016

This Article critically examines the rise of market-based public school reforms. It argues that m... more This Article critically examines the rise of market-based public school reforms. It argues that market-based public school reforms result in quality public education being normatively conceptualized and treated as what political economists call a private good rather than a public good. While public education is admittedly not a pure public good, it is widely recognized as a quasi or impure public good that benefits society as a whole in many ways. Yet market-based public school reforms situate public education as a private good by diminishing public education’s ability to truly bring positive externalities to society as a whole. They do so by situating the positive externalities associated with a quality public education in ways that do not benefit the greater society. Instead, market-based public school reforms allow a shallow subset of people to take advantage of market-like exchanges to select — rather than be assigned to — a particular school that they believe will provide a qua...

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Monopolizing Whiteness

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020

Race, Space and Democracy: Locally-Based Strategies for Development – Panel Discussion from Fourth National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, Hosted at the American University Washington College of Law

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

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Charters and Choice: The New White Flight

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

White charter school enclaves-defined as charter schools located in school districts that are thi... more White charter school enclaves-defined as charter schools located in school districts that are thirty percent or less white, but that enroll a student body that is fifty percent or greater white-are emerging across the country. The emergence of white charter school enclaves is the result of a sobering and ugly truth: when given a choice, white parents as a collective tend to choose racially segregated, predominately white schools. Empirical research supports this claim. Empirical research also demonstrates that white parents as a collective will make that choice even when presented with the option of a more racially diverse school that is of good academic quality. Despite the connection between collective white parental choice and school segregation, greater choice continues to be injected into the school assignment process. School choice assignment policies, particularly charter schools, are proliferating at a substantial rate. As a result, parental choice rather than systemic design is creating new patterns of racial segregation and inequality in public schools. Yet the Supreme Court's school desegregation jurisprudence insulates racial segregation in schools ostensibly caused by parental choice rather than systemic design from regulation. Consequently, the new patterns of racial segregation in public schools caused by collective white parental choice largely escapes regulation by courts. This article argues that the time has come to reconsider the legal and normative viability of regulating racial segregation in public

Download

Towards a Theory of Equitable Federated Regionalism in Public Education

School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students wh... more School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students who live mere miles apart have access to vastly different and disparate educational opportunities based upon which side of a school district boundary line their home is located. Owing in large part to metropolitan fragmentation, most school districts and the larger localities in which they are situated, are segregated by race and class. Further, because of a strong ideological preference for localism in public education, local government law structures in most states do not require or even encourage collaboration between school districts in order to address disparities between neighboring school districts. As a result, the combination of metropolitan fragmentation and staunch adherence to localism in public education leads to poor and minority students being excluded from access to high quality school districts which are for the most part clustered in more affluent and predominately white localities. This Article contends that given the race and class based exclusionary effects that metropolitan fragmentation and localism have on public education, the time has come to reconsider the wholesale commitment to localism in public. It suggests that in some instances public education should be disseminated on a regional basis rather than a local basis. It examines how regionalism-a theoretical framework which advocates for the enactment of regional government or governance structures-might be enacted in public education. Borrowing from two specific theories of regionalism, equitable regionalism and federated regionalism, it proposes a framework entitled "Equitable Federated Regionalism" for disseminating public education on a regional basis.

Download

Leveling Localism and Racial Inequality Through the No Child Left Behind Public Choice Provision

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 2011

School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities... more School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities. Living on one side of a school district boundary rather than another can mean the difference between being able to attend a high-achieving resourceenriched school or having to attend a low-achieving resource-deprived school. Despite the prominent role that school district boundary lines play in dictating educational opportunities for students, remedies formulated by the federal judiciary-the institution frequently looked upon to address issues of school segregation and inequality-are ineffective in ameliorating disparities between school districts. They are ineffective because the federal judiciary evidences a doctrinal preference for localism in its school equity jurisprudence. This doctrinal preference for localism has led the federal judiciary to, among other things, find inter-district school desegregation plans unconstitutional while upholding the constitutionality of school financing schemes with gross disparities in per-pupil spending between school districts. This Article suggests that a new remedial paradigm that embraces regionalism as an antidote to the localism found in the federal judiciary's school equity jurisprudence is necessary to combat segregation and inequality between school districts. One potential remedial solution lies in the No Child Left Behind Act public choice provision, which allows students to transfer from a failing school to a non-failing one. This Article argues that Congress should amend the public choice provision during NCLB's next re-authorization by adopting a statutory framework similar to the framework found in portions of the Fair Housing Act, which embraces regionalism and citizen mobility as a means offacilitating integration and equality.

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Leveling Localism and Racial Inequality Through the No Child Left Behind Public Choice Provision

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 2011

School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities... more School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities. Living on one side of a school district boundary rather than another can mean the difference between being able to attend a high-achieving resourceenriched school or having to attend a low-achieving resource-deprived school. Despite the prominent role that school district boundary lines play in dictating educational opportunities for students, remedies formulated by the federal judiciary-the institution frequently looked upon to address issues of school segregation and inequality-are ineffective in ameliorating disparities between school districts. They are ineffective because the federal judiciary evidences a doctrinal preference for localism in its school equity jurisprudence. This doctrinal preference for localism has led the federal judiciary to, among other things, find inter-district school desegregation plans unconstitutional while upholding the constitutionality of school financing schemes with gross disparities in per-pupil spending between school districts. This Article suggests that a new remedial paradigm that embraces regionalism as an antidote to the localism found in the federal judiciary's school equity jurisprudence is necessary to combat segregation and inequality between school districts. One potential remedial solution lies in the No Child Left Behind Act public choice provision, which allows students to transfer from a failing school to a non-failing one. This Article argues that Congress should amend the public choice provision during NCLB's next re-authorization by adopting a statutory framework similar to the framework found in portions of the Fair Housing Act, which embraces regionalism and citizen mobility as a means offacilitating integration and equality.

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The New School Segregation

Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. 49 : No. 3 , Article 1 (2016).The South has a long and so... more Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. 49 : No. 3 , Article 1 (2016).The South has a long and sordid history of resisting school desegregation. Yet after a long and vigorous legal fight, by the mid-1980s, schools in the South became among the most desegregated in the country. An important but often underappreciated tool that aided in the fight to desegregate schools in the South was the conventional and strategic use of school district boundary lines. Many school systems in the South deliberately eschewed drawing school district boundary lines around municipalities and instead drew them around counties. The resulting county-based system of school districts allowed for the introduction of school assignment plans that crossed racially and economically segregated municipal boundary lines.Some affluent and predominantly white suburban municipalities in the South are threatening to reverse this progress. They are doing so by seceding from racially diverse county based school districts a...

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