Top Of Mind With Julie Rose

School integration in America is widely viewed as a civil rights milestone— but decades later, U.S. schools are as segregated as they were in the 1970s. So, in this episode of Top of Mind, we look at the complicated legacy of school integration in America: who it helped, who it hurt, and what struggling schools need to thrive. Dr. Noliwe Rooks shares her family’s four-generation story with integration, highlighting both its benefits and its lasting harms. We also visit schools in Oakland and Florida that show how communities can support student success—even in segregated settings. What does real educational equity look like? And what lessons have we missed about integration’s impact? Guests: Noliwe Rooks, L. Herbert Balou Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children (https://www.noliwerooks.org/) Roma Groves-Waters, principal of MLK Jr. Elementary in Oakland, California (https://mlk.ousd.org/) Kamryn Young, Evans High alum and d