“We Do Not Want to Give Up Our School”: A Case of Antiblackness in a Multiracial School Merger

Antiblackness affects education policymaking and the educational experiences and opportunities of Black students. However, the research on antiblackness and education policymaking has been somewhat limited. To better understand the ways in which antiblackness permeates policymaking at the local level, we conducted a qualitative ethnographic case study using Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) to examine the policy process surrounding a merger of two elementary schools in a large school district. We find that instances of antiblack racism emerged throughout the merger process, despite the local leaders’ portrayal of the merger as an equity-oriented policy intended to alleviate racial and class segregation.