ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the considerably complex web of inequality produced out of neoliberal competitive school choice policies in a southern community with a legacy of segregationist practices. Using a case study design (Yin, 2014) and data sources such as school board meeting minutes, field notes from participant observations at youth and parent advocacy meetings, and interviews with parents and youth affected by the lack of racial balance and the lack of transparency in selective enrollment schools, we unravel how these actors challenged the school district to generate equitable choice policies. Guided by Bonilla-Silva’s (1997) notion of structural racism and Leonardo’s (2007) concept of colorblindness, we emphasize the effect of policy on individuals and document how parents and youth made sense of and called for social, systemic change. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of colorblind diversity policies as part of school choice on communities of color, calling attention to how we might expose structural mechanisms that promote or inhibit diversity and equity.
