The Role of Schools in Educating Black Citizens: From the 1800s to the Present

Abstract

Participatory citizenship among Black citizens in the United States has always been tied to access to quality education. In this literature review, I draw on scholarship analyzing the experiences of Black youth in the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. I compare the historic and contemporary challenges facing Black citizens’ active participation in democratic processes and discuss how schools have the potential to create, or hinder, the road to active citizenship. I use Critical Race Theory as a theoretical model to explore the role that race plays in educating youth for citizenship. Collectively, the reviewed studies reveal that access to high-quality education was and is still determined by one’s race and affects many Black citizens’ ability to participate in democracy.