Honesty is a beautiful thing. Especially when it’s hard to admit the truth.
So, full credit to Nikole Hannah-Jones, who wrote a viral piece in The New York Times Magazine about regretting her decision to intentionally
send her daughter to an underperforming public school.
Hannah-Jones, who came to fame by creating the 1619 Project, cares deeply about racial justice. That’s why she sent her daughter to a struggling school, because she wanted to choose “the collective good and not just our individual advantage.”
Over the years, though, it dawned on her that she put her personal ideology ahead of the educational opportunities her daughter needed. Specifically, she rejected any kind of education freedom policy that lets families pick better schools for their kids. She thought those policies perpetuate injustice.
I applaud Hannah-Jones for realizing the damage that comes from putting systems ahead of students. However, I also encourage her – and all those who oppose educational freedom – to keep earnestly seeking the truth.
Freedom of choice matters in education
There’s a reason why three-quarters of Black families want education freedom. They see what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. feared – that they’ve been integrated “into a burning house,” in the form of underperforming schools that harm their kids. They know the best way to escape that house is to empower them to choose the schools that are best for their kids.
My day-to-day work is testament to this reality. I took up the cause of education in the COVID-19 pandemic, which further exposed the deficiencies of public education.
Only a third of eighth graders nationwide were proficient in reading and math before the crisis. But things got worse after kids were suddenly forced out of school, often onto the streets.
Their parents were desperate for help, so we established a learning center where their kids could get back to class and back on track.
My experience led me to found Black Pastors United for Education. I now work with hundreds of pastors from across the nation to build new schools and create better learning options for the children in their churches and communities.
There are pastors and educational leaders in every state with dreams of helping far more kids discover their best paths in life. The single biggest barrier is the lack of policies to let families choose better schools.
Underperforming public schools shouldn't be default option
If you’re a single mom in New York City or Philadelphia, you don’t have many if any options for your precious son or daughter. There’s a 40% to 60% chance your public school is underperforming, and even if there’s a better private school or religious school nearby, the cost keeps it out of reach.
There are limited school-choice programs, at best, that help you afford a better education.
But if you’re a single mom in Dallas, Tampa, Charlotte or Nashville, that barrier is broken. There are 18 states with universal education freedom programs that give families the funding to attend better schools.
There is huge demand from families of all races, including Black families. And there’s a huge supply of new options to meet that demand.
In Texas alone, I’m working with more than 600 Black and Hispanic pastors who want to build schools that families could pay for with taxpayer dollars. The families in my church in Pennsylvania don’t have that option, but they deserve it. Every family does.
Parents should demand better for their children
No one benefits from education freedom more than Black and Brown kids, who’ve suffered long enough in the “burning house” that Dr. King described. They need education freedom because it’s the civil rights issue of our time.
Ultimately, children of every ethnic and socioeconomic background deserve this freedom. If we stop funding the system and start funding the student, we could build a truly world-class education system that empowers every child to compete in a global economy.
That vision cannot be realized until every state gives every student educational freedom. And that won’t happen until even more parents demand it from our politicians.
Imagine the difference Nikole Hannah-Jones would make if she now lent her powerful voice to the proven cause of education freedom. She wouldn’t just empower her own daughter, who’s still in school. She would empower families across New York City and all of America.
The evidence is clear that too many schools aren’t serving students or families. The evidence is equally clear that families overwhelmingly want educational freedom.
How long will it take before all the pundits and politicians admit the truth and finally put kids first?
The Rev. Joshua C. Robertson is senior pastor of The Rock Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and founder and chief executive officer of Black Pastors United for Education.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikole Hannah-Jones missed the lesson. School choice matters | Opinion
