By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship
A new article by Erica O. Turner, associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at UW–Madison, offers a timely rethinking of what educational justice for all should look like in today’s multiracial democracy.
Co-authored with Alexandra Freidus of the University of Connecticut, the essay, published online in Educational Researcher in March, argues that while the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 remains a defining touchstone, the U.S. has never fully realized its promise. They also maintain that traditional Black–white framing of desegregation in public schools is no longer adequate for a nation shaped by far more complex racial dynamics.
“Public schools remain deeply segregated,” the article noted. “Desegregation efforts have largely failed both to grapple with the country’s multiracial constituency and to offer a positive vision for schools.”
The authors also maintained that the framework they created in response offers researchers, policymakers, and practitioners a powerful tool for designing educational systems that support a truly multiracial democracy.
Bolstering Brown as Stakes Rise
Brown is the unanimous education and civil rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legally banned segregation in public schools by finding the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional.
Other reasons the authors saw the promise of Brown unfulfilled include:
- A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that narrowed or restricted school desegregation efforts.
- The fact that Congress has not passed any major laws supporting desegregation since 1972.
- Lack of federal funding for research and training on school desegregation since 1981.
Turner and Freidus wrote that public schools have always been central to debates about democracy, belonging, and opportunity. Schools continue to be places where decisions about whose histories matter, who receives resources, and who has political voice are contested daily, they noted.
As demographic shifts reshape communities and political conflict over education intensifies, the stakes have grown. The authors argued that the country urgently needs a more robust, justice-oriented vision for public education. Drawing on decades of research on segregation, desegregation, integration, and diversity, they proposed a new “multidimensional framework” for understanding educational justice in a multiracial society.
Their framework is grounded in three dimensions of justice identified by political theorist Nancy Fraser — redistribution, recognition, and representation — and informed by relational theories of race that examine how racial groups function in relation to one another. Turner and Freidus argue that these dimensions must be understood together to address the complex realities of racialized inequality in schools.
They conclude that a justice-oriented vision for public education must integrate all three dimensions, while not ignoring the relational nature of race. Justice for one group cannot come at the expense of another, and policies must reflect the distinct histories and experiences of multiple racialized communities to be effective.
Redistribution: Equal Access to Resources
Redistributive justice focuses on ensuring that all students have access to the material, social, and educational resources needed to participate fully in society. Historically, many Black and Mexican American communities pursued desegregation as a strategy to gain access to better funded schools. Research shows that attending integrated schools can significantly improve long-term outcomes for those students.
Yet Turner and Freidus emphasized that resource inequities persist, even in desegregated schools. Student tracking, district boundaries, and unequal funding continue to sort students into unequal learning environments.
Recognition: Equal Social Status and Cultural Respect
Recognitional justice concerns whether students and communities are treated as full and valued participants in schooling. While desegregated schools can foster cross-racial understanding, the authors highlighted evidence showing that students of color still often experience misrecognition, in forms including discriminatory discipline and incomplete curricula.
Turner and Freidus also point to research showing that bilingual programs and ethnic studies spaces can provide affirming, culturally grounded environments to help counteract these harms.
Representation: Equal Political Voice and Power
Representational justice focuses on who has the authority to make decisions about schooling. Turner and Freidus showed that racially marginalized communities have often had limited voice in shaping desegregation policies.
After Brown, white officials frequently retained control in schools, the authors noted, while Black educators in some states suffered mass layoffs that weakened community representation.
Other groups, including Asian American, Latine, and Indigenous communities, were also often excluded from policymaking, even when directly affected. Today, many families, including undocumented immigrants, remain formally excluded from key education decisions.
Representation, the authors argued, remains essential, as redistribution and recognition cannot be achieved without access to political power.