Stern is a historian of education who is an assistant professor with the School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies.

Stern’s book details the path of segregation in New Orleans, starting with the first public high schools for black students which opened just over 100 years ago in the city. Called McDonogh 35, the school was considered long overdue. However, its location wasn’t accidental: according to the Hechinger Report’s review, the city’s school board made this decision understanding that it might lead over time to departure of the neighborhood’s white residents.

The Hechinger Report describes his book as a “thorough and pointed history of the city’s schools up to the start of desegregation,” which also explores the deep ties between schools and real estate.

Stern also dives into how the American segregation complex traveled to South African leaders, who were also intent on maintaining segregation. He writes, “The American conception of race traveled further still as officials in South Africa looked to the South for guidance on creating and maintaining segregation.”

According to the Hechinger Report, Stern’s book expertly examines contemporary dynamics surrounding neighborhood schools. The Report states that his book goes a long way toward showing both how many inequities were “baked” into the city’s landscape, and how changeable that landscape still is.

Check out the entire review on this HechingerReport.com web page.