By Neil Mammen | August 14, 2024
The American education system is in a state of crisis. While many point to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary driver of academic decline, the truth is that the pandemic only accelerated the pace of what has been a decadelong race to the bottom in American education.
The rapid erosion of an education system of what was once the marvel of the world has hit African American students the hardest. Now, 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, many are left without the tools to enjoy the right to pursue the American dream previous generations fought so heroically to secure.
In America’s biggest cities and on the outskirts of some of our most affluent communities, African American students are falling far behind. For years, that failure could be laid at the feet of teachers unions and entrenched bureaucrats who fought to trap these students in whatever low-quality public institution corresponded to their zip code. Even today, they’re doing all they can to fight the prospect of competition delivered via school choice.
