Learning in a Burning House

The negative consequences of school desegregation on Black communities in the United States are now well documented in education research. Learning in a Burning House is the first book to offer a historical look at the desegregation dilemma with clear recommendations for what must be done to ensure Black student success in today’s schools. This important book centers race and voice in the desegregation discourse, examining and reconceptualizing the meaning of “equal education.” Featuring the unique perspectives of Black school leaders, Horsford provides a critical race analysis of how racism has undermined the integration ideal and the subsequent schooling of Black children. Most importantly, the book discusses how meaningful education reform must be grounded in a moral activist vision of equal education through a cross-racial commitment to racial literacy, realism, reconstruction, and reconciliation in our schools and society.

With an engaging style that invites us on a journey of discovery, Learning in a Burning House presents new insights into Black education and proposes leadership and policy solutions that can be immediately adopted to improve urban education.

Sonya Douglass Horsford is a senior resident scholar of education with the Lincy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She received the 2022 AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award.

“I hope Dr. Horsford’s book will spur much discussion about the greatest national security threat faced by our nation: millions of illiterate and poorly prepared children.... Wake up, America!”
—From the Foreword by Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund

"Learning in a Burning House tackles head on the complex issues of race, power, and politics in education and is a must-read for anyone troubled by the current state of urban education and committed to doing something about it."
—Joyce E. King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning & Leadership, Georgia State University

2022 AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award
2013 AESA Critics’ Choice Award