Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central, welcome to the show. This
Speaker 1: is so cool to have you here shy Town. Is
Speaker 1: that what you shouted? That is nice? Okay, this is nice.
Speaker 1: They just shout this everywhere you go time, walking down
Speaker 1: the street all the time. Okay, that could be very
Speaker 1: cool and then very distracting other times. Um, let's get
Speaker 1: into a story that is painful and yet all too
Speaker 1: familiar and funny enough not just unique to America, but
Speaker 1: the story speaks about racism in schools that have been
Speaker 1: closed on Chicago South Side. It seems like a problem
Speaker 1: that many politicians would claim is just a financial issue.
Speaker 1: You are a teacher, you are somebody who's worked in
Speaker 1: this institution. What is the problem itself? Well, the problem
Speaker 1: is that in America we have two different standards for
Speaker 1: what kinds of education we want to offer young people.
Speaker 1: And so if you have money, or if you have
Speaker 1: access to private school, or if you live in an
Speaker 1: affluent suburb, you get access to a certain type of education.
Speaker 1: And if you were poor and your person of color,
Speaker 1: especially if you're black, you get access to a different
Speaker 1: type of education. And so when policymakers are making decisions
Speaker 1: about kids and those types of schools, the kinds of
Speaker 1: schools that I write about that people call failing schools
Speaker 1: terrible schools. Um, there's a different set of standards. And
Speaker 1: when you look at those different set of standards, how
Speaker 1: do they affect the kids? Because when I was reading
Speaker 1: through the book, there were there were instances and stories
Speaker 1: that really go back further in time then you would
Speaker 1: ever think the problem begins. You know, you'd think, Okay,
Speaker 1: let's just talk about the school. But you argue that
Speaker 1: you conscious look at the school, you have to look
Speaker 1: at everything that led up to the school. Why. Well,
Speaker 1: this is America, where we know that our country is
Speaker 1: founded on a history of institutional racism and chattel slavery
Speaker 1: and Jim Crow and redlining and so on and so forth.
Speaker 1: And it may seem strange to bring those things up
Speaker 1: when you're talking about a set of school closures that
Speaker 1: happened in But basically, the argument I'm trying to make
Speaker 1: in the book is that in order for us to
Speaker 1: understand the way schools operate now, we have to understand
Speaker 1: that history. And it's not that it's not that long ago. Um.
Speaker 1: And so I wrote a book that's out, but it
Speaker 1: begins in nineteen sixteen by talking about the Great Migration
Speaker 1: and how black people came to Chicago. UM. And I
Speaker 1: think that that's something that's not just about Chicago. That's
Speaker 1: about the country we live in, and that in most places,
Speaker 1: if you look at the history of how the city
Speaker 1: or the town got to be the way it is. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's racism in the mixed spoiler alert, just because America.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this, a lot of people shut
Speaker 1: down in America as soon as you bring up racism
Speaker 1: or race. You as soon as you say that, people
Speaker 1: are like, oh, no, here we are again with racism.
Speaker 1: To those who argue that this is less about racism
Speaker 1: and more just about money, they say, well, if it's
Speaker 1: it's not it's not about black or white, it's about
Speaker 1: rich or poor. How do you respond to that, Well, Um,
Speaker 1: that's simply not true. Um. And that's the first thing
Speaker 1: I would say. Um. And that we actually know that
Speaker 1: segregation breaks down across racial lines, both in housing and
Speaker 1: in schools. So black people, affluent black people in this
Speaker 1: country are more likely to live in low income black
Speaker 1: neighborhoods than they are to live alongside white affluent people.
Speaker 1: Low income white people are more likely to live alongside
Speaker 1: white affluent people. And because that's the way housing breaks down,
Speaker 1: that has huge implications for the kind of schools that
Speaker 1: we have. UM. We also know that we don't actually
Speaker 1: save money through school closures UM, and so the kind
Speaker 1: of budget argument doesn't really stand up. UM. But I
Speaker 1: think that it is uncomfortable for many people to talk
Speaker 1: about race and racism. And part of what I also
Speaker 1: wanted to do with the book is to help people
Speaker 1: understand that racism is a structural thing. It's not just
Speaker 1: about what's in your heart or how you feel are
Speaker 1: interpersonal interactions. It's kind of the air we breathe. It's
Speaker 1: interesting because the specifically a section in the book where
Speaker 1: you where you break that down and you talk about
Speaker 1: how so many people feel like the label of racism
Speaker 1: is attached to them and they get defense and they say,
Speaker 1: I'm not racist, I love these kids, I want them
Speaker 1: all to succeed. And you argue in the book, you're like, yes,
Speaker 1: you may not be racist, but the system itself is
Speaker 1: a racist system, and that is something that is oppressing
Speaker 1: these kids. Would you argue that that is where it
Speaker 1: all begins. Because Chicago is often held up as you know,
Speaker 1: America's child with issues as well. Look at you, but
Speaker 1: look at what's happening in Chicago. That Chicago's crime, Look
Speaker 1: at Chicago this Would you argue that it's thoughts at
Speaker 1: the schools or is all the schools a byproduct of
Speaker 1: what Chicago is? I think it's the latter. I think
Speaker 1: that white supremacy and the history of racism in this country.
Speaker 1: I often say it's kind of like the virus, and
Speaker 1: these things are like the cold, They're like the sneeze.
Speaker 1: So these are the symptoms of a much larger issue.
Speaker 1: And so the book is about schools, but it's also
Speaker 1: not really about schools. It's really about the way racism
Speaker 1: and inequality shape the way we make policy decisions and
Speaker 1: how that affects kids. Right, And if somebody's out there going, well,
Speaker 1: if you know what, racism is not my issue, why
Speaker 1: should I care? Why should I care about a bunch
Speaker 1: of kids in an inner city who don't have the
Speaker 1: best school. Well, I don't spend a lot of time
Speaker 1: trying to convince that person. And uh, you know, I
Speaker 1: think that there's a percentage of people. I think this
Speaker 1: goes with a lot of issues we have in our country.
Speaker 1: There's a percentage of people that are reasonable, thoughtful, kind
Speaker 1: people who lack information, and those people I invite them
Speaker 1: and welcome them to learn from the book. If you're
Speaker 1: a person that doesn't fundamentally believe that it's important to
Speaker 1: provide a high quality education to all kids in the
Speaker 1: United States and beyond, regardless of where they come from,
Speaker 1: who they are, I recommend another book to you, and
Speaker 1: we do the best for Mary Holiday. See. If you
Speaker 1: are an asshole, do not read this book. This book
Speaker 1: is not for assholes. Let me let me ask you
Speaker 1: this though. Where do you think My publicist is like,
Speaker 1: oh gosh, I think that's a great selling says don't
Speaker 1: buy my book. It's just like, don't don't. If you're
Speaker 1: an asshole, do not buy the book. I think it's
Speaker 1: a great librari. You know the issues that America faces
Speaker 1: around it's schooling often, you know, I guess people often
Speaker 1: points to funding. But where do you think people can begin.
Speaker 1: Where do you think politicians can begin, and where do
Speaker 1: you think communities can begin in rehabilitating schools and getting
Speaker 1: them to the place where there's not the failing schools.
Speaker 1: I think the first thing is to understand public schools
Speaker 1: as public goods and that these are all of our schools,
Speaker 1: regardless of whether you have a child and roll there
Speaker 1: or not. UM, this is something that all of us support,
Speaker 1: and this is something that belongs to all of us,
Speaker 1: and so we have to take owner ship over that.
Speaker 1: And the second thing I think is we have a
Speaker 1: problem with hyper individualism in our country, and so people
Speaker 1: like to focus on what's best for my kid. And
Speaker 1: you know, the Obama administration had a policy called race
Speaker 1: to the Top. Right, We're gonna have schools compete against
Speaker 1: each other and then the best school is going to
Speaker 1: come out on top, and we're gonna incentivize them to succeed, right,
Speaker 1: And you can't incentivize away poverty, you can't incentivize away struggle.
Speaker 1: And these are the things that kids are coming to
Speaker 1: school with, UM and these are the things that These
Speaker 1: are the things that are that public educators face every day.
Speaker 1: And so I think that if we start seeing those
Speaker 1: as collective problems and stop focusing on, you know, the
Speaker 1: special kids that make it out and it's like that,
Speaker 1: but ensuring that every kid has access to a high
Speaker 1: quality education, that's something we have the means to do.
Speaker 1: We just don't have a lot of interest or political
Speaker 1: will to do it, so I'm hoping the people who
Speaker 1: do have an interests on the political rule read Thank
Speaker 1: You So Much. Ghosts in the school Yard and Issue
Speaker 1: one of Iron Hearts are available now. Issue two of
Speaker 1: Iron Heart will be available in January. If you're an asshole,
Speaker 1: do not read this book. Keep viewing Everybody, What's the
Speaker 1: Daily Show weeknights at eleven tenth Central on Comedy Central
Speaker 1: and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has
Speaker 1: been a Comedy Central podcast