Born Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption

210 Pages·2016·1.029 MB·English

by  David Omotoso Stovall

Born
Out of
Struggle
SUNY series, Praxis: Theory in Action
—————
Nancy A. Naples, editor
Born
Out of
Struggle
Critical Race Theory, School Creation,
and the Politics of Interruption
David Omotoso Stovall
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2016 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic
tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission
in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Ryan Morris
Marketing, Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stovall, David.
Title: Born out of struggle : critical race theory, school creation, and the
politics of interruption / David Omotoso Stovall.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2016. | Series:
SUNY series, praxis, theory in action | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015005101| ISBN 9781438459134 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781438459158 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Critical pedagogy—United States. | Racism in
education—United States. | Education—Social aspects—United States. |
Discrimination in education—United States. | Social justice—United
States.
Classification: LCC LC196.5.U6 S88 2016 | DDC 370.11/5—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015005101
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to the communities of
South Lawndale/Little Village (La Villita) and North Lawndale.
May the quest of both communities to coexist under one roof
in a high school serve as evidence for the
possibility of community justice in Chicago.

Contents
Foreword ix
Patricia Maria Buenrostro and Carolina Gaete

Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction
Responsibility to the Word: Into the Work of Putting Our
Theories to Practice 1
Chapter 1
Hunger Strike: History, Community Struggle, and
Political Gamesmanship 23
Chapter 2
To Create a School: Uneasy Partnerships with the Central Office 51
Chapter 3
Counterstory as Praxis: Confronting Success and Failure on the
Design Team 75
Chapter 4
Paper Proposals Do Not Equal Real Life: Race Praxis and
High School Creation 91
Chapter 5
Educational Debt Relief: Classroom Struggles, Critical Race Praxis,
and the Politics of School 105
viii Contents
Chapter 6
Struggle, Failure, and Reflection in the First Cycle (2003–2009):
Practical Lessons in Creating a School 125
Chapter 7
Always on the Run: School Struggle in Perpetuity 139
Epilogue 167
Glossary of Acronyms 173
Bibliography 175
Index 181
Foreword
Patricia Maria Buenrostro, huelgista,
mother of Greater Lawndale Little Village School
of Social Justice (SOJO) graduate, math educator, and Ph.D. candidate
Carolina Gaete, huelgista,
mother of Greater Lawndale Little Village School
of Social Justice student, community organizer
Struggle from the Outside-In: Joining Movements for Change
In January 2001, I was approached by Tomás Gaete to join a group of
Little Village parents working together to investigate the whereabouts and
the whatabouts of a new high school previously promised by the then-
mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley. I had recently begun to teach in
a neighboring community and was feeling the need to reconnect to my
hood—so I agreed to attend one of their meetings. Tomás was the com-
munity organizer working with the parents and the father of several dear
friends of mine. At this first meeting, I was immediately impressed by the
fact that the parents determined and facilitated the agenda. In my previ-
ous short stint in community organizing, I knew this was rare, as many
organizers try to steer the agenda from their perspective to such things as
“winnable” issues and leadership training. This was not the case here. Par-
ents on the west side of Little Village had a long-standing need for a new
high school and wanted answers to an unfulfilled promise and the resulting
misallocation of state funds originally slated for Little Village High School.
The parents with the support of the lead community organization had been
ix