Dream Town

April 24, 2023
Journalist Meckler debuts with an in-depth analysis of desegregation efforts in her hometown of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Developed in the early 20th century as an affluent, white suburb of Cleveland, Shaker Heights remained that way for decades because real estate agents refused to show homes to Black home buyers, neighbors declined to give required approvals to nonwhite potential neighbors, and banks denied loans to mortgage applicants deemed “undesirable.” Over time, various organizations attempted to integrate Shaker Heights, but it wasn’t until the civil rights movement of the 1960s that those efforts met with any measure of success. Meckler details how Ludlow, one of the first neighborhoods to integrate, sought to counteract white flight by recruiting white home buyers and promoting the benefits of a “racially diverse community,” and delves deep into the persistence of the racial achievement gap in Shaker Heights’s public schools. The case study of a well-regarded white teacher who was placed on administrative leave after being accused of “humiliat and embarrass” a Black student in her AP English class sheds light on the racial tensions at play. Throughout, Meckler draws on extensive interviews with parents, teachers, community leaders, and students to present the various controversies from multiple perspectives, resulting in a nuanced and impressively detailed study of the barriers to racial equality. Policymakers and social justice activists should take note.

June 10, 2024

Debi Tinsley offers a marvelous narration of journalist Meckler's in-depth analysis of her hometown of Shaker Heights, OH. Meckler examines Shaker Heights's long history, from its roots as a village of friendly Shakers in the 1800s to an elite white enclave in the early 1900s to an integrated community in the 1950s. Her account concludes in the present, as city schools openly work toward an equitable education for all students. Listeners will appreciate how Tinsley carefully alters her narrative voice when reading quotations from witnesses, though these voicings tend to sound quite similar. She is objective when reading about the early history of the place. Still, she allows tension and disgust to build in her performance when describing the white flight and elitism that emerged in the 1950s and again in the 1990s, when administrators integrated white schools by closing Black schools and bussing black students in. Tinsley conveys the author's hopefulness, describing how today's schools have committed to pursuing educational equity. Reading the last two chapters and source notes, Meckler adds a personal touch. VERDICT This portrait of one community's struggle to achieve racial equity should appeal to those interested in social justice, education reform, and civil rights.--Stephanie Bange

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