Cutting School

Noliwe Rooks is the director of American studies at Cornell University and was for ten years the associate director of African American studies at Princeton University. She is the author of White Money/Black Power and Hair Raising. She lives in Ithaca, New York.

Praise for Cutting School:"Poignant and plainly stated, Rooks's thorough narrative of socioeconomics urges greater criticism and thoughtfulness about education reform in the 21st century."—Publisher Weekly (starred)"A convincing argument that the only viable, proven school reform strategy is integration, a solution distressingly difficult to achieve."—Kirkus Reviews"I threw the book across the room and paced the floor. This is an important work; hopefully it will make people mad enough to act."—Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage"A bold and groundbreaking work. . . . This timely book is essential reading not only for anyone who cares about the well-being of our children, but for all who care about the future of democracy and justice in America."—Danny Glover, actor and humanitarian "Crisply written and meticulously researched, Cutting School is not only a compelling historical analysis but also a daring exposé of how the corporatization of public schools reproduces unequal, unjust educational opportunity. I cannot wait to share this book with my students and colleagues."—Prudence Carter, author of Closing the Opportunity Gap and dean of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education"A devastating and timely critique of the moral bankruptcy and racial double standards of the educational reform movement. Cutting School should transform the scholarly and activist conversation about privatization and public education just as Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow has done for the war on drugs and mass incarceration."—Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of The Condemnation of Blackness Cutting School is the book that I have been waiting for. Rooks introduces the term 'segrenomics' into our political lexicon and has provided the vibrant movement against corporate education reform a powerful tool imbued with political clarity, historical rigor and contemporary relevance. Read this book!"—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation"A work that brilliantly connects history to the present. . . . A must-read for anyone interested in saving public education."—Angel Harris, author of Kids Don't Want to Fail"With this smart book and wise intervention Rooks will change the way you understand the challenges and possibilities ahead."—Bill Ayers, author of Demand the Impossible! and To Teach"Rooks shrewdly documents the nation's centuries-long failure to 'safely' educate black and brown children, from John D. Rockefeller's and the General Education Board's twentieth-century efforts to the twenty-first-century correlates promoted by the Wendy Kopps and the Mark Zuckerbergs. Thomas Jefferson's 'wolf of slavery' haunts its pages. Don't miss it."—Bob Moses, founder of the Algebra ProjectPraise for Noliwe Rooks's Hair Raising, a Choice Outstanding Book Award winner:"[S]o compelling."—Booklist"[A] welcome entry in the feminist debates about American 'beauty culture'…Readable, accessible, and helpfully illustrated."—ChoicePraise for Noliwe Rooks's White Money, Black Power:"[T]his volume is a must for anyone working in the field."—Publishers Weekly"Rooks is a serious scholar and insider of African American studies, and this book is full of deep insight and sharp analysis." —Cornel West"A provocative and original history." —Farah Jasmine Griffin