Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity

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[ing] and embarrass[ing]” 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. (Aug.)