1
ARTICLE REVIEW
Journal Article Review
Kelcey Anyá Broomfield
Helms School of Government, Liberty University
Author Note
Kelcey Anyá Broomfield
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kelcey Anyá Broomfield.
Email: kabroomfield@liberty.edu
2
ARTICLE REVIEW
Journal Article Review
Mendez, J. B., Quark, A., & Aaron, K. (2023). The politics of school rezoning in the “cradle of a
nation”: racial segregation, settler colonialism, and private property in williamsburg,
virginia. Sage Publications, 9(2), 135–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649222113470
Mendez, Quark and Aaron wrote an article that is useful to the understanding of
modern-day practices of what is being called reverse redlining. They ask what logics and
discourses do race and class privileged parents use to justify educational inequities and how are
they employed? They access these tactics through a content analysis of public commentary
collected from school board meetings, two district-administered surveys, social media and local
news outlets. The authors draw from Critical Race and Settler Colonial theories to argue that
white, middle-class parents and residents employed the interlocking logics of private property
and whiteness to claim entitlement. The data was gathered through the analysis of a
controversial high school rezoning in Eastern Virginia and supports their claim that the
ideologies color-blind racism and white private property are mobilized to defend entitlement to
educational resources.
Summary
Authors Mendez, Quark and Aaron analyze the methods by which white parents and
residents use race and class privilege to justify their claim to educational privilege. Through the
use of Critical Race Theory and Settler Colonial Theory, they analyze the use of meritocracy and
color blindness to legitimate existing educational inequities and fortify education as white
property. Through a qualitative content analysis, the authors draw their conclusions from a
controversial high school rezoning in Williamsburg-James City Country School Division in Eastern
3
ARTICLE REVIEW
Virginia. Although their subject pool only includes one school district and rezoning, their
findings are supported by Critical Race Theory and the argument that integrated schools are
problematic for white people as it disrupts the permanence of white supremacy. Scholars have
stated that often the argument against school integration and rezoning since the 1954 Brown v
Board of Education is rooted in meritocracy, color blindness and neutrality which supports the
authors’ collected data regarding Jamestown High. There is a substantial body of work
demonstrating how affluent families have exerted considerable effort and influence in public
schools that ultimately affect policy decisions and marginalize students and families outside of
their communities. Authors Mendez, Quark and Aaron employ an analytical lens though Critical
Race and Settler Colonial perspectives to reveal how present debates regarding school zones
reflect racial disparities and its tie to housing disparities and property ownership.
Methods
To analyze the patterns in the strategies employed by these parents, the authors
compiled a dataset of public archival materials during the 13-month school rezoning
discussions. This dataset included two anonymous surveys, public commentary collected from
school board meetings and social media and news outlet discourse. The data was coded using
Dedoose. The codes were narrowed down to 11 conceptual codes including five official criteria
adopted by the school board: capacity, longevity, proximity, ‘neighborhood concept’ and
diversity/equity. Additional codes emerged including alternative solutions, contesting school
board process and data, financial concerns, property ownership, redistricting history and
student wellbeing. Lastly, the authors admit that their position as observing participants during
the public debates informed their analysis. One author’s two children attended Lafayette High
4
ARTICLE REVIEW
(the proposed receiving school for rezoning), another’s child was about to begin kindergarten at
a school in the district and the final author was an undergraduate student in the area.
Through their findings, the two most prevalent codes were student well-being and
diversity/equity. Given their method, the top five most applied codes corresponded with the
official criteria for rezoning implemented by school officials included diversity/equity, capacity,
longevity, proximity and neighborhood concept. Although the code property ownership did not
independently show up as frequently as others, it did however, co-occurred 60 percent of the
time with student well-being and 39 percent of the time with neighborhood concept.
Analysis
The use of an analytical lens on an issue such as rezoning has shone light on the
correlation between historical policies and social ideologies rooted in white supremacy. Using a
content analysis through the observation of public discourse and assigning codes to measure
frequency of use proved to be an effective method for analysis. The results of this data analysis
are supported by existing research concerning ideologies of meritocracy and color blindness and
how it is employed in educational spaces. Although some of the data was anonymous, the
authors’ connection to the school district, community and its residence provided opportunity
for trust and comfort in expressing of truth and opinion amongst the residences. This however
begets the question of whether this level of analysis could be duplicated in another school
district and whether the analysis could be conducted successfully by individuals who are not a
part of the community being studied.
Implications on Education Policy
5
ARTICLE REVIEW
Mendez, Quark and Aaron’s use of qualitative data collected from one specific incident
of rezoning in Williamsburg, Virginia shines light on the link between race and class privilege,
white private property ownership and color-blind racism and inequitable educational resources.
Their research joins the conversation concerning the modern-day implications of past race-
based discriminatory practices. The past practice of redlining which denied people of color and
those from deemed unfavorable neighborhoods the right to housing loans and assistance
contributed to the inequitable distribution of resources and quality education. This very practice
has made way for the discourse used to legitimate white possession of preferred schools. Myths
of meritocracy and neutrality combined with color blindness perpetuate white advantage by
ignoring the political and social factors at play.
The authors’ qualitative analysis of the data collected supports the notion that the past
practice of redlining has multi-generational implications on the education of Black, brown and
low-income families. White parents and residents have the privilege of ignoring the white
advantage they received due to favorable federal policies. The link between federally
implemented redlining and school district rezoning is a complicated intertwining as the two are
often viewed independently, just as housing policy and education policy, this article exemplifies
the linkage between the two and the necessity for a comprehensive look at the implications and
impacts of the two.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
