Rucker C. Johnson, Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has won the 2022 Grawemeyer Award in Education for his work on school integration. The Grawemeyer Awards, administered by the University of Louisville, are given for original and creative ideas: ideas that possess clarity, power and that substantially impact the field in which the award is given.
Professor Johnson was awarded for his work outlined in the book Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works (Basic Books, 2019). Dr. Johnson studied the life trajectories of more than 15,000 children who grew up during the years school integration was federally enforced in this country. His research found that Black children who attended integrated schools had stronger educational, health, and income outcomes compared to their counterparts who remained in segregated schools. The life outcomes for White children in those integrated schools didn’t change — in other words, they suffered no adverse effects.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Professor Johnson. “I receive it in loving memory of my father, Matthew Johnson, to whom the book is dedicated. And I receive it with the great spirit of gratitude that both of my parents instilled in me. I’m grateful for the mentors who fed my curiosity, who helped me form the foundation of my research, and for being in a profession that allows me to fuse my mind and heart in service of others, especially our youth.
“I believe we are each designed to be part of an answer to a problem,” Dr. Johnson continued. “We must connect our collective ‘answers’ — among the research community, practitioners, policymakers, activists, service providers, business leaders — to fulfill the promise of equal educational opportunity for all children.”
Dr. Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.
Jah & Jahes love.
I think that this study was well designed and I would like more focus on the personal life choices of these students. For instance, are students who integrated white schools happily married? Are they more likely to marry outside their race to non-blacks? And conversely, are blacks who didn’t attend integrated schools more likely to marry other blacks? And, are they more happily married? Blessed love. #Ayiti #1804 #blacklove.