About the author:
\nLaura Meckler \;is national education writer for the \;< em>Washington Post\, where she covers education across the country as well as national education policy and politics. She previously reported o n the White House\, presidential politics\, immigration\, and health care for the \;Wall Street Journal\, as well as health and social policy for the Associated Press. Her honors include a Nieman Fell owship and Livingston Award for National Reporting\, and she was part of a team that won the George Polk Award for Justice Reporting. She lives in W ashington\, D.C.\, with her husband and two sons.
\nIn D ream Town\, Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades-long pursuit in Shaker Heights\, Ohio\, and uncovers the roadblocks that have t hreatened progress time and again&mdash\;in housing\, in education\, and i n the promise of shared community.
\nIn the late 1950s\, Shaker Heig hts began groundbreaking work that would make it a national model for hous ing integration. And beginning in the seventies\, it was known as a crown jewel in the national move to racially integrate schools. The school distr ict built a reputation for academic excellence and diversity\, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can thrive together. Meckler&mda sh\;herself a product of Shaker Heights&mdash\;takes a deeper look into th e place that shaped her\, investigating its complicated history and its on going challenges in order to untangle myth from truth. She confronts an en during\, and troubling\, question&mdash\;if Shaker Heights has worked so h ard at racial equity\, why does a racial academic achievement gap persist?
\nIn telling the stories of the Shakerites who have built and lived in this community\, Meckler asks: What will it take to fulfill the promis e of racial integration in America? What compromises are people of all rac es willing to make? What does success look like\, and has Shaker achieved it? The result is a complex and masterfully reported portrait of a place t hat\, while never perfect\, has achieved more than most and a road map for communities that seek to do the same.
\n\nLaura Meckler will
be in conversation with Susan Glaser\, \;travel edit
or and chief travel writer for The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com sin
ce 2008. She primarily writes about regional destinations\, traveling thro
ughout Ohio and surrounding states. She also covers the Northeast Ohio tou
rism industry\, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport\, Cedar Point and
other travel and transportation topics. \;
Book
s will be available for purchase courtesy of Mac's Backs - Books on Covent
ry.