Laura Meckler\, national education writer for the Washington Post\, visits the Bexley Public Library to read from an d discuss her new book Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Ra cial Equity. In Dream Town\, Meckler asks the question\, "Ca n a community of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial int egration in America?" Join us for an afternoon with award-winning Washingt on Post journalist Laura Meckler to learn about the successes and roadbloc ks that Shaker Heights has faced in working towards racial equity and how it might serve as a roadmap for communities like Bexley. Laura will be in conversation with Bexley&rsquo\;s Kumi Walker.
\nAbout the A uthor:
\nLaura Meckler is the national edu cation writer for the Washington Post\, where she covers the news\, politi cs\, policies\, and people shaping American schools.
\nShe previousl y reported on the White House\, presidential politics\, immigration\, and health care for the Wall Street Journal\, as well as on health and social policy for the Associated Press. Before coming to Washington\, Laura cover ed state government in Columbus\, Ohio. She got her start covering everyth ing from schools and cops to the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame festival at The Repository in Canton\, Ohio.
\nLaura graduated from Washingt on University in St. Louis\, and serves as vice president of the board tha t oversees her college newspaper.
\nHer honors include a Nieman Fell owship\, as well as Livingston Award for National Reporting\, for her cove rage of organ transplantation. She also was part of a team that won the Ge orge Polk Award for Justice Reporting for a series on the life of George F loyd. She lives in Washington\, D.C.\, with her husband and two sons.
\ nAbout the Book:
\n"In this searing and intimate examination of the ideals and realities of racial integration\, award-win ning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades -long pursuit in Shaker Heights\, Ohio\, and uncovers the roadblocks that have threatened progress time and again&mdash\;in housing\, in education\, and in the promise of shared community.
\nIn the late 1950s\, Shake r Heights became a national model for housing integration. And beginning i n the seventies\, it was known as a crown jewel in the national move to ra cially integrate schools. The school district built a reputation for acade mic excellence and diversity\, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can thrive together. Meckler&mdash\;herself a product of Shaker Heights&mdash\;takes a deeper look into the place that shaped her\, invest igating its complicated history and its ongoing challenges in order to unt angle myth from truth. She confronts an enduring and troubling question&md ash\;if Shaker Heights has worked so hard at racial equity\, why does a ra cial academic achievement gap persist? \;
\nIn telling the stori es of the Shakerites who have built and lived in this community\, Meckler asks: What will it take to fulfill the promise of racial integration in Am erica? What compromises are people of both races willing to make? What doe s success look like\, and has Shaker achieved it? The result is a complex and masterfully reported portrait of a place that\, while never perfect\, has achieved more than most and a road map for communities that seek to do the same."
\n\n
If you would like to receive an email reminder about this event\, please register. \; \;Join us in person\, or live stream this program on \;BexleyLibrary.org/TV.
\nhttps://be xley.libnet.info/event/9105047 URL;VALUE=URI:https://bexley.libnet.info/event/9105047 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/bexley/Laura_Meckler_Commu nico.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR