The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.
Abstract
Black students across the U.S. South are learning within school systems shaped by restrictive state laws and policies, diminished federal civil rights enforcement, and ongoing political hostility toward schools that support deep learning and sustain their identities. To move toward a brighter educational future for Black students, young people, families, teachers, advocates, and school leaders must be policy influencers from classrooms to Capitol buildings. This requires a collective understanding of a policy vision and a constant negotiation of the tension between justice and jubilee: how to influence meaningful change in hostile policy spaces now, while articulating a clear, bold vision of the future we want for Black children.
This paper explores the past, present, and future of education policymaking by examining the historical role of community-driven policy agendas and offering a model framework of a new southern education policy agenda that supports safe and supportive learning environments for Black students in the South. The authors consider the justice-jubilee balance that shapes both policymaking and policy advocates themselves, including young people who must play a central role in shaping their futures.
Recommended Citation
Makiah Lyons, , Terrence Wilson, and Morgan Craven. 2026. "A New Southern Strategy: Building a Policy Agenda to Improve Southern Education." The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc. 43, (2):63-86. https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/griot/vol43/iss2/7
Included in
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