Show Notes
Since 2002, the number of students in Bed-Stuy’s District 16 has dropped by more than half. There’s no single reason why this is happening, but the year 2002 is a clue: that’s when Michael Bloomberg became the Mayor, abolished local school boards, and took over the New York City school system.
In this episode, we’ll meet parents trying to reassert collective power and local accountability in District 16 after years of neglect from the Department of Education; parents trying to save their school from being closed for persistently low enrollment; and parents trying to do what they believe is best for their children by leaving the district altogether.
In a Black community that has struggled for self-determination through education for nearly 200 years, what does self-determination look like today?
More from School Colors
It's been called "the most polarizing parenting essay ever." On September 20, 2026, The New York Times Magazine published a story by Nikole Hannah-Jones with the eye-popping headline, "In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?" This was a surprise sequel to her blockbuster essay from 2016, "Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City." Nikole and her husband Faraji played an important role in School Colors Season 1, and her ideas deeply shaped our reporting. So after four years of radio silence, we convened to discuss her latest dispatch, and the public's response to it.
Here’s a preview of another podcast, Some of My Best Friends Are, from Pushkin Industries. Harvard professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad and journalist Ben Austen are friends, one Black and one white, who grew up together on the South Side of Chicago. On Some of My Best Friends Are, Khalil and Ben, along with their guests, have critical conversations that are at once personal, political, and playful, about the absurdities and intricacies of race in America.
This is the second of two bonus episodes recorded live at the Queens Public Library on December 15, 2022. After interviewing New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, Mark and Max reflected on the Chancellor’s remarks and took questions about the making of School Colors, why they chose District 28, and what they learned.
This is the first of two bonus episodes recorded live at the Queens Public Library on December 15, 2022. Mark and Max interviewed New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. Banks was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams and is just finishing his first year on the job.
Over the course of this season, we've explored a rich history and complicated present — but what about the future?