The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Eve L. Ewing - Breaking Down Structural Racism with “Ghosts in the Schoolyard”

Episode Date: May 26, 2022

Eve L. Ewing breaks down the history behind the racial divide in America’s schools and explains what gets in the way of giving every child a high-quality education.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Welcome to the show. Thanks, thanks for having me. This is so cool to have you here. Shytown, is that what you shouted? Yeah, that is what you said. Oh, nice. Okay, you roll with a posse.

It's a Chicago thing. It's a Chicago thing. Yeah, yeah. They just shout this every way. be very cool and then very distracting at other times. Let's get into a story that is painful and yet all too familiar and funny enough not just unique to America, but the story speaks about racism in schools that are being closed on Chicago's south side. It seems like a problem that many politicians would claim is just a financial issue.

You are a teacher, you are somebody who's worked in this institution. What is the problem itself? Well, the problem is that in America we have two different standards for what kinds of education we want to offer young people. So if you have money or if you have access to private school or if you live in an affluent suburb, you get access to a certain type of education. And if you get access to a different a certain a certain to a certain, if a different, if a different, if a different, if, to, to, to, to, and a to, and a to, and a to, and a the to, and a the the the to, and a, and a, and a the the the the the the the their, and a to, and a, and a their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the problem, the problem, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, ta, ta, thea, throwne, their, their, their, their, their, their, person of color, especially if you're black, you get access to a different type of education. And so when policy makers are making decisions about kids in those types of schools, the kinds of schools that I write about that people call failing schools, terrible schools, there's

a different set of standards. And when you look at those different set of standards, how do theythrough the book, there were instances and stories that really go back further in time than you would ever think the problem begins. You would think, okay, let's just talk about the school. But you argue that you can't just look at the school. You have to look at everything that led up to the school. Why? Well, this is America, where we know that our country is founded on a history of institutional racism and chhea, thihea, th..... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, th, th, th. th. th, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, let, the, let, the, the, the, the, okay, the, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let let, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, let, let, let, let, let the, let the, let's, let's, the. the. the. the. the the the the the the the the thi. the the the on and so forth. And it may seem strange to bring those things up when you're talking about a set of school closures that happened in 2013. But basically the argument I'm trying to make in the book is that in order for us to understand the way schools operate now,

we have to understand that history. And it'sthink that that's something that's not just about Chicago that's about the country we live in and that in most places if you look at the history of how the city or the town got to be the way it is there's racism in the mix spoiler alert just because America let me ask you thrown to thrown. the you bring up racism or race, as soon as you say that people are like, oh no, here we are again with racism. To those who argue that this is less about racism and more just about money, they say, well, Eve, it's not about black or white, it's about rich or poor. How do you respond to that? Well, that's simply not true. And that's the first thrue thrue thiiiiii. thrue thrue thrue. thr-a. thr-a. thr-a. thrue. thr-a. thr-a. thr-a-s. thr-s. thr-s. thr-a-s. thr-a-a-s. thr-s. thoe. the. the. the. the. the. th. the. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. to-a. to-a. to-a. to-a. to-a. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. thea. thea. th say. And that we actually know that segregation breaks down across racial lines both in housing and in schools. So black people, affluent black people in this country

are more likely to live in low-income black neighborhoods than they are to live alongside white affluent people. Low-income white people are more likely to live alongside white affluent people. And because that's the way housing breaks down that has huge thue thue thue thiiiiiiiiii, that has that has th, th, that has th, th, that has th, th, th, th, that th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, that's, th, tho, the, tho, th,. And because that's the way housing breaks down, that has huge implications for the kind of schools that we have. We also know that we don't actually save money through school closures, and so the kind

of budget argument doesn't really stand up. But I think that it is uncomfortable for many people to talk about race and racism. And part of what I also wanted to do with the book is to help people understand that racism is a structural thing. It's not just about what's in your heart or how you feel or our interpersonal interactions, it's kind of the air we breathe. It's interesting because there's specifically a section in the book where you break that down and you talk about how so many people feel like the label of racism is attached to them and they get defensive, I want them all to succeed. And you argue in the book, you're like, yes, you may not be racist, but the system itself is a racist system, and that is something that is oppressing these kids.

Would you argue that that is where it all begins? Because Chicago is often held up as, you know, America's child with issues. Look at Chicago. Oh, that's one way of the schools a byproduct of what Chicago is? I think it's the latter. I think that white supremacy in the history of racism in this country, I often say it's kind of like the virus and thi things are like the cold, they're like the sneeze. So these are the symptoms of a much larger issue. thi. thi. A thi. A thi. A thi. It is is is. It is a thi. It is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's a thi. It's a thi. It's a thi. It's a thi. I's a thi. I's a thi. I'm a thi. I's a thi. I's a thi. I's a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's is a thi. It's. It's a thi. I. It's a thi. It's a thi. I's a thi. I's a thi. It's a thi. I's a thr. I'm a thr. thr. thri. thri. thri. I's a thi. thi. the the thi. the thi. the the thi but it's also not really about schools. It's really about the way racism and inequality shape the way we make policy decisions and

how that affects kids. Right, and if somebody's out there going, well Eve, you know what, racism is not my issue, why should I care? Why should I care about a bunch of kids in an inner city who don't have the best school? Well, I don't spend a lot of time trying to convince, their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thi, thi, so so somebody's, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, some, some, is somebody's somebody's somebody's somebody's somebody's somebody's somebody's somebody's their, some, somea, some, some, some, some, somea, some, somea, somea, some, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, somea, their, their, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thro, thr-a, thr-a, their, is their, is a their, is a policy, somea, someathat there's a percentage of people, I think this goes with a lot of issues we have in our country. There's a percentage of people that are reasonable, thoughtful, kind people who lack information. And those people, I invite them and welcome them to learn from the book. If you're a person that doesn't fundamentally believe that it's important to provide a high quality education to all kids in the United States and beyond, regardless, regardless, regardless, regardless, their, thiiiiiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their their thi, their thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi.ei. thi. thi. thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. thiiii. And, thi. And, the where they come from or who they are, I recommend another book to you and wish you the best for a merry holiday season.

If you are an asshole, do not read this book. This book is not for assholes. Let me ask you this, though. Where do you think... My publicist is like, oh gosh. I think that's a great selling point. It goes on TV and says, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't th, don't, don't th, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, the the the the the the tho, the the the the tho, the tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, th. th TV and says, don't buy my book. It's just like, don't, if you're an asshole, do not buy the book. I think that's a great.

Get it from the library. The, um, the, um, the issues that America faces around its schooling are often, you know, I guess people often point to funding. But where do you think people can begin? And where do you think think communities think communities think communities think communities think communities think communities think communities thi communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities communities can begin in rehabilitating schools and getting them to the place where there's not the failing schools? I think the first thing is to understand public schools as public goods and that these are all of our schools regardless of whether you have a child enrolled there or not. This is something that all of us support and this is something that

belongs to all of us and so we have to take ownership over that. And the second thing I think is we have a problem with hyper individualism in our country and so people like to focus on what's best for my kid and you know the Obama administration had a policy called race to the top right we're gonna have schools compete against each other and then the best school is gonna come out on top right and we're gonna incentivize them to succeed right and you can't incentivize away struggle and these are the things that kids are coming to school with. And these are the things that these are the things that are that public educators face every day and so I think that if we start seeing those as collective problems and stop focusing on you know the special kids that make it out and things like that much ensuring that

every kid has access to a high quality education. That's something we have the means to do. We just don't have a lot of interest or political will to do it. Well, I'm hoping the people who do have the interest on the political will read this book. Thank you so much for being in the show. Ghosts in the school yard and issue one of Iron Hearts are available now. Issue two of iron heart will be available in January. if you're an asshole, do not read this book. Keep viewing everybody. Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.