School Colors is a documentary podcast from Brooklyn Deep about how race, class, and power shape American cities and schools. We follow generations of parents and educators fighting for their children in an ever-changing city.
Season 1 centers on District 16 in the historically Black neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Fifty years ago, the schools of District 16 were so overcrowded that students had to go to school in shifts. Now, they’re half-empty. Why?
Season 2 centers on District 28, which encompasses a dozen neighborhoods in the heart of Queens, often touted as “the most diverse place in the world.” When District 28 was chosen to go through a diversity planning process, parents erupted in outrage. Why? And why would such a diverse district need a diversity plan in the first place?
Season 1 of School Colors was made possible by support from the NYU Metropolitan Center for Equity and the Transformation of Schools, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Season 2 of School Colors was produced in partnership with NPR’s Code Switch, with support from the Spencer Fellowship in Education Reporting at Columbia University.