Audio produced by StoryCorps Studios in partnership with GBH Boston.
When the Chicago Board of Education voted about a decade ago to close 50 elementary schools, it marked the largest mass school closing in U.S. history. These schools were slated for the chopping block due to low test scores and declining enrollment.
But the majority of students affected were Black, who were being bused to new schools in unsafe conditions, including sometimes rival gang territories.
Community organizer Jeanette Taylor and teacher Angela Ross talked about the impact of the school closures on the city’s South Side, and the ongoing racial tension in their community.
Audio recorded on June 4, 2023 at WTTW in Chicago
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