Punished for Dreaming

How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal

By: Bettina L. Love

Narrated by: Bettina L. Love, Karen Chilton

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year 2023

This program features an introduction read by the author.

“I am an eighties baby who grew to hate school. I never fully understood why. Until now. Until Bettina Love unapologetically and painstakingly chronicled the last forty years of education ‘reform’ in this landmark book. I hated school because it warred on me. I hated school because I loved to dream.”—Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling author of How to be an Antiracist

In the tradition of Michelle Alexander, an unflinching reckoning with the impact of 40 years of racist public school policy on generations of Black lives

In Punished for Dreaming Dr. Bettina Love argues forcefully that Reagan’s presidency ushered in a War on Black Children, pathologizing and penalizing them in concert with the War on Drugs. New policies punished schools with policing, closure, and loss of funding in the name of reform, as white savior, egalitarian efforts increasingly allowed private interests to infiltrate the system. These changes implicated children of color, and Black children in particular, as low performing, making it all too easy to turn a blind eye to their disproportionate conviction and incarceration. Today, there is little national conversation about a structural overhaul of American schools; cosmetic changes, rooted in anti-Blackness, are now passed off as justice.

It is time to put a price tag on the miseducation of Black children. In this prequel to The New Jim Crow, Dr. Love serves up a blistering account of four decades of educational reform through the lens of the people who lived it. Punished for Dreaming lays bare the devastating effect on 25 Black Americans caught in the intersection of economic gain and racist ideology. Then, with input from leading U.S. economists, Dr. Love offers a road map for repair, arguing for reparations with transformation for all children at its core.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Bettina L. Love (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"A stark critique of 40 years of education policies that were deliberately crafted ‘to punish Black people for believing in and fighting for their right to quality public education.’ … An impassioned plea for educational justice.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Blends brilliance, warmth, and a deep commitment to the pursuit of justice for all our nation’s children."—Brittney Cooper, bestselling author of Eloquent Rage

"Accessible and deeply personal...Love's interviews with Black folks... add a tenderness and intimacy."—Eve L. Ewing, author of Ghosts in the Schoolyard

Telling the truth. It told my childhood and my son's!

This is an outstanding read! A must if ones profession is in education. I could not put it down! Bought the hard copy and the audio!

Research and profound storytelling!

This book provides an overview of the last 40 years of educational reforms in public schools. Dr. Love argues that these reforms actually punished Black peoples for having the audacity to believe in the American dream. Wow!

Love Wins

Dr. Love lays out a pathway of redemption, healing and love for our broken education system. Two thumbs up, … way up!!!

A must read!!

This book perfectly outlines the path that education "reform" has taken and who truly benefits from a system that was designed to oppress a certain race of people. The author's personal experiences and testimonial of those who have been robbed are interwoven throughout this book highlight how she was impacted and she has impacted the system that set her up to fail.

Excellent read!

Bettina Love did a phenomenal job laying out the education system in the United States.