The book provides a comprehensive assessment of current African-American education policy and its politics.

Kenneth J. Meier is the Charles H. Gregory Chair in Liberal Arts and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Texas A & M University. He is also a Professor of Public Management at the Cardiff University School of Business. He was formerly the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and the editor of the American Journal of Political Science. He is the founding editor of Perspectives on Public Management and Governance.

1. Representation, partisanship and equality in education; 2. Two myths: separate but equal and nonpartisan education; 3. The politics of African-American school board representation: partisanship, structure and resources; 4. Race and the street level bureaucrats: with a little help from my friends; 5. Partisanship, teacher representation and access to education opportunities; 6. Race, politics and student learning; 7. Can you beat the ovarian lottery?