American public school inequality is rooted in historical segregation and property-based funding systems. Although Brown v. Board of Education ended legal segregation, schools continue to rely on local property taxes, reinforcing disparities shaped by redlining and exclusionary zoning. District boundaries often mirror racial and economic divisions, making educational inequality structural rather than accidental.

George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, published in 2020, is a memoir-manifesto about growing up Black and queer in America.