This essay examines the central contradiction at the core of our public schooling system in the US: antidemocratic schools in a democratic society. Starting with Dewey, scholars have called for more democracy in our educational institutions, however, very few public schools in the US operate on democratic principles where students are directly involved in the shared decision making of school governance. Analyzing the links between democracy, education, and inequality, this essay explores the way notions of freedom and the problem of enduring inequality impede democratic participation and often promote a narrow vision of education aimed at preparing students for the workforce. The study ends with an examination of what educators can learn about improving schools and democracy from historical efforts within the Black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This study highlights the Citizenship Schools and the Freedom Schools, both grassroots models of democratic schooling linked to the Civil Rights Movement that aimed to bring more economic and social justice, as well as more democracy to schools and society.
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