IMAGINE BEING a Black child experiencing racial isolation and bullying in a predominantly White school. Now, picture a child living in a homeless shelter, staring out at the school just across the street that refuses to enroll migrants. For many Black and Brown children, equal access to education remains elusive as schoolhouse doors close to children of color, who are viewed as a nuisance.

From Saugus to Norfolk, migrant children are experiencing significant hurdles in the school enrollment process and an alarming trend towards outright bans. These practices are prohibited by federal and state laws that guarantee all children — including those who are undocumented or unhoused — equal access to educational opportunities. By closing the schoolhouse doors, we deny children the right to an education, the most fundamental and powerful opportunity we can offer to set them up for success and ensure their productive participation in our society and economy. 

But the trend towards exclusion and expendability doesn’t stop with migrant children; it also extends to Black students. On behalf of Black children, Lawyers for Civil Rights has recently taken action to enforce civil rights law against Brookline, Marblehead, Melrose, Southwick, and Walpole.

The complaints involve deeply disturbing and violent incidents in schools ranging from reenactments of George Floyd’s murder to Black students being sold in mock slave auctions. In the absence of official remedial action, parents and communities have rallied against these traumatizing and stigmatizing manifestations of hate. 

As Black children face racially-motivated violence in the classroom — and migrant children confront the threat of outright bans — schools are visibly retreating from their traditional role as sanctuaries. This growing hostility in schools, along with handcuffing and physical restraint, shows that the once-warm embrace of safety and support is loosening. This dynamic coincides with the Supreme Court’s narrowing of affirmative action and its concomitant impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This also reflects the diminishing public focus on George Floyd as his murder fades from collective memory.

The forces that lead to school exclusion are deep-rooted, and start with subtle and not-so-subtle messaging about who is worthy and who isn’t. At Lawyers for Civil Rights, we’re working with families who have been systematically shut out of emergency shelters. To be sure, this impacts longtime residents and newcomers alike.

When government officials decide that a church cannot pitch a tent for a homeless family, they send an unequivocal message: some people aren’t even worthy of having a piece of plastic over their heads. This dehumanization places people in danger and sets off a Sisyphean cascade — a relentless cycle — of social determinants affecting health and education. From there, a matrix and web of rejection and discrimination unfolds. 

Naively, some policymakers believe that this manufactured hyper-marginalization doesn’t spill over into schools. In the absence of meaningful police reform in Massachusetts, it’s no wonder that children are reenacting George Floyd’s murder in schools. And inevitable consequences compound as schools mirror the state’s actions by barring migrant families. If the state discards them, why shouldn’t schools? 

What is remarkable is our individual and collective failure to confront these wrongdoings around our kitchen tables, within our classrooms, and in our halls of power. This is not just a policy failure; it’s a moral failure that makes us complicit in perpetuating racial injustice.  

As we approach the new school year, leading up to a contentious November presidential election, we should anticipate a new wave of anti-Blackness in schools — racial bullying —along with more draconian local and state policies exacerbating the migrant crisis. As our region wrestles with concurrent housing and migrant crises, we must be more responsive to the needs and vulnerabilities of those trapped in a liminal state, caught in limbo as they navigate overlapping eviction and immigration proceedings. 

In this environment, schools and other institutions must provide stability. We can’t afford to lose sight that all children — including children of color and those who are unhoused — are an important investment in our collective future. Our children are an asset, not a nuisance. And we need to prioritize their well-being by providing comprehensive wrap-around support, including housing, food, and a safe learning environment. The government’s role in providing guidance, resources, and civil rights enforcement is paramount. 

We must urgently break the cycle of disposability and expendability to foster a society rooted in inherent dignity, respect, opportunity, and community for all. This transformation starts at home and extends through our schools and far beyond.

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal is executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights.