Dream Town

Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity

By: Laura Meckler

Narrated by: Debi Tinsley, Laura Meckler

Can a group of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial integration in America?

In this searing and deeply researched examination of the promises and realities of racial integration, award-winning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler aims to uncover where the problem lies and to shed light on what’s being done to move forward—in housing, in education, and in the promise of shared community.

In the late 1950s, Shaker Heights became a national model for housing integration. And beginning in the seventies, it was known as a crown jewel in the national move to racially integrate schools. The school district built a national reputation for academic excellence and diversity, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can not just coexist but thrive together. Meckler—herself a product of Shaker Heights—takes a deeper look into the place that shaped her, investigating its complicated history and its ongoing challenges in order to untangle the myth from the truth. She confronts an enduring, and troubling, question—if Shaker Heights has worked so hard at racial equity, why does a racial academic achievement gap persist?

In telling the stories of the Shakerites who built and live in this community, Meckler asks: Can a group of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial integration in America? What does success look like and has Shaker achieved it? What are Black Americans asked to sacrifice and what will white people have to give up? The result is a complex portrait of a place that, while never perfect, has achieved more than most, and a road map for communities that seek to do the same.

excellent overview of the complexity of integration in Shaker Heights

I really liked the way the story was told with each chapter focusing on a family or person involved with the integration movement in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The book really highlighted just how complex the issues of integration are, and how even in communities where there are well meaning folks wanting to address issues of segregation and discrimination - the issues are not always so black and white (no pun intended). But Shaker Heights is still one of the only communities in the Country to even try to address issues of segregation and there are many lessons to be learned from the work that has been done and continues to be done in this community. A worthwhile read for anyone who works planning, schools, fair housing etc.

Couldn’t stop until I finished

I really enjoyed it, particularly from the many perspectives. A different bookI just finished was Generations which added the dynamics of age to the racial and diversity challenges that this book offered. As a Boomer graduate it expanded many previous thoughts. Thanks!

Surreal Read (for me)

My family moved into Shaker in May 1967. I know many of the people in the book. I graduated from the high school in 77, and my brother in '79. I remember my parents discussing many of these issues.

This gives me a different perspective on my experience. Excellent read.

Irritating reader voice

The reader uses vocal fry (an affectation where the voice is dropped at the end of sentences or words to a creaky, nails-on-the-blackboard sound). It made the book unbearable to listen to.