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American novelist Toni Morrison died at the age of 88, her publisher announced Tuesday. Morrison received a master's in English from Cornell University in 1955 and was the first African-American writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Her work, which centered around issues of black identity and race, was “masterful, purposeful, precise and challenging,” says Noliwe Rooks, professor in the Africana Studies & Research Center.

Arts & Humanities

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Noliwe Rooks, professor of American studies at Cornell University and author of the book “Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and The End of Public Education,” says that segregation persists in American schools in large part due to white parents’ unwillingness to send their children to schools where they would have Black classmates.

Social & Behavioral Sciences

Law and Policy

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Noliwe Rooks, professor of American studies at Cornell University and author of the book “Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and The End of Public Education,” comments on international school strikes, at which students from around the globe demand political action to combat climate change.

Arts and Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

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On Tuesday, an advisory panel on school integration and equity in New York City released a report suggesting that city government pursue policies that would address segregation in NYC’s public school system. Noliwe Rooks says that the report does not sufficiently account for entrenched racism and opportunity hoarding on the part of privileged, white parents.

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As analysts speculate whether issues of education will make the cut in tonight’s State of the Union address, Noliwe Rooks associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University and author of “Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education,” says that should Trump’s approach to education be judged by the actions of some of his financial backers, we may face a dismantle of the American public education system.

Law and Policy

Arts and Sciences

Cornell in DC

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Noliwe Rooks, associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University, is author of “Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education” a book that traces the financing of education in America from the civil war to today. Rooks says that the decision to return local control to Newark Public Schools presents an opportunity to create a quality education for the community.

Arts and Sciences

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