Can a community of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial integration in America?
In this searing and intimate examination of the ideals and realities of racial integration, award-winning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades-long pursuit in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and uncovers the roadblocks that have threatened progress time and again—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 reputation for academic excellence and diversity, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can 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 myth from 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 have built and lived in this community, Meckler asks: What will it take to fulfill the promise of racial integration in America? What compromises are people of both races willing to make? What does success look like, and has Shaker achieved it? The result is a complex and masterfully reported 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.
Praise for Dream Town
“Through detailed research and interviews, Meckler tells a remarkable story about a town that continuously strives to achieve the ideals it long ago set for itself.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“A nuanced and impressively detailed study of the barriers to racial equity. Policymakers and social justice activists should take note.”
“Reported with compassion, thoroughness and a keen sense of fairness and balance, Meckler’s book explores the heroic and sometimes successful effort of one American community to move beyond the hatred and division that has led to racial segregation across most of the country. It would be hard to add up all the ways in which Meckler’s book is relevant to the current political and cultural moment.”
Attention book clubs!
Is your book club interested in discussing Dream Town? Here’s a discussion guide (but warning: there are spoilers contained!)
I love book clubs and have been a member of mine in D.C. for more than 20 years. I’m happy to Zoom into book club meetings as my schedule allows. Contact me through the contact page to inquire.
Dream Town was inspired by my 2019 Washington Post story about Shaker Heights. After this article was published, I knew I had more to say about my hometown.
This video from The Washington Post features thoughtful people discussing the challenges of Shaker Heights. It was created as a supplement to my 2019 article. (Video by Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
Read the Washington Post story here
More Praise for Dream Town
“Laura Meckler’s Dream Town is a brave and provocative book, breaking new ground in exploring difficulties facing Americans, Black and white, in reaching the goal of integrated schools and communities. Meckler has taken on one of the most important and vexing issues facing the nation, and she does not flinch. Dream Town is critical reading not only for those dealing with the politics of race but for everyone struggling to maintain a commitment to fairness, equality, and the achievement of the American dream at one of the most divisive moments in our history.”
—Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times political columnist
“A riveting exploration of the long-running quest for racial equality in the public schools of Shaker Heights, Ohio. In the 1960s, as white flight was upending urban America, Shaker was that rare white community that opened its hearts and neighborhood schools to Black people, embracing integration as an ideal. In her clear-eyed account, Meckler makes clear we all have a stake in this community’s ongoing quest to do right by its school children.”
—Dale Russakoff, author of The Prize
"Whether exploring the intricacies of race relations or delving into the complexities of modern-day identity politics, Meckler's ability to captivate and inform is unparalleled. This is a book for anyone who seeks to understand the past, engage with the present, and envision a better future for us all. An engrossing narrative."
—Jesse J. Holland, author of Black Men Built the Capitol and The Invisibles: The Untold Story of American Slaves in the White House
“A glorious book about people with good intentions. Meckler tells a complicated, moving story about decades of change in the school system of Shaker Heights, Ohio. To try to achieve better schools, students are bussed; schools are closed; schools are opened; Black students are welcomed into honors classes; honors classes are abolished. But the Shaker community stubbornly, admirably, never gives up.”
—Don Graham, former publisher of The Washington Post
Photo of Shaker Heights High School by me, on a summer day when the halls were empty
In 1963, Cosmopolitan magazine called Shaker Heights “an American dream town come true.” (Cover photo copyright Bob Willoughby/mptvimages Cosmopolitian)