Justin Cohen

Justin Cohen (2015) is writing a book about the broken U.S. education system. He aims to reinvigorate the debate about reform, and change the old arguments that perpetuate the brokenness. In the 60 years since the Supreme Court forced American schools to integrate, this country has continued to offer black, brown, and low-income children a subpar public education. In the meantime, middle class Americans bought themselves deeper into the suburbs, where they found schools that are shockingly disappointing. Cohen’s work focuses on the intersection of race, class, social justice and education in a country that is once again wrestling with the original sins of racism and white supremacy.

Cohen has been president of a Boston-based education nonprofit, Mass Insight Education, a senior advisor to the chancellor of the D.C. public schools, and a policy expert on the 2008 Obama campaign.