Melissa F. Weiner
Associate Professor of Sociology, College of the Holy Cross
Chapter Member: Boston SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Melissa
Weiner's research focuses on histories and legacies of enslaving and colonialism and resistance to these phenomena, primarily from a historical sociological perspective. In particular, Weiner's research addresses the ways in which historical racism and white supremacy manifest in contemporary social, political, and educational venues as well as how colonized and oppressed populations resist these phenomena to promote decolonial imaginaries.
Contributions
Money Matters - For All Schoolchildren
Basic Facts Brief,
In the News
Opinion: "In Education, Funding Matters," Melissa F. Weiner, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, March 5, 2013.
Opinion: "Exposing the Real Guilty Party: School Funding and Racial Disparities," Melissa F. Weiner, RacismReview, February 12, 2011.
Guest on WYBC 93.5FM, June 16, 2010.
Guest on WYBC 93.5FM, April 13, 2010.
Research discussed by , in "Experts: Olympics Can Measure Race Relations Progress," Connecticut Post, February 20, 2010.
Research discussed by , in "Where’s the Rage? Recession Sparks Mild Protests," ABC News, March 17, 2009.
Research discussed by , in "Race Not a Black or White Issue," New Haven Register, November 23, 2008.
Guest on WQUN 1220AM, November 15, 2008.
Interviewed in "Quinnipiac Says ‘Hate’ Acts Not Unique to University," New Haven Register, September 18, 2008.
Publications
"All the News That’s Fit to Print? Silence and Voice in Mainstream and Ethnic Press Accounts of African American Protest" Research in Social Movements, Conflict, and Change 31 (2010): 297-324.
Sheds light on ways the mainstream press (The New York Times) used stereotypical depictions of low-income female mothers protesting educational inequality in their children’s schools thereby delegitimizing their demands while the ethnic press provides accurate, truthful accounts featuring activists’ voices.
"Power, Protest and the Public Schools: Jewish and African American Struggles in New York City" (Rutgers University Press, 2010).
Illustrates how, rather than acting as pathways to upward socioeconomic mobility, schools entrenched racial inequalities for racialized groups, even in the face of decades-long protest by hundreds of parents, students, and community activists.
"Elite vs. Grassroots: Disjunctures between Parents’ and Civil Rights Organizations’ Demands for the New York City Public Schools, 1950-1960" The Sociological Quarterly 50, no. 1 (2009): 89-119.
Shows that established civil rights organizations sought abstract ideals of integration and halted movement tactics when promised while parents demanded specific substantive changes to the schools, both with regards to integration and resource and curricular reform, while seeking educational equality in New York City.