“None of the Above”
Shani Robinson, an alumna of Tennessee State University, taught in the Atlanta Public Schools system for three years and was wrongfully convicted the in Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial. She is free on bond while her case pends appeal. She is currently an advocate for social justice causes.
Anna Simonton is an independent journalist originally from Atlanta and an editor for Scalawag magazine. She is a proud graduate of Atlanta Public Schools, and a member of the First E.
Our topic:
Shani Robinson and Anna Simonton will discuss their book None of the Above: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators. The book delves into Shani’s personal story as a new mother facing 25 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. The authors also explore the historic and political context underlying a trial that scapegoated Black employees for problems in the education system.
Stretching all the way back to Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools, to examining the corporate-led education reform movement, the policing of black and brown communities, and widening racial and economic disparities in Atlanta, Robinson and Simonton reveal how real estate moguls and financiers have lines their pockets with the education dollars that should have been going to the classroom.
- Facilitator: Charlene Ball
- Musician: William Chelton