Using Current Events to Shape Public Dialogue
Promoting Diversity, Racial Justice, and Educational Opportunity

Equal opportunity is a core national value, and Americans strongly believe that it should not be hindered by race, gender, ethnicity, or other aspects of who we are. However, while inequalities persist across a range of issues, the public is increasingly skeptical of the existence of racial discrimination in particular. We need new and better ways to talk about equal opportunity and diversity, and the barriers that hamper them. As an important gateway to opportunity, educational equality must be central to our new story.

The Challenge
Barriers to equality and diversity in our education system continue to mount, and experts tell us that racial segregation and isolation cannot be overcome without making integration an explicit goal in educational policymaking. In 2007, the Supreme Court took up this issue, hearing two cases regarding the ability of school districts to employ voluntary integration programs. The Court handed down a complex and mixed decision that educational policymakers could have interpreted in many ways. It was therefore imperative for advocates to react with a coherent story that protected equal opportunity and diversity.

The Opportunity Agenda's Approach
The Opportunity Agenda often uses timely and newsworthy events to elevate social justice values and solutions. To do so, we work closely with partners to frame the debate in ways that foster support for expanded opportunity. Strategies often include spokesperson training and aggressive media placement, focusing resources on targeted opportunities to contribute to the public debate.

Our Activities
To prepare for the media blitz surrounding the Supreme Court cases, The Opportunity Agenda worked with partners to anticipate possible decisions and develop talking points based on an analysis of public opinion research and media coverage. When the Court handed down its decision, we issued new talking points in 90 minutes, briefed education and civil rights leaders, and helped place those leaders in dozens of news stories around the nation.

The spokespeople with whom we worked appeared in many subsequent stories, using our tools and carrying a shared message. An analysis of media coverage surrounding the cases revealed that these spokespeople maintained a consistent, effective, and influential message.

Our work with key educational and civil rights organizations in this initiative helped develop an optimistic and powerful message around promoting diversity. We believe our work has helped to convince school districts to maintain their integration and educational oppotunity policies in the wake of the court’s decision. Fueled by the attention the decision received, we continue to work with partners to promote lawful and effective local policies that offer equal access to quality education for all.