A month after publishing her viral essay on her own daughter\u2019s struggle in majority Black New York City public schools, journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones grilled New York City Public Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels about his plans to integrate the school system. Judging by widespread sighs, eye rolls and grimaces amongst the audience, Samuels failed the test miserably.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile they said it\u2019s a conversation, it\u2019s really about to be an interrogation,\u201d Hannah-Jones said upon taking her seat at the New York City School Integration Town Hall Tuesday night Washington Irving Campus High School. And her comment set the tone for what followed at the program organized by school integration nonprofit New York Appleseed and student journalism organization The Bell.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity\u201d and \u201cconversations\u201d (often combined) were Samuels\u2019 go-to words of the evening, to the frustration of many listeners hoping to hear more tangible action items. \u201cWe will come to you with more robust conversation, but right now there are things we are already doing\u201d about integration, Samuels said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hannah-Jones started off with a bang, citing a 2019 report from then-Mayor Bill de Blasio\u2019s administration<\/a> that made desegregation policy recommendations that never came to fruition. \u201cHere we are, nearly a decade later, and virtually none of the recommendations have been enforced, and the most critical ones have not been adopted,\u201d Hannah-Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hannah-Jones was clear about her viewpoint. She wants a more racially integrated public school system that actually benefits students of color, and most importantly, one that creates an equal playing field for students of all backgrounds, so that parents don\u2019t even have to face the hard decision that she did. \u201cInstead of ameliorating the disadvantage of low income Black and Latino students, this school system optimizes those disadvantages. \u2029But at the same time, it concentrates and monopolizes advantage for the children in the city, who already have the most privilege,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hannah-Jones made waves last month with her personal essay in the New York Times Magazine titled \u201cIn Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?\u201d<\/a> It was a follow-up to her 2016 piece<\/a>, on Hannah-Jones and her husband opting to send their child to a lower-performing Brooklyn public school with a majority Black and brown and lower-income student population, as opposed to more well-resourced public, private or charter schools. The first essay reignited the conversation around school segregation, particularly in New York City. And the second one did too. But in 2026, the Big Apple remains home to one of the most segregated public school systems<\/a> in the nation under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n Asked for his plans to create a system-wide school integration plan, Samuels instead spoke of his record, and the de Blasio administration\u2019s School Diversity Advisory Group policy recommendations, which, although still unimplemented, he said he\u2019s used as a \u201cguide\u201d in his work. He said the number of schools requiring screening for admissions dropped from 196 to 80 post-pandemic, and touted the breadth of school options parents have to choose from, which Samuels says is \u201cpart of the reason we remain segregated.\u201d<\/p>\n An unsatisfied Hannah-Jones cut in.\u201cYou keep talking about what you did, and I’m asking, what are you going to do?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Samuels lauded the administration\u2019s June launch of working groups to brainstorm policy solutions<\/a> to resolve \u201cstructural and instructional inequities. Five out of 32 local school districts have launched these groups, and the city plans to launch all of them by 2028. The working groups recall a similar system from the de Blasio administration. Mamdani previously said he would implement some of the de Blasio era recommendations, but hasn\u2019t yet done so.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hannah-Jones continued her attempts to zero-in, asking Samuels plainly about the purpose of school screening, and why he isn\u2019t implementing the previous advisory group\u2019s recommendations. These recommendations<\/a> include completely eliminating screening, a process that evaluates students\u2019 academic records to determine admissions; as well as eliminating \u201cgifted & talented\u201d programs<\/a>, which place higher-performing students on more advanced tracks. Both practices more often privilege white and\/or wealthier families. Samuels stumbled and stuttered through his answers, eliciting a chorus of boos and shouts from the audience.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your timeline?\u201d an audience member shouted.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, this is something that we\u2019re working on,\u201d the chancellor replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ten months in. This is not a surprising conversation, this is not a new issue.\u201d Hannah-Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hannah-Jones also mentioned the debate over mayoral control of New York City public schools,\u00a0and Samuels was candid about opposing calls for the mayor to relinquish power\u00a0 \u2013 including calls from the crowd Tuesday night. On the campaign trail, Mamdani pledged to end mayoral control and allow more decisions at the community level \u2013 before reversing his position and successfully lobbying for the extension of mayoral control. In another campaign trail reversal, he\u00a0promised<\/a> to maintain the Specialized High School Admissions Test, but also discussed wanting to phase out gifted & talented programs for early elementary students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n