Since then, there have been approximately 50 public and private screenings of the film convening over 1,500 attendees. The film has been viewed on YouTube over 4,000 times.
Check out the film and accompanying resources for facilitating discussions and taking action below.
How Nashville Created and Sustains Inequities in our Schools
Our new policy brief further unpacks how city structures and systems prevent low-income students and students of color from thriving. The brief outlines specific policies and decisions in our city's history - such as housing and zoning decisions - that have established, exacerbated, and continue to perpetuate inequities for students and families in ways that impact their access to and opportunities for success in our public schools.
The Limitations of Desegregation in Nashville's Public Schools
Our new, condensed version of the full documentary focuses specifically on the failings of desegregation-era policies in Nashville. This resource offers a 22-minute option for screenings where a shorter or more specific showing is desired.
Watch Guide: The Limitations of Desegregation in Nashville's Public Schools
Our new Watch Guide accompanies the 22-minute condensed documentary by Design: The Limitations of Desegregation in Nashville's Public Schools. This resource facilitates solutions-driven conversations about the film and our collective role in designing a future that ensures all students thrive.
By Design: The Shaping of Nashville's Public Schools is a documentary produced by the Nashville Public Education Foundation examining historical moments of public schooling in Nashville dating back to the 1800s. The film is intended to educate city leaders and the community about how public policy and community priorities have formed the basis for the city’s current education system, and to generate awareness and advocacy to stimulate policy solutions for a better public school system where all students thrive.
By Design: The Shaping of Nashville's Public Schools has been produced by NPEF in collaboration with education experts, leading historians, community and state leaders, and students from defining moments in Nashville’s public-school history. Among those featured in the film are:
Dr. Linda Wynn, Assistant Director for State Programs, Tennessee Historical Commission
Dr. Ansley Erickson, Historian and Author of Making the Unequal Metropolis
David Ewing, Historian
Governor Phil Bredesen, former Nashville mayor and Tennesseee governor
Judge Richard Dinkins, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge
and five of the original 16 Black students who desegregated Nashville schools in 1957
