Primed to address how educational inequities along race and class lines have compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey is an imperative voice to heed around the future of educational policy reform. Timed to publish just as back-to-school season approaches, FOREVER FREE calls necessary attention to the iniquities in public education, delineates actionable steps classroom teachers and extracurricular educators can take to close the achievement gap, and illuminates why overcoming these barriers is critical, not just because of the moral and humane imperative to serve those that have been disenfranchised but because it points to a direct line between the achievement in our public schools and the economic, social and political fate and the future of all Americans. FOREVER FREE will inspire and empower readers to replace deserts of educational despair with an opportunity to reshape our nation’s future. Bailey implores us to see that the solutions are within our grasp.
Tracy Swinton Bailey earned a Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Language and Literacy at the University of South Carolina in 2013. She began her career as a high school English instructor, and went on to found Freedom Readers, an after-school and summer literacy program that was designed and implemented to support families in low-income areas and assist children in achieving their academic goals in reading. She is married to award-winning writer, Issac J. Bailey, and is the mother of two children.