34th Street

‘That’s Our Ivy League’: Rethinking Education and Equity in Philadelphia

“What does it mean that I’m a white person who was born in a small wealthy seacoast town in New Hampshire, moved to Philadelphia 25 years ago, and now is a parent of two kids in the public school district in the school that’s subsidized by Penn?” Professor Amy Hillier’s determination to constantly question her position as a tenured white female cis-gender professor at Penn is a guiding force through her life.

“I think a lot of folks have wanted to dance around whiteness and not embrace it as an identity,” she elaborates. “But I know it’s so much a part of my everyday life, my privilege, and how I’ve been able to navigate Penn.”

MORE >