More Than Title IX: How Equity in Education Has Shaped the Nation

A seminal piece of American legislation, Title IX was signed into law in 1972, ensuring that no federally-funded educational program could exclude anyone based on gender. Originally drafted to guarantee women access to school athletics, Title IX has had a far-reaching effect on all aspects society, starting a legacy of true equal-rights legislation for women that opened doors and minds. Title IX's impact on both genders, and on society as a whole, is an important focus of this volume, which merges straightforward history with firsthand accounts from those who took on the monumental task of changing politics and people in the 1960s and 1970s. Also stressed is the vital connection between women's rights and racial equality. The authors, all senior executives at the non-profit Educational Development Center, also review the changes still needed, as well as evidence of regression in American policy and culture. Though an incomplete history and a less-than-rigorous policy evaluation, this volume admirably archives the testimony of brave activists, past and present, who struggle for true parity, and warns against forgetting or distorting the origins of the debate.