Derrick Bell, Critical Race Theory, and the Unlikely Origins of School Choice

How a pioneering critical race theorist helped shape debates over vouchers, charters and community control.

Derrick Bell — the scholar widely regarded as a founding figure of critical race theory — brought an unusually pragmatic and skeptical lens to debates about school reform. While school choice is often associated with Milton Friedman and conservative economists, Bell’s work in the 1970s and beyond shows that choice ideas were also being explored within Black communities searching for better educational outcomes when public systems failed them.

From Desegregation Lawyer to Skeptical Reformer

Before joining Harvard Law School, Bell litigated desegregation cases as a federal attorney. That experience left him doubtful that legally mandated integration alone would produce better learning for students in under-resourced schools. In the 1973 edition of his textbook Race, Racism and American Law, he included a chapter titled “Alternatives to Integrated Schools,” which examined strategies — including tuition vouchers and community-run "free schools" — intended to deliver meaningful educational opportunity to predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Vouchers, Free Schools, and Community Control

Bell described several models. He argued that vouchers could only be equitable if low-income families received substantially larger grants than wealthier families. He also documented the emergence of small private ‘‘free schools’’ supported by foundations, local fundraising and sometimes public funds; these schools often used sliding-scale tuition and offered free seats to children whose families could not pay.

Bell drew attention to community-run alternatives — such as schools organized by the Nation of Islam in some cities — that emphasized racial pride, discipline and self-sufficiency. He reported that students in some of these schools were performing multiple grade levels ahead of peers in the neighborhood public schools.

Milwaukee, Vouchers, and Political Coalitions

Bell saw school choice as a response to repeated disappointments in efforts to secure desegregation and equitable funding. The late 1960s and 1970s produced growing calls for community control; in 1968, Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill–Brownsville famously fought for local authority, and in 1988 Milwaukee’s activists issued the Milwaukee Manifesto, seeking state permission to form an independent, community-controlled district.

Travelling to Milwaukee, Bell defended the Manifesto in an op-ed entitled “Control Not Color: The Real Issue in the Milwaukee Manifesto,” arguing that critics who enjoyed options for their own children could not fairly condemn poor parents who lacked such choices. In 1990, Milwaukee activists allied with Republican Governor Tommy Thompson to pass the nation’s first school voucher law, targeted at low-income students in chronically failing schools; Wisconsin extended vouchers to religious schools five years later.

Vouchers, Charters, and Silent Covenants

In Silent Covenants (2004), Bell revisited school choice as vouchers and charter schools spread to cities such as Cleveland and Washington, D.C. He admitted vouchers were highly controversial but acknowledged why many Black and Hispanic parents chose private alternatives — especially Catholic schools — for their perceived discipline and academic performance. Bell cited examples where a large majority of students at some Catholic institutions were non-Catholic and where vouchers covered most tuition costs.

Bell also praised charter schools for expanding options to low-income and nonwhite students: he noted data showing about two-thirds of charter students were nonwhite and more than half were from low-income families. Still, Bell worried charters received roughly 15% less funding than traditional public schools and acknowledged concerns that some charters could contribute to racial isolation or siphon resources.

The Shift Toward Universal Choice

Over recent decades the choice movement has shifted. Early programs often targeted the most disadvantaged students, but newer "universal" choice programs — in 18 states as of this writing — extend benefits to families regardless of income. When awards do not cover full tuition, they can subsidize better-off families while leaving the poorest unable to afford private options. Rising demand for private and religious seats can increase competition and tuition, producing outcomes that advantage families with resources while doing less for the neediest students.

At the federal level, legislation enacted during the Trump administration created a tax provision allowing deductions for donations to organizations that provide scholarships to private or religious schools; such measures have not always been narrowly targeted to low-income families.

Interest Convergence: In a 1980 Harvard Law Review article, Bell argued that Black progress is often secured only when it aligns with white interests — a lens he used to interpret shifting, temporary coalitions in education policy.

Why Bell’s Perspective Still Matters

Bell’s contributions complicate simple political labels. He recognized both the appeal of choice for many families seeking safety and academic rigor and the legitimate concerns of civil rights advocates who feared diversion of public resources and exploitation of vulnerable families. His analytic framework — skeptical of durable cross-racial political alliances when interests diverge — remains a powerful tool for understanding why school reform can take unexpected ideological turns.

Bottom line: School choice has roots both in market-oriented proposals and in community-driven efforts led by Black activists. Understanding Derrick Bell’s nuanced perspective helps explain the movement’s complex history and its uneven effects on equity.