Standing Strong in Undemocratic Times: Supporting Diversity and Enhancing Democracy in Education (Multicultural Education Series) Paperback – April 24, 2026

Many of the nation’s most eminent education scholars and researchers describe constructive and effective ways to respond to and resist the attacks on diversity and multicultural education and to support democracy.In this timely volume, James A. Banks and a stellar group of contributors push back on the national and cogent attacks on diversity and multicultural education, both of which have accelerated after the 2024 presidential election. Beyond describing the challenges that multicultural education and democracy are likely to face in the coming years, each chapter offers interventions and actions that educators and administrators can take to mitigate their impact.Standing Strong in Undemocratic Times describes ways in which democracy is fragile and endangered in the United States and how teaching about diversity in schools, colleges, and universities can help to promote democracy in the nation.Book Features:Describes the origins and nature of the attacks on DEI and of teaching about race in America’s schools, colleges, and universities.Provides information, research, and strategies that can give educators hope and ways to envision the future of diversity and multicultural education programs.Explores how opponents of diversity and multicultural education have perpetuated misinformation, such as the claim that critical race theory is being taught in K–12 schools.Includes contributions by three cohorts of multicultural education scholars: the founders, the second generation, and the most recent researchers in the field.Examines how fascism and authoritarianism are growing in the United States and how education in schools, colleges, and universities can counter these forces.CONTENTS AND CONTRIBUTORSPreface James A. BanksIntroduction James A. BanksPART I: RACISM, FASCISM, AND THE QUEST FOR EQUITY AND DEMOCRACYSurviving a Second Nadir: Resisting the Rightist Destruction of Democracy, Gloria Ladson-BillingsDEI, Democracy, and the Authoritarian Threat: Why Higher Education Must Resist, Royel M. JohnsonWhite Racial Shame and the Permanence of Racism: A Critical Hope Response, Robin DiAngeloRise of Fascism in the United States: A Critical Multicultural Anti-Fascist Response, Michael VavrusPART II: REVITALIZING DIVERSITY AND MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONWhites in Multicultural Education: Retrospective and Reflection, Gary HowardResisting Resistance to Diversity, Geneva GayPossibilities and Obligations of Critical Scholars When Knowledge Production Is Under Siege, Michelle Fine and Lois Weis(Re-)Envisioning the Transformative Power of Multicultural Education, Gilberto Q. Conchas and Victor DeAlbaIn the Wake of Anti-Woke: Education, Racism Without Races, and Breaking With Symmetricism, Zeus LeonardoPART III: CURRICULUM AND TEACHINGConfronting Educational Inequity in the United States: Daring to Hope, Sonia NietoCurriculum for a Diverse Democracy, Christine E. SleeterCulturally Responsive Pedagogy for Immigrant-Origin Students, Carola Suárez-OrozcoPART IV: REENVISIONING THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY, DIVERSITY, AND CITIZENSHIPDEI Disaster Recovery in America’s K–12 Schools and Higher Education Institutions, Shaun HarperRedefining Membership: Executive Actions and the Boundaries of Citizenship, Angela M. BanksTeaching Towards Expansive Solidarities in Dangerous Times, Wayne AuAfterword: Diversity as a Vehicle for Promoting Democracy, Cherry A. McGee Banks Read more