1. Why Desegregation Still Matters -- 2. Soft Racism? How Complicating Interpretations of Racism Impact School History -- 3. Historic Patterns of Soft Racism, Symbolic Violence, and Dignified Disdain for Blacks -- 4. With Justice and Equality for Some…- 5. It Takes a Village -- 6. Protecting White Innocents and White Innocence -- 7. History Repeats Itself: The Perils of Normandy High School.

This book examines the history of the school desegregation movement in St. Louis, Missouri. Underlining the 2014 killing of Michael Brown as a catalyst for re-examination of school desegregation, Rias delves into the connection between contemporary school segregation and social justice, probing the ways that “soft racism”—a term the author uses to describe the non-violent, yet equally harmful, types of protests that opponents of desegregation utilized—has permeated St. Louis since the days of Brown v. Board of Education. The chapters feature the voices of those who were central to the desegregation fight in St. Louis, showing how the devastating effects of school segregation and soft racism linger today.