2: Social Reproduction and Teacher Education: Reconceptualizing The “South” As An Afro-Franco-Creole Space

Schools and education are often viewed as vehicles for upward social and economic mobility. However, research indicates education is not a reliable ladder of opportunity for most people, especially for poor and minority groups (Anyon, 2005; Davies & Zarifa, 2012; Lareau, 2011; Van de Werfhorst & Mijs, 2010). Our country has long touted the label as being the leaders of the free world, but as capitalism continues its reign over every aspect of our lives, this term can take on a negative connotation. Roberto Fernandez Retamar (1989) defined the term free world as the “hilarious name that capitalist countries today apply to themselves and bestow in passing on their oppressed colonies” (p. 36). It is but a farce. The literal meaning of freedom has come to symbolize “the freedom to structure the distribution of wealth and to exploit workers more easily across national boundaries by driving down wages to their lowest common denominator and by eviscerating social programs designed to assist laboring humanity” (McLaren, 2000, p. 32). The free market causes democracy to rescind its commitment to social justice, causing its fundamental promise to education to crumble.