The cover for “Hope and Healing in Urban Education,” seems to be modeled after an old political or community organizing poster. HOPE and HEALING are in bold, colorful lettering—green and red. The background of the image is a light yellow or even gold. Outlines of what seems to be a young, black man in a community area or even a school playground are in black coloring. The cover almost seems expected, but also problematic for this type of book: why is the person sketched alone? Why are the structures behind the person fences and steel/concrete infrastructures? Any connections to hope and healing are lost in this cover. I remember Damien mentioning there seems to be a template for books in urban anthropology, especially those working within vulnerable communities in the US. They tend to follow the Alice Goffman “On the Run” style—dystopian looking backdrops, cement walls, stell/brick infrastructure.. This seems to fit that mold and I’m troubled by it. The “Hope and Healing” cover looks bleak. How does this immediately frame the way we think of these case studies? Then again, I haven’t read it, but I don’t know if I agree with his “hopelessness” argument. What are the consequences of labeling a community “hopeless?”
