The Fight for Dyett - How a Community in Chicago Saved Its Public School

Oct 15, 2026

The excerpt describes how Chicago residents and school supporters organized a hunger strike to keep Walter H. Dyett High School open, challenging a narrative that the school had “failed.” It places the Dyett struggle within a broader national pattern of families and community members fighting district closures, while introducing Eve L. Ewing and outlining Walter H. Dyett’s life and legacy as an educator and music teacher. The focus centers on citizenship, participation, and justice for local communities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time11 min

AccessFree to download

The Fight for Dyett

The Dyett Tradition

# The Fight for Dyett How a Community in Chicago Saved Its Public School cool,and many of the people sittingin the park have blan-kets draped over their laps or around their shouldersInmanyways,thislooks like any familygathering in Washing-ton Park—older faces and younger faces in a circle offabric lawnchairs and coolers,chatting amiably.But rather than pop,picnicfood,or snacks,many of the coolers are filled with infused wateror high-nutrient juices.Thermoses of hot broth are proppedagainst a tree.And there are people here you wouldn't see at afamily picnic:visitors from across the city,reporters and photog-raphers from across the country.Worried nursesflit from personto person.No music is playing.Sometimes folks laugh and jokecheerfully;other times they look offinto space,exhausted. EveL.Ewing is an assistant professorat the University ofChicago SchoolofSocial Service Administration.Aformer middle school teacher in Chi-cago Public Schools,she is a poet,an essayist,and the writer of the Iron-heart seriesfor Marvel Comics.This article is an excerpt fromher new book,Ghostsin the Schoolyard:Racism and SchoolClosings on Chicago's SouthSide,published by the University ofChicago Press.Copyright 2018,theUniversity ofChicago.Allrights reserved. 30 AMERICAN EDUCATOR |SPRING 2019 reunion or summer gathering,but in the name of this shuttered building,Walter H.Dyett High School.They arenot picnickers,they are hunger strikers.And they are putting theirlives on the lioe in hopes of seeing their vision for this schoolbecome reality. Why do people fight for schools like this?While the Dyetthunger strike would rise to public prominence as one of themostvisible examples of community members fighting to save aschool,it ishardly the only one.Across the country,school stake-holders who are culturally and geographically very differenthave waged notably similar battles to get their schools off districtchopping blocks In Detroit in 2017,hundreds of parents and community mem-bers rallied in front ofthe state of Michigan's offices to protest theclosing of schools that others referred to as “consistently failing”and "the worst of the worst."'In Shreveport,Louisiana,in 2011,parents held meetings and circulated apetition to save BlanchardElernentary,which the district called"small,""lacking,"and "old."2In Austin,Texas,in 2016,parents organized high turnouts at com-munity meetings and picketed to fight the district's closure of 10 PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB SIMPSON/FLICKR Across the country,school stakeholders have waged notably similarbattles to get their schools off district chopping blocks. schools it said were in ponr physical condition and under-arguably he most renowned and respected educator ever t0 enrolled.³In Dyett's case,the media declared that "by just about emerge from Bronzeville一a community famous for its musical venues and ligures-was a bandleader and music teacher. any definition,[the school|has failed." Walter Henri Dyetl was born in 1901 in Saint Joseph,Missouri.His mother wasapianist and soprano vocalist,and his father wasa pastor in the AME church.Dyett began his musical life as avio-linist after his familymoved to Califomia;asastudentat PasadenaHigh School,he became concertinaster of the urchestra and alsoplayed clarinet,bassoon,and drums. To nutside observers,concerned neighhors and fricnds,andinformed citizens reading about education issues in the news orseeing these protests on television,it may be hard to reconciłethesecharacterizations.Ifthe schools are small,the uorst,lacking,and so on,whyis anyone fighting for them?This question maybeamplifed by the inage of public schools we see and hear in themedia,from the 1983 report ANation al Risktothe inovie Danger-ous Minds.As someone who attended public schools and latertaught in one,i can't count how many times a stranger reinarkedto me in casual conversation that I was an "angel"ora "saint"because public schools were "just sobad,"withnoclear reasoningabout why

FAQs

What action did the community take to save Walter H. Dyett High School?

Community members held a hunger strike, insisting on keeping the school open and realizing their vision for it.

How does the article connect Dyett’s case to other school closure struggles nationwide?

It notes that stakeholders across the country waged similar battles to prevent schools from being closed, highlighting shared dynamics across different cities and communities.

Who is Eve L. Ewing in the excerpt?

Eve L. Ewing is described as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago and a former middle school teacher, and the writer of the Iron-heart series for Marvel Comics; the piece is an excerpt from her new book.

Oct 15, 2026

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