Author: jdmurphy315

A theme that comes up a lot in my book is the way powerful interests stoke fear around integration. It has happened over and over

Earlie this month one of the true protagonists in Rochester’s civil rights history died. Franklin Florence was the first president of FIGHT in 1965 and

Here’s a quick post to share the news that CITY Magazine voters chose me as the top local published author of 2022. I’ve always loved

Among the most valuable historical resources I used while researching my book were the various Black newspapers published in Rochester. In the 19th century, Frederick

Earlier this year The Children’s Agenda, an education non-profit in Rochester, polled 600 parents in the city and suburbs around a variety of topics including

I spent several days in late July at the Education Writers Association’s annual conference in Orlando, a hideous time and place for what is always

Earlier this month, the Rush-Henrietta Central School District approved a slight expansion of its participation in the Urban-Suburban program. Starting in 2023, it will take

I first met Shane Wiegand about five years ago for coffee at Equal Grounds on South Avenue. The idea of a book on school segregation

One of the main contentions in my book is that school desegregation benefits students of color – has done so in the past, and would

This week, the D&C published the second-most intensive project I’ve ever done, behind the book: my six-month dive into the tree canopy in Rochester. Where