Hey, it's Karen Gricksby-Bates. This summer we're bringing you a new series in the podcast called

School Colors. It's hosted by Mark Winston Griffith, and Max Freakin. And that's me.

School Colors is about something that went wrong in a place where you might not expect it.

Mark and Max are going to introduce the series. It begins on Wednesday, right here in the

coats which feed, and as always, don't forget, you can support the work you hear on the show and

get a sponsor-free version of the podcast at plus.mpr.org.

It's a Thursday night in December 2019 where in a non-descript government building in Jamaica

Queens, in a meeting room with a drop ceiling and fluorescent lights. And the room is packed.

Every chair is filled and parents are standing in the back and on the sides,

where many more crowded in the hallway just outside the door. This is a meeting of the Community

Education Council for School District 28. You should have had 40 seats available for all of

Queen's District 28. That's ridiculous. What exactly were these parents so riled up about?

We're going to make it sure that you guys don't get this plan done.

District 28 was selected by the city to get something called a diversity plan.

You're pitting families and queens against each other because there's not enough good schools.

No one knew exactly what this diversity plan would look like.

I don't understand what is the issue that we're trying to resolve.

Is the issue all the crowded? Is the issue the lack of diversity?

Is the issue on the resource schools? Is it very different issues?

I'm solving this at all very different times.

Very different issues.

What was the issue? What was the diversity plan trying to fix?

...