The emergency management policy in Michigan disproportionally affects minority populations and school districts serving predominately low-income and African-American children (Lee et al., 2016). The purpose of this critical narrative study is to explore the implications of emergency management for predominately African-American school districts through the lived experiences of local leadership.

The research questions that guided this study included identifying the impact on public education following emergency management, understanding the lived experiences of local leaders, and their perception of the emergency managers' effectiveness in resolving financial and academic issues. The study conducted eight semi-structured interviews and analyzed 115 public records from one school district in receivership. Data analysis included open coding and thematic analysis, which produced five key findings.

Ultimately, the research study concluded that the concept of racial realism was demonstrated when exploring emergency management. In as much so, emergency management for African-American school districts exacerbated financial stress and created scholastic vulnerability. Also, the study found that local leaders were disempowered, and governance in the school district was convoluted. Furthermore, the school district experienced cultural and social repression that undermined student academic growth and development.