Today’s episode is an edit of our first ever webinar- The Integrated Schools Movement: Where We Begin. In it, we explore how our schools got to where they are now, and what role we play in either maintaining or disrupting this system. Members of our all-volunteer crew share personal stories of enrolling our kids in global-majority schools, and the joys and missteps we experience while showing up as parents and community members.
The conversation around schools can often feel like the goal isn’t “good” schools, but simply “better-than” schools – schools that will give our kids a leg up on the other kids. The idea driving this mindset, a zero-sum version of prosperity that assumes advances for some must come at the cost of others, is based on the lie of racial hierarchy upon which our country was founded. Heather McGhee’s new book, The Sum of Us, illuminates this issue, and calls us to imagine something better.
Law professor, Elise Boddie, has said that the biggest stumbling block to advancing school integration is the White progressive liberal. She joins us to talk about a vision of integration that allows for all kids to thrive not because of race, not in spite of race, but in full view of race.
We’re joined by WPLN reporter Meribah Knight to dicuss her podcast, The Promise, which looks at the power that those with racial or economic privilege bring to the education system, and what responsibilities should come with that power.
Theater has the power of individual transformation. Students are the ones most impacted by our segergated schools. EPIC Theatre Ensemble seeks to combine those two forces to change hearts and minds. We’re thrilled to share some of their piece, Nothing About Us, as well as a conversation with EPIC’s artistic director, and two students who wrote and performed in the piece.