At this year’s Color of Education Summit in Raleigh, NC, we heard powerful stories from educators, students, and advocates committed to equity. From personal journeys to collective action, this episode highlights how storytelling builds community, inspires change, and sustains the work of educational justice. Featuring Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith and voices from across the state, we explore how the stories we carry shape the future we build—together.
We’re sharing a special crossover: Dr. Val and Andrew join Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs and Adam Jacobs, co-hosts of the Raising Antiracist Kids podcast, to talk about parents as partners in building antiracist school communities. We sit with discomfort, model grace, and keep our eyes on the long game—this is a marathon relay, and we each carry the baton for a bit.
Educator, CEO, and school board member Byron Sanders joins us for a powerful conversation on identity, purpose, and the responsibility that comes with our gifts. From navigating childhood trauma to finding hope through imagination and service, Byron’s story reminds us that education should be about more than test scores—it should be about shaping who we are and what we’re here to do.
As we launch Season 12 of the podcast, Dr. Val and Andrew reflect on the start of the school year. With big personal transitions, and the country in a state of deep uncertainty, we ask, what now? How can we acknowledge the current state of eduction and find ways to act for justice.
Public education is the bedrock of democracy and our best tool to create active, engaged citizens, but Dr. Eve L. Ewing argues it was never intended to do that for Black or Native students. In fact, her new book, Original Sins: The (MIs)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, maintains that schooling in America was created to prepare White kids for leadership, Black kids for subjugation, and Native kids for erasure.