“Since the days of enslavement, African Americans have fought to gain access to quality education. Education can be transformative. Education strengthens a democracy.” – Dr. Carol Anderson, author of White Rage. In this week before the election, we are revisiting this conversation from March of 2022 discussing the White rage backlash to the Brown v. Board decision, and how it is as relevant today as it was in the late 1950s.
Dr. Sandra Mitchell was entering the 4th grade in 1963 when her family decided to desegregate Stonewall Jackson Elementary in Petersburg, VA. She joins us to tell her story of struggle and hope. We also get to hear from her father, the Reverend Grady Powell, who, at 92, continues to be a powerful voice for integration.
Janel George, a Georgetown Law professor, recently wrote a paper called “Deny, Defund, and Divert: The Law and American Miseducation”, the piece outlines historical and modern systemic educational inequalities faced by Black communities, linked to legislative actions and adaptations of White supremacy. She joins us to talk about legislative lawyering, the importance of community engagement when making public policy, and the ongoing role of systemic racism in our legal and education systems.
We’re back!! We hope you had a wonderful summer! We’re excited to be back in your feeds as a new school year gets underway. As we kick off season 11 of the podcast, we are recommitting to the mission and vision of Integrated Schools, and using the podcast as a platform to invite you in to the conversation.
As Season 10 comes to a close, we reflect on what we learned over the past 19 episodes. Digging into our themes of the importance of public schools, the power of story telling, the need for community, and stamina, we shared incredible conversations over the past season. We close the season out with some reflections and some listener voice memos.