Belonging

Maya Wanner, a documentary film graduate student at Northwestern University, emphasizes the significance of having conversations about complicated topics sooner rather than later. Maya plays an audio documentary that she produced, which detailed a field trip she took with her grammar school classmates to learn about the underground railroad through a simulation. Following the documentary, Erica an...

Educator and storyteller Erica Young talks to her mom about leaving her all-Black school for an integrated school in the 1960s, an experience that left her without confidence.  When Erica realizes her beloved 12-year-old niece is also experiencing feelings of exclusion in her education, Erica commits to sharing voices of those impacted by bias and belonging in schools, and to spark and share stori...

Erica’s classroom was right next door to her wife’s classroom, but nobody at school knew they were married. They built a safe space that allowed them to grow. And they want to hear from others who “have the gall to live their truth.” Erica co-hosts this episode with her wife, Daphne. They explore bias and belonging for LGBTQ+ students and teachers with a third grader in Chicago, a high school stud...

This podcast used to have a different name: Blindspots. Erica explores her own biases and responsibility for inclusion by talking to a writing teacher who is blind. A new name for the podcast is born: Belonging. To hold her former colleague accountable for listening and learning, Erica has a follow-up courageous conversation about the impact of her actions on students. The podcast theme song is bo...

Erica reconnects with her third grade teacher, and tells her that her classroom was the first place she felt she belonged in school. The idea of a “homeplace” is further explored with an educator in Queens who established a Black affinity group at her school, and with a student who is part of that group.

What happens when students’ identities are not reflected in the curriculum? Erica connects with an Asian American mother concerned with the lack of representation of Asians in the curriculum. The mother questions her own child’s teacher in Brooklyn, and students from a tiny school in Colorado who brought the local history of Chinese exclusion to light, and want to learn more about Mexican-American...

Erica‘s quest to advocate for her niece, Jorie, hits a wall when Jorie’s teacher doesn’t respond to an offer to learn about the history of Juneteenth and visit nearby Eatonville, the first all-Black municipality that Erica‘s family established. To support Jorie’s critical consciousness, Erica guides her in writing a letter expressing her feelings of exclusion in school, and knowledge about her peo...