The Integrated Schools Podcast

Public education is touted as the bedrock of democracy, a leveler of playing fields, and our best tool to create active, engaged citizens. And while that vision is powerful,  Dr. Eve L. Ewing  argues that it was never intended to be those things 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 Raci...

"To be White is, is to be raised on lies. Lies that are passed down, generationally that a lot of White folks don't always know that they're passing down." - Greg Jarrell  Our guest today, Greg Jarrell is an ordained minister, a cultural organizer and the author of  Our Trespasses: White Churches and the Taking of American Neighborhoods.  Through many years of building community wh...

  Omkari Williams  believes deeply in the power of people to change their environments - that through the power of the human spirit, and small, concrete actions, anything is possible, and that true changes requires all types of people.  Her recent book,  Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without A Bullhorn,  is a testament to this idea. In it, she lays out four activist ar...

 The 1954 Supreme Court decision,  Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas  declared that separate is inherently unequal. The Supreme Court declared that it was in the national interest for kids to learn together. And while progress towards that goal was slow, and often met with resistance, there was an opportunity in the decision to try to heal our nation from the extraordinary wounds caused...

 Every parent and caregiver wants a crystal ball. We want to see how the choices we make for our kids, from screen time to activities to where they go to school, will impact them when they're older. Choosing an integrating school can feel like a risky choice, and even if we believe that it is the right choice, both for our kids, and our community, it's easy for doubt to creep in. Susan, a...

 We often talk about race as a social construct. We know that there is more  genetic diversity within racial groups than between . And yet, race obviously has real life impacts on people's lives. We have talked on the show in the past about the  historical creation of race , and looked at the creation of Whiteness, particularly in relation to Blackness. Our guest today complicates this underst...

The way we fund schools in this country often results in haves and have nots. We have some districts with immense wealth, often bordering districts that are severely under resourced. The work of creating more equitable funding formulae is important and ongoing. At the same time, we have district lines that make for school districts deeply segregated by race and class. The work of desegregating our...

In the wake of the election results, Dr. Val and Andrew sit down to reflect on what it means for ourselves, for the Integrated Schools movement, and for the institution of public education.   Join our Patreon  to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further. Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story wit...

 As we approach the 2024 election, we wanted to revisit  a conversation  with one of our favorite guests,  Dr. Carol Anderson , the Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. In addition to writing  White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation’s Divide ,  One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy , and  The Second: Race and Guns i...

 In the fall of 1963, in Petersburg, VA, 6 young Black girls integrated Stonewall Jackson Elementary School. In the middle of the  Massive Resistance  era, districts around Virginia and throughout the South were fighting desegregation tooth and nail. From physical violence to the closing of entire school districts, communities were circumventing the  Brown v Board  decision in whatever ways they c...

Janel George, a Georgetown Law professor, who explores race and justice in education, recently wrote a paper that moved us here at Integrated Schools. 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....

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. Mission : Integrated Schools prepares families with racial or economic privilege to...

Nineteen episodes later, Season 10 comes to an end, and we are reflecting on an incredible season. Our themes for the season were the importance of public schools, the power of storytelling, the importance of community, and stamina, and we had 19 incredible episodes going deep on all of those themes, and more. Plus, we had our first ever live show! Thanks to everyone who makes the Integrated Schoo...

 Dreams really do come true . . . We have wanted to do a live show for quite some time, and finally had the opportunity thanks to The National Coalition for School Diversity, The Century Foundation, and the American Institutes for Research,who invited us to facilitate their event marking the 70th anniversary of Brown v Board. Hosted at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, o...

 May 17th, 1954 the Supreme Court handed down its famous decision in the Brown v Board of Education of Topekacase. So much of the work of Integrated Schools is about trying to live into the promises made through that unanimous decision. On May 17th, 1973, a girl was born in Woodbridge, Virginia. That girl, Courtney Everts Mykytyn, would go on to found Integrated Schools in 2015, calling in parents...

 In 1954’s Brown v Board decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal. However, the Brown II decision a year later said that fixing our separate education system should happen with “all deliberate speed.” The deliberate speed in most places was glacial, leading many local communities to file law suits demanding action. These local desegregation cases happened across the c...

 In 2021, 80% of teachers in our country's public schools were White, while just 6% were Black. That same year, 54% of public school students were students of color, and 15% were Black. We also know of the extensive research showing the positive impacts of Black teachers on all kids, but especially on Black kids. However, as we learned last episode from Dr. Leslie Fenwick, we lost over 100,000...

 Seventeen years after the Brown v Board decision, in 1971, US Senator Walter Mondale chaired a number of Select Committee hearings on Equal Educational Opportunity. One of these hearings focused on what was happening to Black teachers and principals as the country begrudgingly worked to desegregate our schools. The hearing featured testimony and supplemental documentation calling attention to the...

PART 3 of 3 In 1954’s Brown v Board decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal. However, the Brown II decision a year later said that fixing our separate education system should happen with “all deliberate speed.” The deliberate speed in most places was glacial, leading many local communities to file law suits demanding action. These local desegregation cases happened a...

PART 2 of 3 In 1954's Brown v Board decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal. However, the Brown II decision a year later said that fixing our separate education system should happen with "all deliberate speed." The deliberate speed in most places was glacial, leading many local communities to file law suits demanding action. These local desegregation case...

 In 1954's Brown v Board decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was inherently unequal. However, the Brown II decision a year later said that fixing our separate education system should happen with "all deliberate speed." The deliberate speed in most places was glacial, leading many local communities to file law suits demanding action. These local desegregation cases happened...

We are fortunate to have many guests whose work is focused on research, policy, and the broader school integration movement. However, we know that most of our listeners are parents and caregivers, and many of our favorite episodes share the perspectives of those raising kids and making decisions about how to show up in schools, in communities, and in the country. Today's conversation with Jon...

There's a difference between feeling like you belong in a space and that that space belongs to you. That true sense of belonging, of feeling seen and heard and respected in a space, has profound educational impacts. Dr. Shanette Porterhas studied schools that have created that sense of belonging, and found that not only are strictly academic measures improved (test scores, etc), but other bene...

Local control of schools is long tradition in the US. The result is a patchwork of over 13,000 local school districts. This creates a challenge for The Federal Department of Education to enact change across the country. Roberto Rodriguez is the Assistant Secretary of Eduction for Planning, Policy, and Evaluation at the US Department of Education, where they recently awarded $10 million of grants t...

As 2023 comes to a close, we just wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on the year, talk about our hopes for 2024, and hear from you! We share listener voice memos, an update on Integrated Schools, including our new board of directors, and tease a few of the episodes coming in the new year! LINKS: Blog post about our new board of directors Send us your voice memos! -http://speakpipe.com/integr...