Amanda took a walk and encountered an activist in her neighbourhood. While listening to a podcast with Austin Channing Brown, she had an epiphany about antiracist teaching and learning. Melanie shares some of her observations about the institutional structuring of systemic racism in education in this short conversation about equity and justice in education.

Melanie and Amanda explain their long silence, the trouble with speaking out, and their learning journey as they work within and without in pursuit of equity. They discuss some of the systemic inequities and question their roles as educators while making commitments to next steps. They see this as an opportunity to revolutionize education through actions they take in their classrooms with their students.

Seeking to further understand how students of colour experience school, Amanda and Melanie interview a Black student who attends the predominantly White school where Melanie teaches. Dina Efrem, a Canadian student with family roots in Eritrea, was in Melanie’s Indigenous Voices English class last semester and in this episode, Dina explains what school is like for her. Melanie and Amanda want to hear what actions teachers might take to support marginalized students and they make commitments to take the next steps.

Melanie and Amanda have a phone conversation with Adrienne Coddett, a high school teacher and respected local leader. She is also well known in Ottawa as co-host of Black on Black, a public affairs radio show which broadcasts every Saturday morning on the University of Ottawa’s radio station. Her organization, 3Dreads and a Baldhead (founded in 2000), provides opportunities for people in Black communities to transform their lives by maximizing their physical, mental, spiritual, and economic potential.

Dealing with silence, exhaustion, tears, and trust – Amanda shares her experience of gender bias in an online course and she draws parallels with the students in our classes who experience racism. Melanie shares how struggles, vulnerability, and a moment of tears in the classroom opened students. And, since Amanda needs to decide how to wade into difficult conversations, they decide it’s time to invite some guests in to help them on the journey of anti-racist work.

Taking the Racial Literacy Self Assessment – Melanie and Amanda take a self assessment posted on Twitter and struggle with their response and understanding of racial literacy.

In today’s episode Amanda and Melanie ask the question: How do we handle challenging conversations with students who come from a position of privilege? We talk about a classroom lesson on cultural appropriation and Halloween costumes; some of the white students seemed to miss the point. What do we do?