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 understanding both by asking us to acknowledge the ways race continues to be created and re-created, particularly in schools, and by asking us to consider the label of Latinx as a racial category rather than an ethnicity.

Dr. Laura Chávez-Moreno recently wrote a booked called, How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Radicalization in America, in which she argues that schools play an important role in how society makes and remakes racial categories. Through an examination of two dual-language programs in the midwest, Dr. Chávez-Moreno studied the ways these programs reify ideas about racial identity and use what she calls an "imagined" Spanish, as a proxy for racial identification.

The conversation complicates our understanding of racial categories, and highlights the ways that school could play an important role in moving beyond anti-racism and towards an anti-race society.

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Finding a school where your children can thrive, while avoiding contributing to the ongoing segregation we see today, can feel like a tough issue for socially conscious parents.

Check out our FREE guide on how you can start engaging with the education system to achieve just that: Click here to download the guide now!

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LINKS:

Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

Finding a school where your children can thrive, while avoiding contributing to the ongoing segregation we see today, can feel like a tough issue for socially conscious parents.

Check out our guide on how you can start engaging with the education system to achieve just that - https://bit.ly/3V4wzz1

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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 schools is also important and ongoing. And yet, the people working on these two seemingly separate problems rarely work together. Brown's Promise was created to bring these conversations together with the belief that both are important, and neither can be solved without addressing the other. We will never equitably resource segregated schools, and school desegregation is a key tool towards providing equitable opportunity for all kids. 

Saba Bireda (who we met at our live show back in May), and Ary Amerikaner met working on these separate issues in the Obama administration. Their frustration with the slow pace of progress led them to start Brown's Promise early last year. Their work focuses on advocating for well-resourced, integrated schools that actually serve all of our children. From state level litigation to a policy agenda to a community engagement, Brown's Promise is committed to fulfilling the promise of the Brown v Board decision. Believing that separate is inherently unequal, they believe that giving all students an equitable education requires fully-funded, integrated schools for all. 

They join us to discuss their work, how parents and caregivers can get involved in advocacy work, and what the world might look like if we could solve these two, interrelated issues. 

LINKS:

Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

 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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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 in a Fatally Unequal America, Dr. Anderson brings a depth of knowledge about our country's ongoing struggle to become a true, multi-racial democracy that felt particularly relevant in the run-up to the election. 

At the core of her research agenda is how policy is made and unmade, how racial inequality and racism affect that process and outcome, and how those who have taken the brunt of those laws, executive orders, and directives have worked to shape, counter, undermine, reframe, and, when necessary, dismantle the legal and political edifice used to limit their rights and their humanity. With a gift for making the illegible legible, Dr. Anderson provides us with a clear eyed look at the history that has led to the widely inequitable education system we have today. And while the topic is heavy, she brings joy and laughter to the conversation in a way that can only leave you smiling through the pain.

We close the episode with some new commentary from Dr. Val and Andrew - if you remember the original episode and want to jump ahead to that, you'll find it around the 55:00 mark. 

LINKS:

Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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 could. In 1961, Reverend Grady W. Powell, Sr, became the pastor of Gillfield Baptist Church, located in the heart of Petersburg. With a deep commitment to civil rights, and past experience with desegregation attempts in Richmond, Rev. Powell believed it was time for Petersburg to fulfill the promise of the Brown decision. He and his wife decided to enroll their two daughters, along with 4 other children of church members, in the all White, Stonewall Jackson Elementary. Using his relationships and status in the town, Rev. Powell approached the superintendent of the schools to ask for his support. Despite his initial reticence, the superintendent eventually agreed to support the effort, and worked with the town to minimize the disruption. 

Over 60 years later, this story has rarely been told, and yet, it's an important moment in the history of the country. We're joined by one of those young children who held the weight of the movement on their small shoulders all those years ago. Reverend Powell's daughter, Dr. Sandra Powell Mitchell was entering the 4th grade in 1963, and still remembers the first day of school well. She joins us to tell her story, how it informed her life's work as an educator, and if she thinks it was all worth it. We also get to hear from her father, who, at 92, is still a powerful voice for the importance of community, the value of diversity, and the goal of truly living together. 

LINKS:

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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. 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. Ms. George shares her vision for a racially just education system, and highlights the ways the battle to achieve that vision require us to understand the past and see the threads of past efforts to deny education to Black students, to defund education focused on Black students, and to divert Black educators away from eduction, in our current struggles. 

LINKS: 

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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 we dive into new episodes for this season, we have three themes that will be guiding our conversations.

1. From Thinking to Action

• We know that changing our thoughts is important, but reach change comes from changing our actions. 

1. Deep Learning and Curiostiy

• We have to be curious about ourselves and about our community. 

1. Storytelling

• It is through storytelling that we change hearts.

You'll hear us unpack these themes throughout the conversations we'll be sharing this season. 

Contribute to our story bank! speakpipe.com/IntegratedSchools or send us an email - [email protected]

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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 Schools work possible, from our Board of Directors, to our chapter and network contacts, our leadership team, and bookclub moderators, we are so grateful to all of you. Special thanks to Darci and Jennifer for helping out with transcripts for every episode, Sasha and Courtney for help with graphics, and Anna for social media promotion.

LINKS: 

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

 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, on the Oprah Winfrey Stage, we were honored to facilitate three panel discussions grappling with the challenges we face today in fulfilling the true promise of Brown. 

Joined by an amazing group of speakers, all deeply committed to doing integration better, we brought the nuanced, honest conversations you know from the podcast to a live audience for the first time, and hopefully not the last. From the incredible Representative Jim Clyburn, to past podcast guests, Stefan Lallinger and Matt Gonzales, to many others, we are thrilled to share excerpts from the event today. You can also watch the full program.

LINKS:

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

 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 and caregivers with privilege to work towards fulfilling the vision extolled by the court nineteen years to the day before she was born.

Tragically, Courtney was struck by a car and killed on Dec 29th, 2019, cutting short a life full of promise. Not before, however, she had started a movement. All of us at Integrated Schools, from the podcast team, to chapter and networkleaders, to book club facilitators, to social media managers, are here because of her vision, her heart, and her commitment to always working to know better and do better.

To mark this special day we are re-releasing one of Courtney's last episodes of the podcast, originally called "All I Want for Christmas is 3.5%". It beautifully captures her clear-eyed realism, and her unfaltering optimism. She believed that if we can call enough people in, real change is possible, and a better world can await our children, and their children. So, on this special day, we call you in to our work. How can you be part of the 3.5% of people needed to create change? What can you do to join this work? We await you with open arms.

LINKS:

Check out our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

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 with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Courtney Mykytyn. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.