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:  S10E9 – The Importance of Belonging with Dr. Shanette Porter S10E14 – Jim Crow’s Pink Slip with Dr. Leslie Fenwick S10E15 – Rebuilding The Black Educator Pipeline with Sharif El-Mekki S10E5 – Taking Just Action for Integration with Richard and Leah Rothstein S10E3 – There Goes the Neighborhood with Jade Adia S10E2 – The Demands and Promises of Integration with John Blake S10E10 – Parenting to Create the World We Want Send us a voice memo - speakpipe.com/integratedschools 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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: Brown v Board at 70: Fulfilling the True Promise of School Integration - the full event video Speaker Bios  Stefan Lallinger on our show - S7E3 – Generational Work: Stefan Lallinger on Integration Matt Gonzales on our show - S5E12 – COVID-19: Matt Gonzales on Equity The Bridges Collaborative at The Century Foundation 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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: Courtney's Blog post, 3.5%, Gratitude, and Shape-Shifting Reptiles Dr. Erica Chenoweth's Ted Talk Matt Gonzales – “White Lips to White Ears” Dr. Elizabeth McRae on the Mother’s of Massive Resistance Professor Michelle Adams on Milliken v Bradley and the hope for a multi-racial democracy Our Brown v Board at 65 Series called "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" S6E8 – BvB@67 – Rucker Johnson Revisited S6E9 – BvB@67 – Noliwe Rooks Revisited S6E10 – BvB@67 – Amanda Lewis Revisited S6E11 – BvB@67 – David Hinojosa Revisited S6E12 – BvB@67- Greg and Carol Revisited The Hechinger Report's Series - Revisiting Brown 70 Years Later The Civil Rights Project - The Unfinished Battle for Integration in a Multiracial America Colorlines - Attacks on Public Education Threaten the Legacy of Brown 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.

 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 country following similar patterns, but varying due to local contexts. We started with a three-part series on Denver. This is our second deep dive into one of those stories, this time focusing on Charlotte, NC. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in Swann v Charlotte - Mecklenburg Board of Education that, among other things, student assignment policies that involved bussing kids to achieve racial balance was a legitimate remedy for districts violating the mandate of the Brown decision. Eventually embraced by the city, the decision, and the bussing plan it led to, were held up as a model for the country of how to do desegregation right. Business boomed in Charlotte, in part because of the community embrace of school desegregation. Twenty eight years later, in Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the district court ruled that Charlotte-Mecklenburg had complied with the Swan decision "to the extent reasonably practicable", and terminated the desegregation order, declaring it a "unitary system."  Much like many other cities around the country, once the court was no longer mandating desegregation, the district began to re-segregate. Today, with nearly 75% of CMS students identifying as students of color, and massive segregation both racially and socio-economically, the district is struggling to serve all kids well. Dr. James Ford grew up in Illinois and was bussed through a desegregation plan premised on the Swann decision. While the additional resources this provided were important, he experienced an educational environment that felt unwelcoming, and, at time, outwardly hostile. He made it his life's work to dismantle the systemic racism that caused that harm. Eventually landing in Charlotte as a teacher, he wanted to understand the history of the city and choices made by the people in power that led to him teaching in a highly segregated high school named after the superintendent who had overseen the nationally lauded desegregation plans of the 70s. His commitment to dismantle racism through the field of education led him to create the Center for Racial Equity in Education, where he serves as the executive director, working to "serve each and every child by also making students of color central to every facet of how schools function." He joins us to share the history of Charlotte, and his current work. You can support his important work by donating here. LINKS: The Center for Racial Equity in Education - CREED Dr. Ford's Op-Ed on segregation Swann v Charlotte - Mecklenburg Board of Education Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools The Dudley Flood Center's North Carolina School Desegregation and Resegregation Timeline Integrated Schools' local chapters and networks The Legacy and Philanthropy of Anna T Jeanes S10E11 - Local Stories of Desegregation: Denver (Part 1) S10E11 - Local Stories of Desegregation: Denver (Part 2) S10E11 - Local Stories of Desegregation: Denver (Part 3) 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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 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 Black teachers in the wake of desegregation attempt, and the Black teacher pipeline was crushed through explicit and implicit government action. In 2019, Sharif El-Mekki founded The Center for Black Educator Development to do something about it. With a commitment to the "deeply subversive act of teaching superbly", they are targeting interventions to increase the number of Black teachers so Black and other disenfranchised students can reap the full benefits of a quality public education. Mr. El-Mekki joins us to discuss his work, and explain how it is rooted in a Black educational tradition that stretches back generations. His teaching and leading is informed by his own upbringing attending a Black freedom school in Philadelphia, his experience as a teacher and school leader, and the teacher activists who poured into him throughout his life.   LINKS: The Center for Black Educator Development Philly's 7th Ward - Mr. El-Mekki's blog The 8 Black Hands Podcast Reviving the Legacy of the Black Teacher Tradition - Mr. El-Mekki's TED Talk S10E14 - Jim Crow's Pink Slip with Dr. Leslie Fenwick Ep 5 - Interview with a Skeptic - Chris Stewart on our show The Nguzo Saba   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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.    

 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 vast number of Black teachers who were losing their jobs in the Southern, dual-system states. Despite Brown's promise of desegregated schools including faculty and staff in addition to students, districts across the South were finding ways to remove Black teachers and principals, rather than allowing them to teach White kids.  The transcripts from these hearings quite literally fell into Dr. Leslie Fenwick's lap as she began a PhD program in educational policy. The stories they held matched her own lived experience. Stories of highly qualified, highly educated Black teachers who served as community leaders, and fostered a sense of belonging and empowerment among their Black students was what Dr. Fenwick and her parents and grandparents had known. And yet, as she embarked on her PhD program, these stories weren't being told. Eventually, these transcripts would form the primary evidentiary basis for her bestselling 2022 book, Jim Crow's Pink Slip: The Untold Story of Black Principal and Teacher Leadership.  She joins us to talk about the book, her journey to writing it, and what understanding this untold history means for the ongoing quest for more teachers of color.    LINKS:  Jim Crow's Pink Slip: The Untold Story of Black Principal and Teacher Leadership   Transcript for the Senate Select Committee Hearing on the loss of Black Teachers Dunbar High School - Washington, DC Sumner Academy of Arts and Science - Kansas City, MO The Summer of Soul documentary Whitey On The Moon - Gil Scott-Heron Sharif El-Mekki - The Center for Black Educator Development   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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.

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 across the country following similar patterns, but varying due to local contexts. We are going to dive into several of these local stories in the coming months, and we are starting today with Denver, CO. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, requiring Denver to desegregate its schools. This led to 21 years of court ordered desegregation, including through the use of busing. A local educational advocacy organization, Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education, recently hosted an event to commemorate the anniversary and reflect on the promises made at the time of the case, and the ways we have failed to live up to them. Over the course of three episodes, we will be bringing you audio from that event. Our hope is that by understanding local stories, we can see national themes emerge that may help chart a path forward. If you have a local story of desegregation to share, let us know! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. LINKS: A video of the full event – Integration and Equity in DPS 50 Years After Keyes Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education’s website – PHNEE.org The slideshow from the event Comments from the participants at the event Pat Pascoe’s book – A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v Denver Public Schools‘ Tomàs Monarrez on our show - S7E4 – Redrawing the Lines: Undoing the History of Segregation EPIC Youth Theater on our show S6E2 – EPIC’s “Nothing About Us”: Youth Theater on Integration S9E10 – Between The Lines: An EPIC Comeback S5E4 – All I Want for Christmas is 3.5% Rucker Johnson’s book – Children of The Dream A visual timeline of the Keyes case prepared by Laura Lefkowits Andrew on Brother Jeff’s show talking about Integrated Schools and the event Milliken v Bradley – which includes Justice Thurgood Marshall’s powerful dissent Our episode with Michelle Adams about the Milliken case More resources from PHNEE 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.

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 cases happened across the country following similar patterns, but varying due to local contexts. We are going to dive into several of these local stories in the coming months, and we are starting today with Denver, CO.  In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, requiring Denver to desegregate its schools. This led to 21 years of court ordered desegregation, including through the use of busing. A local educational advocacy organization, Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education, recently hosted an event to commemorate the anniversary and reflect on the promises made at the time of the case, and the ways we have failed to live up to them.  Over the next three episodes, we will be bringing you audio from that event. Our hope is that by understanding local stories, we can see national themes emerge that may help chart a path forward.  If you have a local story of desegregation to share, let us know! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. LINKS: A video of the full event - Integration and Equity in DPS 50 Years After Keyes Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education's website - PHNEE.org The slideshow from the event Comments from the participants at the event Pat Pascoe's book - A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v Denver Public Schools' S5E4 - All I Want for Christmas is 3.5% Rucker Johnson's book - Children of The Dream A visual timeline of the Keyes case prepared by Laura Lefkowits Andrew on Brother Jeff's show talking about Integrated Schools and the event Milliken v Bradley - which includes Justice Thurgood Marshall's powerful dissent Our episode with Michelle Adams about the Milliken case More resources from PHNEE 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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 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 country following similar patterns, but varying due to local contexts. We are going to dive into several of these local stories in the coming months, and we are starting today with Denver, CO.  In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Keyes v. Denver Public Schools, requiring Denver to desegregate its schools. This led to 21 years of court ordered desegregation, including through the use of busing. A local educational advocacy organization, Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education, recently hosted an event to commemorate the anniversary and reflect on the promises made at the time of the case, and the ways we have failed to live up to them.  Over the next three episodes, we will be bringing you audio from that event. Our hope is that by understanding local stories, we can see national themes emerge that may help chart a path forward.  If you have a local story of desegregation to share, let us know! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. LINKS: A video of the full event - Integration and Equity in DPS 50 Years After Keyes Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education's website - PHNEE.org The slideshow from the event Comments from the participants at the event Pat Pascoe's book - A Dream of Justice: The Story of Keyes v Denver Public Schools A visual timeline of the Keyes case prepared by Laura Lefkowits Andrew on Brother Jeff's show talking about Integrated Schools and the event Milliken v Bradley - which includes Justice Thurgood Marshall's powerful dissent Our episode with Michelle Adams about the Milliken case More resources from PHNEE 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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 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 Tobin (and his wife Amanda) is just that - an exploration of how one family continually finds ways to make decisions that reflect their values, that support their kids, and that work to make the world just a bit more just, everyday. We don't hold these parenting conversations up as THE way to live, but as A way to think about the choices we all make as caregivers. Jon and Amanda have a deep belief in the power of community, in the need to be rooted in place, and the need to invest their resources, time and energy into their community. One of the most powerful ways to do that is through supporting their local school.  LINKS: Teachers Have It Easy - Dave Eggers Our founder, Courtney Mykytyn The Two Tour Pledge JPB Gerald - Checklists and Merit Badges   WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORIES ABOUT BROWN V BOARD!! We are working on a series to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v Board decision this May. If you have a story of Brown’s impact on your life, or you have an elder who are you are connected to who might have a story tell, please send them our way!! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.

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 benefits come as well. From increased graduation rates, to decreased disciplinary incidents, to increased attendance, schools that focus on creating a sense of belonging do better for the whole child.  Dr. Porter joins us to share some of her findings, as well as a powerful definition of belonging inspired by john a powell- founder of the Othering and Belonging Institute LINKS: Dr. Porter's research on how high school climate impacts student development and educational attainment - Investing in Adolescents An article from Education Next highlighting the link between Social and Emotional Learning and long term success for students The 74 Million's coverage of some of Dr. Porter's recent research.  john a powell - founder of the Othering and Belonging Institute   WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORIES ABOUT BROWN V BOARD!!We are working on a series to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v Board decision this May. If you have a story of Brown’s impact on your life, or you have an elder who are you are connected to who might have a story tell, please send them our way!! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.  

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 through the Fostering Diverse Schools program, a grant designed to supporting voluntary efforts to increase school socioeconomic diversity throughout the country. He joins us to discuss the grant, as well as the Federal government's role in pushing policy forward. He highlights the need for local advocacy to advance important causes. The Department of Education must advocate for good policy, but creates the most meaningful change when partnering with local efforts. LINKS: The Fostering Diverse Schools grant program A list of awardees of the recent Fostering Diverse Schools grants. Chalkbeat article about the grants recently awarded Unidos US - where Secretary Rodriguez got his advocacy start The Bridges Collaborative from The Century Foundation Our Brown v Board at 65 Series, The Stories We Tell Ourselves, which we revisited three years ago: S6E8 – BvB@67 – Rucker Johnson Revisited S6E9 – BvB@67 – Noliwe Rooks Revisited S6E10 – BvB@67 – Amanda Lewis Revisited S6E11 – BvB@67 – David Hinojosa Revisited S6E12 – BvB@67- Greg and Carol Revisited WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORIES ABOUT BROWN V BOARD!! We are working on a series to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v Board decision this May. If you have a story of Brown's impact on your life, or you have an elder who are you are connected to who might have a story tell, please send them our way!! Record a voice memo and email it to podcast@integratedschools.org, or visit Speakpipe.com/integratedschools. 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 podcast@integratedschools.org. 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 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/integratedschools If you'd like to volunteer, send us an email - volunteer@integratedschools.org 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 – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Jaden González. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey.

 We were thrilled to have two interns working on the podcast over the past summer. One of them, Jaden González, found an episode of the Teaching Hard History podcast from Learning for Justice that spoke to him, so he joined us to talk about it and play a portion of it. In it, we hear from Dr. Aisha White who has studied how children, especially young children, understand and learn about race. It dispels the myth that children are ever too young to learn about race, and has helpful suggestions for how to have conversations that build a healthy racial identity for all kids. It also sparked a great conversation with Jaden about his own racial identity development as a Puerto Rican growing up in New York City with a multiracial family.  LINKS:  The History of Whiteness and How We Teach About Race - from Teaching Hard History ICYMI: Seeing White - our episode featuring the Seeing White podcast series from Scene on Radio. The P.R.I.D.E Program from The University of Pittsburgh Grace Abounding: The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art 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 – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Jaden González. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey.

Like many of you, we were blown away by Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law for the ways it unveiled institutionalized racial segregation and its lingering impacts on our country. His methodical unmasking of the explicitly racist policies that led to the creation of the suburbs, the wealth gap, educational disparities and more helped expose the idea of "de facto" segregation, or segregation that occurs naturally, as a myth. The ways that we are segregated today were caused by intentional governmental policies, and we have yet to redress the harm caused. While The Color Law presented compelling stories about how we got here, it didn't offer many solutions. Richard's daughter Leah, a community organizer and housing activist, was among the many people who wondered what could we do to not only minimize future injustice, but also make repairs for the past harms caused. They decided to write Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law to answer that question. In it, they present a number of ways people can advocate for justice in their local communities, as well as highlighting inspiring work happening around the country. Both Richard and Leah join us to talk about The Color of Law, Just Action, and how everyone has a role to play in creating the true multiracial democracy we are striving for. LINKS: Just Action - Richard and Leah Rothstein The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein Segregated By Design - short film overview of The Color of Law Just Action's website - Justactionbook.org Richard and Leah's Substack If you want to get involved locally, check out The Redress Movement Drs. Darling-Hammond on our show Jade Adia - There Goes the Neighborhood Jade Adia on our show Dr. Erica Turner on our show The civil rights museum in the former Woolworth's that provided Richard's entry to civil rights work   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 Instagram, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. 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.

 Our focus on this show is often on parents and caregivers and the choices we make, from where to send our kids to school, to how we show up in those communities, to how we advocate for our kids and all kids. We have also talked about students and teachers, and national level policies. However, we have not previously spent much time talking about the district level decision makers, from school board members, to superintendents, to central office staff. Due to the decentralized nature of our education system, these leaders have tremendous power to affect change, and often find themselves on the front lines of dealing with changing school districts. As our country becomes increasingly racially diverse and socioeconomically unequal, schools are often the first public institutions addressing those changes. Dr. Erica Turner has studied how district level leaders have dealt with this, and wrote about it in her book, Suddenly Diverse, How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality. She joins us to share some of what she found. Key Takeaways 1. Schools are seen as the closest form of government to many individuals. They are often delegated the responsibility to deal with societal problems such as poverty, gun violence, and nurturing a multiracial democracy, which can be an overwhelming load. 2. Race-evasive managerialism plays a significant role in the education system. Schools end up devoting more attention to data and business models, often sidestepping the complex issues of racial and social equity. This approach can sometimes be a way for educators to feel like they are taking action without directly confronting the structural challenges they face. 3. There is a prevalent fear of White flight, which often limits the potential reforms in education. Dr. Turner urges listeners to reexamine this fear, citing studies that reveal White flight is not solely a result of school desegregation efforts. 4. Despite the heavy issues in education, Dr. Turner encourages listeners to see hope in social movements and community cooperation. Movements like Black Lives Matter are contributing to a wider comprehension of systemic racial inequality. She urges listeners to join such movements, fostering conversations and pushing for change together.   LINKS: Suddenly Diverse, How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality - Dr. Erica Turner's book The Problem We All Live With - Normal Rockwell The Problem We All Live With - Nikole Hannah-Jones on This American Life Equity in Pandemic Schooling: An Action Guide for Families, Educators & Communities​ - Dr. Turner's contribution to questions about equity during the pandemic interruptions to education   Send us your ideas – speakpipe.com/integratedschools, or click the “send voicemail” button on the side of our website, or just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@integratedschools.org. Visit 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 Instagram, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We’re proud members of Connectd Podcasts, a network dedicated to helping shows like ours grow and thrive. For more info, or to check out their other amazing shows, head over to their website. 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.    

 Gentrification sucks . . . yet change is inevitable. We're joined today by Young Adult author, Jade Adia, whose first novel, There Goes The Neighborhood takes place in a fictional neighborhood in South LA being wracked by gentrification. Through a story of friendship, found family, and coming of age, Jade invites us in to a neighborhood deeply worth saving, and three friends who set out to save it in a deeply problematic way. We discuss Jade's personal story and how it led to her writing this novel, and we discuss ways of getting involved and finding connection in our neighborhoods. LINKS: There Goes The Neighborhood - Jade Adia Jade's website Register for bookclub sessions in early November Study guide for There Goes the Neighborhood S5E1 - Gentrification and School Segregation - with Dr. Kfir Mordechay PHYS.org article on the increase in gun violence in gentrifying spaces. JAMA article on Gentrification as a Factor in the Incidence of Firearm Injuries Send us a voice memo! Speakpipe.com/integratedschools   Send us your ideas – speakpipe.com/integratedschools, or click the “send voicemail” button on the side of our website, or just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@integratedschools.org. Visit 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 Instagram, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We’re proud members of Connectd Podcasts, a network dedicated to helping shows like ours grow and thrive. For more info, or to check out their other amazing shows, head over to their website. 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.

The son of a Black father and a White mother, John Blake grew up in a deeply segregated, Black neighborhood in Baltimore with a great mystery - who was his mom? Until he was 17, all he knew about her was that she was White, her name was Shirley, and her family hated Black people. Meeting her, at age 17, began a journey of racial understanding and changed his life. Mr. Blake has been writing about race and religion as a reporter for over 25 years, and over those years he has come to discover that facts don't change people, relationships do. His relationship with his mother and her sister, his father's relationships on the decks of a Merchant Marine ship, the multi-racial community he formed through church - these relationships across difference are what led to changes in racial attitudes for his relatives and for himself. Creating these relationships was demanding. Finding understanding with his White family who harbored ill will towards Black people was demanding. Yet the promise of these relationships to change hearts and move people towards understanding made it worth the effort. This is the power of real integration. This is the power of community, It's demanding, but the promise is great, and, as Mr. Blake argues, the only way we can move towards becoming a true multiracial democracy. Mr. Blake's story taps into all of our themes for this season. His is an incredible story teller, and his stories have the power to shift hearts. The relationships he builds through being in proximity and community with people who are different are the seeds that bloom into greater racial understanding. He calls on us to work to create spaces where Gordon Allport's Contact Theory can exist, and, we would argue, the best place for that to happen is in our public schools. And, finally, he shows us the power of hope to sustain us through hard times, with the knowledge that progress is being made, even if we don't always see it. He chronicles it all in his memoir, More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew, and he joins us to talk about it. LINKS: More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew - John Blake 50 Years Ago, a White Woman Touching a Black Man on TV Caused a National Commotion - Vanity Fair Simply Psychology on Contact Theory Gordon Allport Choosing Our Name - Integrated Schools founder, Courtney Mykytyn Michelle Adams on Radical Integration S5E16 – Revisiting Not In My Suburbs - Michelle Adams on our show S6E4 – In Full View of Race: Elise Boddie on Integration IntegrateNYC's 5Rs of Real Integration S6E1-Third Wave School Desegregation: A Call for Real Integration A More Perfect Reunion: Race, Integration, and the Future of America - Calvin Baker Ta'Nehisi Coats on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - 5:10 is the discussion about hope White Supremacy with a Tan - John Blake Rebecca Solnit Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know - Adam Grant Send us your stories – speakpipe.com/integratedschools, or click the “send voicemail” button on the side of our website, or just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@integratedschools.org. Visit 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 – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We’re proud members of Connectd Podcasts.  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. Additionally music provided by Blue.Session.

 We're back!! After a wonderfully busy summer, we are back with a whole new season and we have some great stuff planned. To kick things off, we're talking about where we find ourselves as this school year starts, and the themes we are focusing on this season. These themes feel relevant in this moment and will guide us through the season. They are: The importance of public schools The power of storytelling The power of proximity and the importance of being in community Stamina - the importance of finding hope and relationships to sustain the work We also talk about a very exciting event that happened this summer . . . at least it was exciting for your co-hosts, as we met in person for the first time! Our biggest ask for you, in addition to sharing the podcast with others, is to send us your voice memos. Given the theme of the power of storytelling, we are really hoping to feature your stories as much as possible this season. So, whether you have a full story, or just a thought that has been lingering, we want to hear from you! Why do you think public schools are important? How are finding your way into community? How are you struggling? Where do you turn when you need hope or stamina? What else should we be talking about? Send us your ideas - speakpipe.com/integratedschools, or click the "send voicemail" button on the side of our website, or just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@integratedschools.org.  Visit 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 – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We’re proud members of Connectd Podcasts, a network dedicated to helping shows like ours grow and thrive. For more info, or to check out their other amazing shows, head over to their website. 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 Season 9 comes to a close, we reflect on some of the amazing conversations we had over the past 16 episodes, and hear from you about what you're grappling with. From the Heather McGhee's episode in the very beginning of the season through Episode 15 on school lunches, we tried to focus on solidarity and elevating voices that have been missing from our conversations.  Cathryn and The Saviors focused on the experience of one low-income parent, The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers focused on our youngest learners, The Intersections of Disability, Race, and Segregation began unpacking the needs of disabled students and caregivers. And, of course, we featured student voice in Between the Lines: An EPIC Comeback. Students are the most directly impacted by our education system, so we lean into to featuring their voice and their perspective whenever possible. Through it all, we leaned into nuance, recognizing that no one has all the answers, and that the best way to know better and do better is through relationships. Lots of thanks for the season: All of our guests who were willing to share their insights, their perspectives, their research, and their values. We are all richer for having heard from you. All of podcast staff who work on transcripts and promotion and offer thought partnership on each and every episode - Anna, Darci, Jennifer, Courtney, Susan, Emily. Thank you! Our friends at Connectd Podcasts for the ongoing support. Check out all their shows, as there are so many important conversations happening on the network. All of our Patreon supporters. Your financial support allows us to keep this podcast going, but even more importantly, your engagement on the Patreon page and participation in happy hours means the world to us. And, most importantly, thank you to all of you who listen, who share, who keep this conversation going. The world is changed one relationship and one conversation at a time, and you all engaging with the conversations we share brings us hope. ACTION STEPS: Share your favorite episode with someone and have a conversation with them about it. Support our work on Patreon Hit the "follow" button in your podcast app to make sure you don't miss an episode.   We'll be back in the fall!!   Visit 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 – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We’re proud members of Connectd Podcasts, a network dedicated to helping shows like ours grow and thrive. For more info, or to check out their other amazing shows, head over to their website. 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.