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 [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.

 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 [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.

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 [email protected], 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 [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.

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 [email protected], 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 [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 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 [email protected], 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 [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 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 [email protected], 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 [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.

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 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 [email protected], 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 [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.

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 [email protected], 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 [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 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 - [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 – @integratedschls on twitter, 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 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 [email protected].

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 [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.