Third Wave School Desegregation: A Call for Real Integration

We’re back! Kicking off season 6 with a webinar hosted by The Black Educators Initiative (BEI), and a chance to share a bit of our thinking about why we do the work we do at Integrated Schools. BEI, as a project of Urban Teachers, is working to grow the Black teaching corps. When executive director, Dr. Robert Simmons, invited us to participate in their speaker series, we were honored, and slightly terrified. Thinking about presenting the work we do to the BEI audience pushed us to stop and consider our focus at Integrated Schools, and why we do the work we do. Between the pandemic and losing our founder a year ago, it was a much needed pause to take the 30,000 ft view of our work and how we view it fitting in to the broader movement for educational justice. A framing that we have been thinking about, internally, is Third Wave School Desegregation. The idea that we have tried desegregation in the past, and, while it has had benefits, it has also had real costs. In order to move towards a true, multiracial demorcracy, we believe we need something new, something that hasn't been tried before, and something that pushes us towards real integration. We're thrilled to be joined by Karla and Rachel from IntegrateNYC for this panel, as their 5Rs of Real Integration provide a powerful framework for thinking about real integration. We're including lots of links in an attempt to give credit to the origin of much of the ideas shared, but special thanks as well to the entire Integrated Schools team for helping to think through this question. And of course, don't forget to register for our next Book Club!   LINKS: Black Educators Initiative Urban Teachers Dr. Robert Simmons Integrate NYC IntegrateNYC on the Integrated Schools Podcast 5 Rs of Real Integration Dr. David Kirkland Justice Thurgood Marshall, Milliken v. Bradley, 1974 dissent Charles Hamilton Houston Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker White Supremacy and Black Educational Excellence: Hidden Stories of the Integration Movement Dr. Noliwe Rooks Segrenomics, Black Teachers, and Noliwe Rooks Horace Tate Rucker Johnson - Children of The Dream EdBuild report, 23 Billion: Nikole Hannah-Jones - on "curated diversity" METCO Billingham and Hunt on White parent preferences for racial school makeup Remember, any book bought through a link here or by starting at our affiliate page on IndieBound supports local bookstores, and Integrated Schools.  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, IntegratedSchoolson Facebook, or email us [email protected]. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced, edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey.