Let's say you are an educator who knows classroom conversations about race are essential. How can you lead those conversations effectively? Matthew R. Kay wrote the book on this topic: Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom. Join host Tony Neal and co-host Deborah Bohlmann as they discuss with Matthew his practical how-to book for educators committed to the task of open conversation on social justice. Episode produced and directed by Deborah Bohlmann. Engineering, music, and creative support by Alvin Zamudio.
Youth voice: Spoken word performance by Veronica Nocella and Otter Jung-Allen entitled “Letter to My Future White Son,” performed at a spoken word competition in 2014 sponsored by Youth Speaks. They were members of Team Philly, associated with our guest, Matt Kay.
Resources: Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (2015). "Everyone who's going to engage these conversations needs to read that," according to Matt Kay. Also among his recommendations:
- Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman (2017).
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo (2018).
- White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (2016).
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein (2017)