Ep. 47: Parenting While White

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EQ: What should white parents do to equip their children to understand the functions of race in order to combat racism?

Guest: Malia Jacobsen, author of the column “Beyond Tolerance” for ParentMap. Malia Jacobson is an award-winning health and parenting journalist and mom of three who contributes regularly to more than 120 national and regional publications and has written two books on sleep.

In this episode, we sit down with Malia Jacobson to talk about the importance of intentionally talking about race with white children. Highlights include:

  • Malia’s journalistic work at Parentmap, a resource for parents and families in the Puget Sound region.

  • How white parents respond and shape the conversation around gendered toys (specifically her work writing about toy guns).

  • How the new generation of parents has to come into talking about race in their own way (and not opting out).

  • How children are born into this racial environment and parents have to coach them to be ready (Nurture Shock--the environment IS the lesson).

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 46: Don’t be a Passive Progressive Educator

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EQ: How are education association leading anti-racist work in education?

Guest: Marquita Prinzing---NBCT, elementary school teacher, mother of a 3 and almost 6 yr old. Director of SEA Center for Racial Equity

In this episode we discuss the role of teachers and unions in leading anti-racist work. We define equity literacy and the ways in which white teachers need to develop their own racial literacy instead of fumbling in their pseudo-wokeness or expecting teachers of color to carry the burden. We also wrestle with what it means to be unapologetic to our students of color.  

Resources to explore:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Don’t forget to subscribe to Channel 253


Ep. 45: Not All Theater is Activist, but All is Political

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EQ: How can the theater arts be a tool for racial and social justice?

Guest: Sara Freeman, UPS Theatre Department

In this episode we chat about the etymology of dramaturgy,  discuss the power of theater as a medium to both reflect and influence society, and how every choice in theater is intentional (whether the director wanted it to be or not). We discuss the challenges of funding arts programs, finding young artists where they are, and how to intentionally elevate new voices.

Freeman’s Favorite Playwrights:

Also referenced during the episode:


Guilty-Favsies:

  • Annie: the Best of Broadway on Spotify

  • Hope: bingeing short little shows on Netflix

  • Sara:Hostess cupcakes;  Belinda Carlisle

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: the Kennedy Center has a variety of resources on arts integration under a program called Arts Edge

  • Hope: Support local theater

  • Sara: Read August Wilson’s “Century Cycle” and go support local theater by watching “Mojada”  at Tacoma Arts Live. Directed by Maria Tania Barreca, a new professor at UWT

Ep. 43: We’re in the Fire: On Teacher Diversity & Genuine Equity

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EQ: What role does teacher training play in the health of our schools and the future of the teaching profession?

Guest: Tamar Krames, 2006 MIT grad, Art/ELL teacher, OSPI, currently adjunct faculty for the Master’s in Teaching at Evergreen State College

The journey to teaching is different for everyone and our amazing guest Tamar focuses on what it means to have a transnational perspectives. We discuss the relationship between literacy and language, then transition to the problem of lack of “teacher diversity.” Tamar challenges us and our listeners to expand the way we think about this and the way that all CURRENT teachers can strive to address the issue of representation (we can add books, artwork, and broaden curriculum choice). She also reminds us that teacher diversity isn’t just race, but also about language (English) supremacy (but one way to “write and think smart”) and additional intersecting oppressions that keep amazing people out of the profession. Systemically, we need to consider who is seen as an expert and make our schools places that teachers want to stay (teacher of color retention).

We transition to the role of teacher prep programs in diversifying the field, supporting culturally responsive teaching practices, and the unspoken assumptions that being a person of color means you’d be able to work cross-culturally. There are programs intentionally working to recruit and support teachers of color. Some reading:

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: vegan milkshakes

  • Tamar: Star Trek

  • Hope: Hi-Chews

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 42: Equity is Not the Outcome

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EQ: What does equity look like, sound like, and feel like within complex organizations?

Guest: Desiree Finch, Leadership Development, Union Organizer, and Pierce Co Manager for Fuse WA.

“As Fuse’s Pierce County Organizer, Desiree’s mission is to build leaders to resist Trump’s agenda, lead efforts to clean up our state’s upside-down tax code, and help progressives win back key local offices. Desiree will also play a leading role in implementing Fuse’s racial equity plan by enabling Fuse to become a strong ally with underrepresented communities in Pierce County."

In this episode we discuss the notion of organization and development, including industrial psychology. Desiree compares and contrasts equity work in WA state vs other states, specifically drawing on her experience in union organizing. Lastly, we chat about how to maintain hope in the Trump era.

Do Your Fudging Homework

  • Annie: This is primarily for educators, but could be really useful to anyone confronting racism in the workplace. Seattle Public Schools has a Racial Equity Analysis tool, and it serves as almost like an environmental impact statement, but for actions that may cause inequity or broaden the opportunity gap and how to avoid those outcomes. It’s not totally comprehensive, but it’s a good start.

  • Desiree: desiree@fuse.org;  go to org to do equity training---get consultancy find money and hire someone such as Archer Consulting

Ep. 41: An Interview With Author Robin DiAngelo

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Special Guest: Dr. Robin DiAngelo has a PhD in Multicultural Education from the University of Washington in Seattle in 2004 and is a two-time winner of the Student’s Choice Award for Educator of the Year at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work. She is the author of White Fragility, Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk about Racism (2018), and What Does It Mean to Be White: Developing White Literacy (2012). Check out this NEWLY RELEASED, FREE White Fragility Reader’s Guide

We were elated to conduct this interview! Some highlights of the conversation include:

  • A description of “whiteness studies”.

  • The elevation of white people as the norm for humanity which reproduces white supremacy & white fragility when you challenge it.

  • No matter where you travel in the world, white fragility is the SAME (even if the history of the region is different).

  • Anti-blackness is EVERYWHERE--doesn’t matter what country (ex. Aboriginals in Australia and Native people in Canada).

  • White people don’t understand that we bring our histories to each situation. In particular, teachers bring this history of harm, especial for students of color. Teachers get offended rather than understanding the context of time and place. See the example of The Citadel, an all-male military school.

  • Race work is sometimes “only” given to people of color which reinforces the notion that we’re racially innocent. There is no “clean” space outside white supremacy.

  • A mapping out of Mark Meadows white fragility in response to Tlaib’s speech

  • People have a hard time talking about race because they are afraid of being called a racist and want to point out all the ways they aren’t a racist.

  • They want to be divorced from that term. In particular, white men get to yell and shout and be victims when they want to.

  • Advice for white parents: Slow it down, do your own work around your whiteness. When children of color (with white parents)  have some structural analysis they do better--it’s not just about “something is wrong with me”. Check out DiAngelo’s resources for white parents.

The interview questions were listener-driven. Shout out to: Jennifer B, John M, Shannon M, Marguerite M, Siri K, Jacquie J, Stephen M, and Hilary S.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Read Less Basic Book Club: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

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Discussion Highlights Include:

  • Passages that resonated with us - insights, challenges, surprises, and takeaways

  • Discussion around the  idea that “Racism is a structure, not an event,” (J. Kēhaulani Kauanui)

  • Colorblindness and associated issues

  • White women’s tears

  • Personal experiences dealing with racism as perpetrators or bystanders and how white people must disrupt racism to make any meaningful change

  • Lessons from the book that we can apply to our everyday lives and next steps

Listener To Do List:

  • Read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo so this episode makes sense

  • Reach out to IWL on social media if you have questions for Robin DiAngelo - we’re interviewing her in early March!

  • Become a subscribing member of Channel 253

  • Borrow or buy (at your favorite local bookstore) our next #readlessbasic book - White Rage by Carol Anderson

Ep. 40: Lady Justice: an Interview with Lawyer Jacqueline Justice

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EQ:  Why are issues of justice are important for the average person to understand in 2019?

Guest: Jacqueline Justice

Highlights of this episode include:

  • What it’s like to work inside the Social Security Administration as a decision writer and how the system can be improved for people with disabilities (cultural competency training, better vocational training, and a functional healthcare system).

  • How Washington’s social safety nets are better (and worse) than other states and what we do well (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, or DVR is one example).

  • The basics of Dependency Court, including racial disparities and disproportionalities - African American children are twice as likely to enter the system and most people who work in it are white women.

  • The ins and outs of the adult advocacy roles, including attorney, CASAs, and GALs (guardians ad litem).

  • What it’s like being a woman of color in a field (law) that is dominated by older white males, including the intersectionality of race and gender in the court.

  • The compounding effect of the homelessness crisis (and housing instability in general) on kids in crisis.

  • How the state lacks the ability to sustain comprehensive programs - we tend to focus on fixing individual pieces but not the whole situation or the whole family.

  • The benefit of local programs, like the Tacoma Housing Authority.

  • Jacqueline's Magic Wand Wishes: universal health care and good vocational training.

  • Maintaining a trauma-informed approach to the work of law in order to lead the profession in a compassionate way.

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: Game apps like Candy Crush Blossom Blast

  • Jackie: “How to Get Away with Murder” and other crime shows

  • Hope: the show “You”

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Jackie: the CASA program, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

  • Hope: White Rage by Carol Anderson

  • Annie: Donate locally to support youth in crisis and the programs that help them such as Fostering Together

Ep. 39: Evangelicals Need to Come Out of Their Corners

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EQ:  How is Evangelicalism supporting white supremacy in American churches and government today and what do we do about it?

We are joined by Erin Jones, award-winning educator, independent education & systems consultant, public speaker, former candidate for State Superintendent (OSPI). As we unpack our essential question, we discuss the tension between faith and doubt, specifically that both are healthy. We wrestle with why so many people of faith unquestionably believe in their leadership (pastors) and are told to just “Do” rather than think about what they are doing. We explore the loaded nature of the word “evangelicalism” including how it’s changed meaning over time and gets interchanged with “Republicanism”. Evangelicalism has been boiled down to arguments about pro-life, gay marriage, guns, and voting for Trump. Erin also shares about her experience as a woman of color navigating white Evangelical churches. Finally, we discuss why it’s critical for Christians who don’t buy into the fear-mongering to come out of our silos and corners to engage in conversations about faith, religion and justice.

Related Readings:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 38: Racial Equity in AP, IB, and Honors Courses Matters

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EQ: Why is educational access and access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences important?

Guest: Kim Thomas, Partnership Director for Equal Opportunity Schools and total badass. “Kimberly is deeply committed to educational access, equity and transformation and to the challenging, but critical work of ensuring that marginalized students have access to rigorous, transformative educational experiences.”

This episode takes a deep dive into equity issues in schools with the incisive, brilliant, and hilarious Kim Thomas. Topics include:

Guilty Favesies (accidental food theme):

  • Kim: all manner of delightfully junky food

  • Annie: Giant American tortillas

  • Hope: late night Taco Bell quesadillas with green sauce

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Kim: Scene on Radio “Seeing White” series

  • Annie: for educators - examine academic gatekeeping in your building

  • Hope: look at your own workplace and practice with the goal of being more equitable

Ep. 37: Let’s All Be Really Healthy...Let’s Also Eat the Sheet Cake

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Our EQ: What is diet culture, why is it so insidious, and how is it related to white privilege and the patriarchy?

Sponsor: Talking About Your Body Weight

Guest: Stephanie Skaggs, high school Humanities educator from Tacoma and woman of thiccness. She’s a third generation Tacoman and has a BA and Master’s in Teaching from Western Washington University.

This episode is inspired by the yearly conversation about “wellness” (aka diet and weight loss) that creeps up around the holidays. Topics include:

  • Our history of dieting, including the heritability of diet culture (we’re looking at you, moms and grandmas). Cabbage soup, French Women Don’t Get Fat, Atkins. The WORKS.

  • Diet trends - see this handy graph.

  • The relationship between wellness and wealth (and thinness as a status symbol).

  • The coded and secret language women use to talk about their bodies.

  • The changing conversation around obesity, including shifting definitions of health.

  • Stephanie’s extremely compelling primary source document - 1972 edition of The Joy of Sex and particularly the section entitled “Problems,” that is both fat-shaming and racist.

  • Double standards about male and female bodies and how they’re treated (Stephanie brings some insight about growing up with brothers, including how wonderful and supportive her family was. Hope talks about growing up with sisters). We figure out that even in supportive homes, there is intense pressure from society.

  • Sara Upson, doctor and registered dietitian. She has a blog called My Signature Nutrition and a post called Diet Culture 101 that is incredibly informative. She says:

    • “Diet culture is a society that focuses on and values weight, shape, and size over health and well-being. Variations of diet culture also include rigid eating patterns that on the surface are in the name of health, but in reality are about weight shape or size. Diet culture is really tricky because as we have learned that diets don’t work, they (diet culture) have transformed their message to say that they are all about health. Their definition of health though, is one that is synonymous with weight- that when you lose weight (by any means necessary) then you will be healthier. By restricting your eating and eliminating food groups you will feel better and be happier. This isn’t reality. The reality is- people do crazy, unhealthy, even dangerous diet behaviors in the name of health to lose weight. That isn’t health.”

  • How people equate thinness with happiness and use food to protect from trauma (read Roxanne Gay’s Hunger).

  • The crossover between diet culture and multi-level marketing and diet culture in schools.

  • Working with youth and modeling self-care for them in the classroom (including avoiding negative self-talk and body talk).

  • Taking apart the toxic crap:

    • The Anti-Diet Movement - comes in different forms on the internet, but the basic idea is to stop dieting and accept your body.

    • Focusing on goals that aren’t related to weight loss, but are for your health - like daily walks with the intention of clearing your head, not racking up steps or torching calories.

    • Studying diet culture and learn how to avoid its pitfalls. Check yourself when you’re talking about it.

    • Being intentional about body positivity and avoiding negative language. Give more genuine compliments.

  • Queer culture - outside the patriarchal male gaze?


Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: Riverdale - delicious trash. Body positive actors on the show!

  • Hope: reheated leftover coffee with sugar free hot cocoa mix.

  • Stephanie: following body-positive Instagram accounts (gabifresh! Nabela Noor!)


Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: Read an article on the Frisky called “Girl Talk: I’m Sick of Women Talking About Weight” by Wendy Stokes. The author talks about those social situations in which women reinforce negative talk about weight with each other. The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams.

  • Hope: a super awesome book about body types - Body Drama by Nancy Amanda

  • Stephanie: Roxanne Gay - articles and books. She’s great.


2019: Read, Listen, and Subscribe

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This is the time of year to make some resolutions, and hope for a stronger, brighter new year. It’s also prime time to renew your commitment to anti-racism and fighting injustices in the world.

We’ve compiled a list of our top books and podcast recommendations. This is not a comprehensive list but a great place to start 2019.

  1. Obvs, go read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. Go get a copy from King’s Books RIGHT NOW.  We know it’s the IWL book club text but it is required reading for anyone who claims to be a progressive white person. We’d love for you to share you insights, comments, or conundrums by tweeting with the hashtag #readlessbasic

  2. Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister. I drank the PSL latte when I listened to her interview on the Ezra Klein show “Women’s Rage is Transforming America”. You’ll find yourself “amening” immediately.

  3. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. You might think you’re a woke white person, but this book (technically a book of poetry) will  remind you about why the intersections of oppression matter. If you’re white, take your time through each page. Give yourself space to consider what it’s like to be on the receiving end of racial microaggressions. Then, understand that your existence occurs 99.9?% of the time on the side of the aggressor. Cry a few tears and then resolve to stop perpetuating racism, sexism, and so on.

  4. Channel 253. Um, yo did you know there’s a network of fantastic podcasts RIGHT HERE IN TACOMA!!??? Let’s not pretend that Hope isn’t biased towards the @NerdFarmPod host. But, ALL the shows are worth your time. Also, become a subscribing member to the network. Just $4 a month!

From our listeners:

  • Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Hochschild. “In the realm of emotions, the Right felt like they were being treated as criminals and the liberals had the guns.”

  • How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. “This puts in words something that has been gnawing at the back of my brain. Periods of political polarization correspond with periods of racial progress. Also, it puts Trumpism in context with right wing movements around the world that I really appreciate.”

  • Our Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. “The cover is AHMAZING. The book focuses on radical acceptance of bodies--our own, others, all colors and abilities. It helps us think about what that acceptance looks like in action (and how self love is impossible without it).”

  • Why is This Happening with Chris Hayes. “Makes me realize how little I know about many topics I thought I had a decent grasp on.”

  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. “This book ignites the imagination and ties in with reality.”

Ep. 36: To All Those Who Deserve Hand-painted Christmas Cookies

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Our EQ: Who made 2018 a little brighter and did their part to keep BS at bay?

We’re back with Katy Evans, the Holiday Hero, to distribute hand painted Christmas cookies to a few of the wonderful men, women, and non-binary folxs making the world a better place by fighting stereotypes, white supremacy, social norms, and #beinglessbasic

In the first half of the episode we reminisce about delicious holiday foods and childhood memories. Cookie Trays? Hundred dollar mac and cheese? Hold on to your hats, because this episode is filled with Caucasity. What the hell is rice-mello? Have you ever tried Divinity? Did you know you can smoke your cocktails with an overpriced William & Sonoma Cocktail Smoking Box.

If you’re feeling crafty, make some Reindeer Footprints or gag gifts of reindeer, elf, or snowman poop.  Explore the art of popcorn balls. You can also try your hand at the many many craft projects Hope attempted with medium success like DIY ornaments or Novel Clocks.

Christmas Cookie Distribution

Guilty Favesies:

  • Hope: Eshakti & online stores that suck you in via Facebook or Instagram ads

  • Annie: Instagram - celebrities, makeup tutorials, and Hiking Bangers

  • Katy: Choir Stuff, especially choral music

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: none from me!

  • Annie: ride that positive high from the holiday season and commit to a cause that will make the world a better place in 2019. I’m going to try and do more to support LGBTQ+ youth organizations in and around Tacoma.

  • Katy: Speak your gratitude.

Ep. 35: Brickettes, Bags, and Dump Trucks of Coal

EQ: Who in White America deserves lumps of coal this year?

We are lucky to be joined by Katy Evans, Assistant Executive Director @ Grand Cinema and most importantly, the Holiday Hero. Katy was a recent guest on NerdFarm Ep 49: It’s Cuffing Season

In this episode, three interchangeable brown-haired, white women discuss the joys of the Christmas season. We make recommendations for seasonal music, foods, and most importantly, we dissect weird Holiday traditions such as Krampus and Black Pete (it’s as racist as it sounds!). Lastly, we help Santa out by distributing varying amounts of coal to crappy, hateful and all-around awful people.

To begin, check out these links guaranteed to bring more joy to your life this season:

Then, follow up on these Christmas traditions:

Finally, we dole out coal one brickette at a time. Santa really should hire us.

  1. Lena Dunham

  2. The Caucasity of White Names

  3. Yanny or Laurel argument

  4. People who voted No on 1631

  5. Bland Potato Salad

  6. Using mayonaise instead of Miracle Whip (apparently, there’s a division even in the studio. Oh, hwhite people)

  7. Whoever runs the City Club Twitter account

  8. News Tribune Editorial Board (they’re out of touch critique of Tacoma Against Nazis which we won’t even bother to link to here)

  9. How many piles of coal does Quentin Tarantino deserve for being a perv?

  10. White women voting for candidates who don’t have their best interests at heart.

  11. ALL the white people who called on Black people living their lives this year. There should be cost to white people for calling on Black folks

  12. The ladies from Idaho School who dressed like a border wall and Mexicans for Halloween.

  13. Border Patrol condoning the use of tear gas against children and babies.

There are faaaaaaaaaar more people who deserve to be buried under truckloads of coal, but we ran out of time!

Guilty Favesies:

  • Hope: Horrifically corny holiday movies--but not about animals!

  • Annie: Vegan egg nog w/ bananas

  • Katy: Nora Ephron and favorite films like Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping. Add to your must-watch list The Holiday Calendar, Bad Moms Christmas

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 34: Housing Is a Human Right

**Since this recording Tacoma City Council UNANIMOUSLY voted to increase protections for renters!!

Read about it here!

Today’s EQ: What is a tenants’ union and why do cities need them?

Guest: Molly Nichols, recent transplant to Tacoma from Pittsburgh, where she organized transit riders. Now she works as  the Tacoma outreach coordinator with Futurewise and a member of the Tacoma Tenants Organizing Committee. Also have experience as a high school and college teacher.

Molly talks about her journey, including working in leadership development, taking on graduate school (with a focus on environmental issues in the Caribbean, including a community fighting an aluminum smelter), and her need for urgency in her work life, which led her to grassroots organizing. Molly discusses decentering herself as a white woman and recentering those most affected by environmental and social problems to create sustainable change. She shares her experiences in Tacoma, including working at Futurewise, a statewide non-profit that fights for equitable and sustainable urban growth and land use policies, where she helped organize tenants who have been displaced by recent growth in Tacoma.

Be Less Basic and Read Up on some of these topics:

About the Tiki Apartments & Tenants Union

Examples of What We Could be Doing

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  1. Follow us at @IWL_Podcast or on Facebook!

  2. Get a copy of White Fragility and tweet your comments, thoughts, and questions using #readlessbasic

  3. Become a Channel 253 Member! It’s just $4 a month or $40 a year. https://www.channel253.com/membership/


Ep. 33: Shut Up & Listen To Youth Voices

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EQ: How are youth defining and deconstructing gender in 2018 and how can adults be allies to them?


Guest: Stella Keating, 8th grader in TPS, the WA state representative for the Gender Cool Project, Instagram-lover and a youth activist. Lisa Keating, My Purple Umbrella--Episode 14

Stella tells us about how she became involved in politics and activism through My Purple Umbrella’s work on in 2016  with the Anti-Trans Bill (1552 Bathroom Bill; initiative 1515). She even testified to the school board in 4th grade! She describes her involvement in the Gender Cool Project, a program that “seeks to reach every corner of the country with positive and powerful stories about who transgender kids and their peer allies are rather than what they are. We leave the labels at the door and build understanding through storytelling about the accomplishments of these remarkable young leaders.”

She shares what it means to be a “Gender Cool Champion”, what National Coming Out Day really means (raises awareness for people who don’t have to),  the challenges of being a young activist, how she experiences sexism in the world, and how she really feels about Kavanaugh. And you MUST go read this article in Teen Vogue “Why Transgender Visibility Matters.”

Guilty Favesies

  • Annie: seeing exotic animals up close

  • Hope: Eyeglass frames

  • Stella: Instagram

  • Lisa: Facebook

Do your fudging homework

  • Annie: Educators and parents - see what support is available in your school for LGBQ+ youth and see what you can do to promote it.

  • Hope: Go back and listen to Episode 14; read book from Queerest Book Club Ever on FB

  • Stella: Queerest Book Club Ever (next book - Two Boys Kissing), read Handsome Girl and Her Beautiful Boy, read Symptoms of Being Human, shut up and listen to youth voices and educate the youth

  • Lisa: Queerest Book Club Ever. Families and allies welcome. Second Monday of the month - 7-8:30 PM. Skype with authors.  

Ep. 32: #DangerousMom’s Perspective on Childbirth, Motherhood, and Advocacy

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EQ:  Why is being a stay-at-home-parent a fulltime, bad-ass job that we need in 2018?

Guest: Tobi Tommaney, Tacoma-raised, birth doula, wife, and mother.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why Tacoma is the best place to raise a family

  • How you can be a block mom, a #dangerousmom, and a general bad-ass

  • How women’s bodies are strong and powerful---we just have to listen to ourselves.

  • The difference between pain and suffering

  • Midwifery, being a doulah, and why you should use the lotus method for your placenta

  • An insider’s perspective on the Tacoma Teacher Strike

  • Most importantly, why you are enough and just showing up to speak your truth is ENOUGH! We need to make sure our legislators and school board know they are there to serve the community!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Show up at a school board meeting, email your legislator and speak up!

Ep. 31: Not Data Without Stories, Not Stories Without Data

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EQ: Why is the work of the ACLU in the Washington important and relevant in 2018?

Guest: Vanessa Torres Hernandez, Youth Policy Director at American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. Nerd Farmer Guest Ep 27

The formidable and fabulous Vanessa Torres Hernandez joins us to talk about the intersection of education and the law. Vanessa shares the story of her early life in Guam, the culture shock of American college life, and her years as a teacher.

Highlights include:

  • We need to pay more attention to school safety  issues in Washington School Safety. Many instinctive responses to school shootings are wrong and not research based.  We need more preventative resources.

  • There is an absurd amount of racial bias in school suspensions and other forms of discipline

  • We need to question and re-imagine the role of law enforcement in schools

  • The importance of stories with data and data with stories in improving school safety - it can’t just be about numbers or feelings, we have to examine both

  • Equal Justice Works

  • Learn more about the Every Student Counts Alliance (ESCA), a new collaboration between organizations and individuals in Spokane working to end the overuse of suspension and expulsion in Spokane Public Schools and to eliminate disparities in rates of suspension and expulsion of students of color and students with disabilities.

  • Read more about WA state laws on suspension, including HB 1541 and Adopted Student Discipline Rules

Guilty Favesies

  • Hope: candles, especially if they’re on sale at Target

  • Annie: single-serving lunch snacks

  • Vanessa: celebrity gossip magazines


Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: What do you think about … Can the ACLU Become the NRA for the Left?

  • Vanessa: Attend Adult Civics HH; Flights and Rights (ACLU) in Seattle; issue oriented civic engagement--most important

  • Annie: clued in to what’s happening in legislature! Sign up for legislators emails

Ep. 30: Decolonize Your Bookshelf

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EQ:  Why is important to decolonize your bookshelf and how do you do it?

Guest: Kristen Sierra, Tacoma born & raised, Lincoln teacher-librarian, TPS mom

Kristen helps us understand what it means to decolonize your bookshelf, including challenging us to read more authors from diverse backgrounds! We also learn more about Project Lit, a Nashville based program that addresses the problem of “book deserts” in urban areas. This program focuses on providing high-quality, culturally relevant books that empower students as readers and leaders.

Support her work to transform the Lincoln Library by:

Learn more information about Project Lit as a Nation wide Movement:

Other useful links:

  • Contact for Tacoma Public Schools Library Director for information on supporting our Milgard Fundraiser & support in general: Ms. Suzanna Panter: spanter@tacoma.K12.wa.us

  • Link to Tacoma Public School Library websites for supportive citizens to contact their local school librarian (scroll down and click on the name of the school) https://www.tacomaschools.org/libraries/Pages/default.aspx

  • Contact for our Superintendent & our Assistant Superintendent to voice your support of school libraries:

  • Superintendent Santorno: csantor@tacoma.K12.wa.us; Superintendent Pace: tpace@tacoma.K12.wa.us

  • Link to requesting materials and sharing suggestions with our Tacoma Public Library (must sign in first to access this feature)  

  • Attendance at events matters and created more opportunities for events! Link to event pages

Come out to Kwame Alexander Author Event on 10/15 at Urban Grace in Tacoma: tickets here

Guilty Favsies:

  • Hope: good ranch dressing (fancy spices)

  • Annie: niiiiice office supplies.

  • Kristen---People, Gossip

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Special Announcement:

We are going to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo! #IWLreads #readlessbasic