Micro Activism: Making a Difference One Step at a Time

Micro Activism: Making a Difference One Step at a Time

Author: Andrew Lefkowits, Val Brown, Courtney Mykytyn February 19, 2025 Duration: 47:02
Omkari Williams believes deeply in the power of people to change their environments - that through the power of the human spirit, and small, concrete actions, anything is possible, and that true changes requires all types of people. Her recent book, Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without A Bullhorn, is a testament to this idea. In it, she lays out four activist archetypes - The Headliner, The Producer, The Organizer, and The Indispensable. All movements need all four types of activists, and everyone can find themselves in one or more of the archetypes. This view opens the door to anyone to participate, and the book gives concrete steps to take to figure out how to get involved in a way that leans in to each person's individual strengths. In a dark time, where hope can be hard to find, Ms. Williams brings a grounded sense of hope and possibility, along with actionable steps to changing our environments for the better. ________________ Finding a school where your children can thrive, while avoiding contributing to the ongoing segregation we see today, can feel like a tough issue for socially conscious parents. Check out our FREE guide on how you can start engaging with the education system to achieve just that: https://mailchi.mp/integratedschools/start-guide ________________ LINKS: - Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without A Bullhorn - https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9781635866889 - Ms. Williams Podcast - Stepping Into Truth: Conversations on Social Justice and How We Get Free - https://www.steppingintotruth.com/ - Register for an Integrated Schools Book Club session! - https://integratedschools.org/book-club/ Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us. - https://bookshop.org/shop/IntegratedSchools Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further. - https://www.patreon.com/integratedschools 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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to talk about school integration in the abstract, but what does it actually look like on the ground for families navigating these choices every day? The Integrated Schools Podcast moves beyond theory into the messy, personal realities of race, parenting, and educational equity. Hosted by Andrew Lefkowits, a White dad from Denver, and Val Brown, a Black mom from North Carolina, along with co-author Courtney Mykytyn, this podcast centers conversations that deliberately sit with discomfort and complexity. Each episode brings in voices from across the spectrum-parents making tough school decisions, educators in the trenches, researchers, and community organizers-to explore why our schools remain so segregated and what it truly means to work toward integration. You’ll hear candid stories about navigating predominantly white spaces, confronting personal bias, and the small, daily actions that either challenge or uphold systemic inequities. This isn’t a podcast offering easy answers; instead, it provides a necessary space to listen, reflect, and engage with the nuanced layers of a deeply entrenched issue. The dialogue here is built on the belief that honest, sometimes difficult talk is a prerequisite for meaningful change, both in our schools and in ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Integrated Schools Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Not Your Model Minority [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:26
Dr. Sarah-Soonling Blackburn is an educator, speaker, and professional development specialist. Growing up in a mixed race, Asian and White family, and spending most of her childhood in various countries in Asia, ideas of…
Redrawing the Lines: Undoing the History of Segregation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:01
If you think about a “segregated school”, what image comes to mind? Quite often, the cultural narrative says that that is a school with almost exclusively students of color. What about a school with 98% White students? I…
Generational Work: Stefan Lallinger on Integration [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:33
In 1954, Louis Redding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_L._Redding), Delaware’s first Black attorney, joined the legal team at the NAACP to argue the Brown v Board case. Having agued two of the lower court cases that…
Moving and Choosing A School [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:20
The very first episode (https://integratedschools.org/podcast/ep-1-intro-to-the-integrated-schools-podcast/) of the Integrated Schools Podcast featured a conversation between our late founder, Courtney Mykytyn, and two m…
New Season, New Perspectives . . . New Co-Host!! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:22
In 2016, Val Brown recognized a silence in the education community regarding issues of race, and a gap in learning opportunities for educators. In response she founded #ClearTheAir, a platform for educators to learn abou…
Learning In Public with Courtney Martin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:47
From the time Courtney Martin strapped her daughter, Maya, to her chest for walks around her neighborhood, she was curious about Emerson Elementary, a public school down the street from her Oakland home. She learned that…
Reckoning with Plessy: 125 Years of Separate But Equal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:10
One hundred and twenty five years ago this week, The Supreme Court announced its decision in the case of Plessy v Ferguson. The case infamously declared that separate but equal was constitutional. The setting for the cas…
BvB@67- Greg and Carol Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
In the fifth episode in our Brown v. Board at 67: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series, we step away from scholarship to take a moment to listen. I Hope They Hear it in Our Voices is a conversation with two Black parents…
BvB@67 - David Hinojosa Revisted [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:43
For the fourth episode in our Brown v. Board at 67: The Stories We Tell Ourselves series, we talk with Civil Rights attorney David Hinojosa (https://twitter.com/davidghinojosa?lang=en). School segregation is too often pa…

«1...678910