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
Rebuilding The Black Educator Pipeline [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:36
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 resea…
Jim Crow's Pink Slip with Dr. Leslie Fenwick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
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…
Local Stories of Desegregation: DENVER (Part 3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:33
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 “a…
Local Stories of Desegregation: DENVER (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:28
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 "a…
Local Stories of Desegregation: DENVER (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:39
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 deliberat…
Parenting to Create the World We Want [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:07
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 favorit…
The Importance of Belonging [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:03
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.…
A Conversation with the Assistant Secretary of Education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:02
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.…
2023 In Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:03
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…
ICYMI: Teaching Hard History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:05
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 join…