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
Examining Anti-Blackness: A Multiracial Parent Roundtable [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:41
Some of the most meaningful episodes we record for this show are the conversations we have with parents and caregivers reflecting on the choices they make for their kids and their own learning journeys. Our last episode…
Unpacking the Racial Hierarchy in School Choices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:40
Dr. Chantal A. Hailey (http://chantalahailey.com/) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/sociology/) at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research is at the interse…
The Debrief: Carol Anderson on White Rage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:09
Last episode, Carol Anderson on White Rage, was a lot, so we’re taking today’s episode to discuss. LINKS: White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation’s Divide (https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9781632864130) We Are Not Yet…
Carol Anderson on White Rage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:48
“Since the days of enslavement, African Americans have fought to gain access to quality education. Education can be transformative. It reshapes the health outcomes of a people; it breaks the cycle of poverty; it improves…
A Framework for Antiracist Education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:56
Founded in 2021, the Center for Antiracist Education’s (CARE) mission is to equip antiracist educators with the knowledge and curriculum to create schools and classrooms that push back on the destructive legacy of racism…
An Overdue Reckoning on Indigenous Education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:52
We keep a running list of ideas for episodes – topics to cover, guests we’d like to interview, conversations with parents we’d like to have – and near the top of that list, for far longer than we’d care to admit, has bee…
Revisiting Heather McGhee on How Racism Hurts Us All [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:49
Heather McGhee (https://www.demos.org/heather-c-mcghee) has been in public policy for the past 20 years, largely focused on economics. After nearly 16 years at Demos, a “think-and-do” tank, including four years as presid…
Parenting for Racial Justice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:41
Angela Berkfield, a White woman living in Brattleboro, Vermont, was deeply committed to social justice. In 2013, she was a co-founder of The Root Social Justice Center, a hub for social justice organizing in Vermont. Fro…
Year End: Listener Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:19
Listeners regularly reach out with questions – things that they are seeing in their own neighborhoods, things that we haven’t addressed, but should, etc. For the final episode of 2021, we thought we’d answer as many as w…
Teacher Check-In Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:08
Back in April of 2020 we had a conversation with two teachers, Kara in the Minneapolis area, and Zoe in Philadelphia. They shared their struggles with shifting to remote school, trying to reach their students to provide…