Projects to Celebrate Diversity and Inspire Change (Ep. 386)

Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by the Art of Education University, and I’m your host, Tim Bogatz.

We are going to try something new today, and I will have four guests on the show. Now, before we get there though, I should probably tell you a little bit about how that came about. Our guests will be Khadesia Latimer, Abigail Birhanu, Tamara Slade, and Paula Liz. And they are four of the six authors of a book called Anti-Racist Art Activities for Kids: 38 Creative Projects that Celebrate Diversity and Inspire Change. Now, this is a book that I purchased over the summer and I thought it was very well done. I appreciated how they handled the topics at hand, explained why those topics are important, gave activities that you can do in your classroom, and just overall how they present all of those topics through those activities and the lessons that they share. Now, a quick word about that though, I know a lot of you listening to this are teaching in states where the political climate is very charged and you need to consider which resources you’re able to use in your classroom.

I have a friend in one particular state who had to photograph and inventory her entire classroom library and ended up having to remove a lot of her books, and that is the reality at hand. And so I would just say that you know your own situation best, what you can and cannot talk about, what you can and cannot share. So, just think about that as you’re listening to the discussion today. But anyway, after picking up this book, I invited Khadesia to come on the podcast, she and I have worked together on a lot of things before, and we also invited all of her co-authors. And so, it’s turned into this big group discussion. And I’m looking forward to talking to all of these authors today because I want to hear the story of how all of this came about. I’m always impressed with teachers who can go above and beyond like this, to share their ideas and put together and pull off, frankly, such a huge undertaking.

And so I’m curious about a lot of things, how they got started writing a book, how they were able to put together so many lessons, and honestly what it’s like working with six different co-authors. So, there’s a lot for us to chat about today. Looking forward to this discussion. And as you listen, I would encourage you to think about your own interest areas and how you may be able to share those interests with others. What can you learn from this group of art educators and how they turned their ideas into a publication, how they turned their ideas into reality. And I think looking at it with that sort of lens can be enlightening for you, but we’ll get into the discussion in just a second.

But first, I also wanted to give you a heads-up on something you’ll see in your podcast feed over the coming weeks. Starting on Thursday, we’re going to be putting weekly episodes of a new limited series called What Do New Teachers Need To Know? We first mentioned this last month, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you on Thursday. Janet Taylor, and I, have collaborated over the past 18 months, I think, on all types of different topics, different episodes, different Q&A sessions on what new art teachers need to know in their first years. And so, we’ve packaged all of those conversations together.

We’ll have some old conversations along with some new content, and you’ll see that right here in the Art Ed Radio feed over the coming weeks. And so, I would love you to give it a listen, and more importantly, I would please, please, please love you to share it with someone who could use it, any new teacher who you think could be helped by listening to us answer some questions, give some advice, and hopefully give them some support. We’d love for you to share it out, but that will be out later this week.

Okay, it is finally time for us to get this conversation started. We have a bunch of guests here, so let me go ahead and bring everyone on right now.

All right, so welcome. We have a lot of guests today. And I guess to begin, I would love just a really quick introduction from each of you, maybe what grade level you teach, where you teach, anything else you want to share. Khadesia, can we have you go first?

Yeah. So, my name is Khadesia Latimer and I am an elementary art teacher in South Carolina, the upstate area. I am currently at two schools and this is my seventh year teaching.

Okay, nice. All right, so Abby, what about you?

Hi, I’m Abby Birhanu, and this is my 18th year of teaching. Khadesia, you’re going to be here soon too. And I taught high school for 15 years and I’ve been teaching middle school for two. And I reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

All right. And Tamara?

Hi. Yeah, I’m Tamara and I teach multiple subjects. So, I am a third-grade teacher, and I teach in Los Angeles and I love it here.

All right, very nice. And Paula?

So hi, I am Paula Liz. I have been, for the last 14 years, teaching elementary and middle school art in New York City, Austin, Texas, DC, and most recently in Maryland.

Okay, nice. Nice. And now I guess for everybody who’s listening who may or may not know what you all are doing, I guess for those people who are unfamiliar with the Anti-Racist Art Teachers group, can one of you just give us an introduction to the group and what you do?

So, Anti-Racist Art Teachers came about during the Covid Pandemic, when a lot of teachers were going online and seeking resources and connections and collaboration. So, it initially started as a collaborative Google document that came out of different Facebook posts and Facebook conversations that were happening. I knew that, in my own personal teaching practice, I incorporated a lot of social justice and anti-racist elements in my lessons and I knew I was not the only one, so I created this collaborative document to share the lessons I had and was asking teachers to also share what they do in their classroom. And that led to me connecting with Khadesia and Abby, Tamara, Lori, and everyone else who is not here today. So, we’re a group of art educators all over the country. That Google doc evolved to the website, which has a ton of resources on lessons, book recommendations, as well as artists of the global majority to feature and highlight in your classroom. So, then from that website the social media came out of it. So, yeah.

Now, and I guess all of that has evolved into the book now, it’s called Anti-Racist Art Activities for Kids, and it’s all just full of all sorts of great projects. I think the description is Projects that Celebrate Diversity and Inspire Change. I would love to know just the story of how the book came together. What was the inspiration? Who in the group was like, “Hey, we should write a book,” and how did all of those things come together to lead to this book being published? And I guess side question, I’m asking too many at once, but what is it like working with five co-authors at the same time? How was this whole process?

So it was actually amazing how we had had these sessions over the summer where we were dreaming about where we saw Anti-Racist Art Teachers in five years, and we came up with all of these lofty goals and ideas and one of them was to write a book. And when we were talking about it, I was like, “Oh, this would be amazing,” but I never thought that the opportunity would actually happen. And then someone from Quarto Publishing actually reached out and asked if that was something that we would be interested in.

Nice.

So it just naturally happened. So, we feel really fortunate with that.

And it’s so funny that you asked that question. There’s five people working on a book, how does that work? And it’s so funny, because our editor was always just like, “Oh boy, five.” Yeah, it’s just a lot of people, or six of us total, but five other people you’re working with. And he was so shocked that we worked so well and seamlessly. And all of us, our reaction was like, “Duh, we’re teachers. We’re the most organized collaborative group of people you could possibly, this is what we do all day.”

I was going to say, I remember when we first learned about the book and had the opportunity. And the first thing I was thinking like, “Oh my gosh, this sounds like so much work. There’s just so much that we’re going to have to do.” And I remember thinking that in the beginning, and then once we started working together and being super organized about it, everybody had their certain things that they had to do, it just flowed so seamlessly. So, I remember being super overwhelmed at the beginning, but just like Tamara said, it all worked out. We’re all teachers. We figured out how to come together and make it happen with how many people, six people? Six people who wrote the book. A lot of different personalities, but we all got together and made it happen. So, I think that’s incredible in itself.

It is. And I also think it adds a lot to the credibility of the book. We collaborated a lot and vetted the information very thoroughly. So when one person is writing the information, one person’s lived experience is interacting with the information or is what’s being shared. So it was really just such a positive that we were all coming in with sometimes different lenses on the book and there were sometimes debates, always cordial, that took place. So, that is one of the points of the book that I emphasize a lot when we’re advertising it to the teaching community, is that this information is very well vetted, in addition to what Quarto did on their part to vet the information as well. So, this is something I hope that teachers are secure in when they are sharing the information with their students and their colleagues.

Yeah, that’s an excellent point.

Can I add onto that real quick?

Yeah, go ahead.

Just before we move on, I really want to acknowledge and give a shout-out to two of our co-authors who weren’t able to join us today. So, Dr. Lori Santos, who is a remarkable art education professor at Wichita State University, as well as Anjali Wells, who’s the fine arts curriculum content supervisor from Montgomery County Public Schools. So just want to acknowledge them. And then also amplify the fact that community is so important in this work and that anti-racist work cannot be done in isolation, and you need that community and comradery. So, I think we were doing what we were saying, we were living those words.

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Now, I would love to know more about the book. I’d love to just dive in. So, can you just tell me more about the book, what all is in the book? What different sections are there? What can art teachers expect to find or expect to learn in the book?

We initially broke the book into six different chapters that we identified as being really important themes in terms of just anti-racism work. So that was identity, culture, community, empathy, justice, and activism. And starting with the identity work, starting with the self and then slowly growing outward.

And then I like how we also organized each lesson. So, it always started off with a little bit about what the section was about. So like Paula Liz said, we have different sections, identity, culture, community, and the beginning of every section or chapter, there’s a layout of that topic. Just a little bit of information about that topic just to get their feet wet, and then it goes right into the actual lessons. And I wanted to give a shout-out to Tamara because she did a really good job writing those introductions, because I feel like someone who might not know very much about this content, these will really set you up for the lessons that are to come in the next few pages. So, that. And then I also like how each chapter has a Why This Matters, that’s one of my favorite parts. So, before you even get into the lesson, you get a feel of what you’re expected to think about and reflect about as you’re doing it. And so I just felt like the organization of it all, it just flows so seamlessly. So, that was pretty cool to me.

Thank you so much. Yeah, writing the intros was just so much fun for me because it’s such a passion of mine and I love teaching it to my second-graders. And actually, tagging onto what Abby said, is that also my second-graders vetted it, so I know that second-graders can understand it. So they got their cute little highlighters out and I was like, “Highlight anything you don’t understand. So they were the first people to try this out.

Oh, that’s a great idea.

And then I was like, “Okay, you don’t understand this word? How can I re-explain it?” And so then I was like, “Does this make sense to you?” And they’re like, “Yeah.” And I’m like, “Great.” So I know that seven year olds can understand this if it’s taught in the right way. But yeah, it was just so much fun. And it’s funny because I find myself pulling out the book so much, and not even just for the art projects, but just to be like, “Okay, what is justice? What does that mean? It’s such a big idea.” Or, “What is community? How can we,” and it comes up all the time. Or even with social emotional lessons, that empathy chapter is very helpful. So yeah, it’s been really nice to have a resource to pull out whenever I need it.

I would say it’s very user-friendly. Anyone who’s picked it up, and there’s been several reviews left on Amazon and other platforms, and that is something that people have attested to, it’s user-friendly. For me, I taught high school for 15 years, and I’m teaching middle school now. And these are lessons, the portions I wrote, are lessons that I’ve done with my secondary students. And these ladies really, really helped me and Lori especially, who deal with older age groups, and Anjali, really bring the vocabulary to a place where everyone can understand it. They tell you even in middle school when you write emails, or high school, to write it at a sixth grade level. And so it definitely is written in a way that comprehension is a really big aspect that we looked into. And so, I also want to say all of the lessons are extremely adaptable. I did them in my own classroom as a high school teacher. The concepts are big, but they are digestible like Tamara said, and that is something that we really focused on. So it really is for everyone.

Yeah, I think that’s an important point because I was also looking at it through the lens of a secondary teacher and I thought everything was really adaptable. And I know you said that a lot of people ask that question, and so I think it’s good to put that out there that these lessons work for every level. So, I think that’s good. Now, Khadesia, you just brought up the Why This Matters section, which is the next thing I was going to ask about because that is my favorite part of that. I love just the framing, the context, just helping educators understand why these concepts are important. Like you said, gives you the big picture things to think about and to reflect on. But I guess I would love to hear from just each of you personally, what are your favorite parts of the book or what are the things in there that you’re most proud of?

I’m just going to come out and say I love the visuals. They are really beautiful. When we eventually were able to hold the book in our hand, we were really proud of ourselves. And Quarto and their place in it too. And also they allowed us to have a lot of say also in the designing of the visuals in the book. We took our own pictures. So there’s a lot of collaboration. Quarto was an awesome publishing company to work with and really honored our voice along the way, so I really want to celebrate them for that. And so, visually it’s just gorgeous. The examples are really beautiful. I think the artwork is really beautiful. And also one of the biggest things for me is when we wrote it, we were thinking about socioeconomics as well and what people have access to in their classrooms. So it wasn’t using really high-end art materials. A lot of it can be done with crayons, markers, things that you can buy really at the dollar store. And so that is something that I’m very proud of in this book, that it is accessible for all people.

I’m going to be nerdy, and I’m going to say definitely the introductions. I just feel like they were really well-written and if I had to read it out to a student or to anybody who might not understand the topic, I feel like they would after reading it. And then I’ll also say the glossary again. I really like the glossary because I think it was Tamara who said it, sometimes it’s hard to take a very complex word or a complex concept and break it down for a kid to understand. Not really, I wouldn’t say dumb down, but definitely just break it down for them to understand.

And I feel like all of the definitions in the glossary do that really well. Where I live, in South Carolina, I just can’t outright say some of these words without getting heat back from it, but I can read the definition. So, I think they’re very well written, I feel like we put a lot of thought into making sure that if a child were to read them, or somebody who doesn’t really understand the concept, they could read it and definitely get what we were going for or what we wanted them to learn.

I think for me, my favorite unit was just the identity unit because that’s something that I explore a lot with my students. Because, from my own personal art making experience, I did a lot of exploration of identity, so that’s just a personal theme that is always near and dear to me. So I really love how we start with that. And this metaphor of identity being these different layers, there’s multiple layers to who you are and your identity, it’s not just one part or aspect that makes you you. And the other thing is, all the lessons that I shared and created for this I had already been doing in my classroom and had done with students, so I also really love that. And my favorite was probably the miniature billboards, because that was actually a lesson that I’d been doing since I was a student teacher. So, that was just a lesson I’ve done since student teaching, so it’s always been a favorite. It still has stuck around all this time later. So that’s definitely my favorite lesson.

Nice. All right. Tamara, did you have anything you wanted to add?

Yeah. Honestly, there’s so much, and I think I also rediscover things as I reread or do different lessons with my students. But honestly, everyone has done such incredible work. I’m just always so impressed. Khadesia is such an amazing artist, and it’s just so exciting when you see her work, you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I want to do that.” Or Abby, honestly, some of the work that you did, like the bag one that you did, sustainable fashion, oh my gosh. And I like that you can really integrate art into other things, she really dived into science there. It’s so powerful. And yeah, Paula Liz did such a great work with the identity chapter, that’s all her, and she’s just incredible. Just did one of Lori’s lessons, Anjali has… All of it is just so exciting.

But I think what was really powerful for me too is just also being able to add little snippets of my own identity and culture and stuff, so one of my favorite lessons is designing my own utopia, and I talk about Quilombos, and Capoeira, and Afro-Brazilian history, and it’s just really empowering. And I would say the other thing is I’m really proud of the nuance that really goes into it. None of these chapters or explanations are basic. Yeah, we break it down, but we do it in a way that’s so nuanced, and maybe people haven’t thought of before? Even something as simple as the empathy chapter, I talk about everyone knows the golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. But then I introduced the platinum rule, treat others the way they want to be treated, because maybe they don’t want to be treated the same way as you. That might be a new concept that an educator can use with their students and realize, “Oh, okay, that’s the extra connection that maybe my students need.”

No, that’s a really good breakdown, I appreciate it. And I would love for you to each, just if we can, highlight one more lesson. I mean, I know we just talked about utopias and billboards and sustainable fashion, but I know teachers love recommendations of what do you really love? What’s a great place to start? What’s something that you should highlight? So, could I have each of you just share your favorite lesson or just share something in there that you think is important that teachers can dive into when they first get the book?

For me, I love Anjali’s lesson on community heroes. I think taking that and going straight into a classroom will be so cool because a school is a part of a community, and so there are lots of people in your school, or outside of school, in your community that you may look up to that you value. And so in her lesson she’s celebrating Mr. Angel, and she drew this person and what they normally do in their community and wrote a little bit about this person. And I thought that was really special because I know if I were to ask my students to find a community hero or somebody they really look up to, it wouldn’t take them a very long time to come up with the person and take out the time to make something special for them. So I thought that was one, something really easy you could do, but it’s also really, really powerful.

One of my favorites, Paula Liz, please help me with the title, we wrote a lot of lessons, but the one on hospitality? I’m an immigrant, the one about creating a hospitable space, what’s the name of that lesson, Paula Liz?

We Welcome All.

Yeah. So I love that lesson, We Welcome All. I’ve loved it since the first time I’ve seen you do it. As an immigrant myself who came to the states, when I was nine, from Ethiopia, it’s just something that I’ve always been tuned to moving through the world, is making sure that I’m welcoming to newcomers, new students, new people to the community. And I just think it’s such a great lesson to teach kids on acceptance and empathy, and just what hospitality and what acceptance of someone who is new or might be different from you would look like in action. It’s also just beautifully illustrated. So that’s probably one of my favorite lessons I would say.

All right, Paula Liz, do you have a favorite or something that you want to highlight?

I really like Lori’s, and I’m trying to find it, but growing reciprocity. So she did a lesson where, again, connecting to community, and the first peoples of communities and honoring those who took care of the land before colonization. And it really encourages students to do a lot of research into who those people were and how they cared for the land, and also investigate native plants and planting seeds, and then where you put the little marker above to label what is there. But I thought that was a really great way to talk about and acknowledge the land and the people that took care of it before.

So I’m going to maybe do two. So one of them that I do like, actually two that Paula Liz did, is Our Many Shades of Skin, just talking about color and just creating different skin tones and just being inclusive. But then it leads into the next one, which is Your Unique Colors Collage. And it’s just one of my favorites, I’ve done it a couple times now, and it’s great for back to school night, at the beginning the year you put it up on the wall and it’s a good one. But then the other one, because I am a multiple subjects teacher so I am always thinking about how to integrate it to get everything together. Another one is the Equal Isn’t Always Fair, and it’s just a common story problem, like a math story problem.

And, I work in LA Unified and so we have breakfast in the classroom every morning, and a common issue is the kids who come late and they don’t have the breakfast and they’re hungry and what to do with the extra food. And so it’s just a math story about equity versus equality, and what would be fair. Like the person who always has snacks, do they need to get the extra breakfast? Or what about the kid that came in, is hungry, doesn’t really have snacks packed? And so it’s just fun. And I really love, actually it was Paula Liz who introduced me to Model Magic, Crayola Model Magic, is that what it’s called?

Oh, that is the best stuff in the world. I love Model Magic.

And so you just use it and you make the donuts and then you figure out how to share them fairly. And then it’s just a math discussion, and it’s a math lesson, and they learn about fractions. And it’s a good time.

That’s really cool. Okay, last question before I let you all go. Anybody who’s curious, we’ll obviously link to the book and to your website, but can you all just share with us just where can people follow you, find resources, or to the book, or just learn more about what all you’re doing? So, Khadesia, can I have you talk about both just your personal social media handles and what you’re doing, but also what you’re doing as a group?

Sure. So, I’ll do the group first. You can follow us, @antiracistartteachers on Instagram, and we have a Facebook page. And Abby, correct me, is it titled the same thing?

It’s Art Teachers for Anti-Racist Curriculum for the Facebook group page. Not the Facebook page we have, but the Facebook group page, where people can interact and ask the group, “Can you help me with this lesson? Can you look through it?” And, “Is this appropriate? Is this honoring to what I’m trying to teach?” So it’s supposed to be a group forum for that one. And that’s for the public, it’s open to the public. And we’re all on that one as well.

Yes. And we also have a Twitter, Anti-Racist Art Teachers as well. And we’re on TikTok, Anti-Racist Art Teachers too. The book, I’m pretty positive, on our IG we have a link in our bio to get the book as well.

Yeah, so there’s a link, if you visit Quarto.com, because it is available on Amazon but it’s also available at local bookstores, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Books-A-Million, Bookshops.org. So we know that people like to have different, want to support their local bookstore. So if it’s not in stock at your local bookstore give them a call and they can order it for you as well.

And I think that’s it for Anti-Racist Art Teachers. And then for me, my Instagram is thebusybrushes, and I also have TikTok, thebusybrushes. And on there I’m just doing art teacher stuff and trying to make people laugh, because it is rough out here.

All right. Paula Liz, anything personal that you want to share? Handles or anything else from social media?

Yeah. So I just have an Instagram, it’s paulaliz.art, and Paula Liz is spelled with L-I-Z at the end.

Tamara?

Yeah, I am on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. It’s teach, and then 4tamara, get it? Teach for tomorrow, the future?

Yeah.

So that’s the handle.

All right. And Abby, what about you?

I think Lori and I might be the least social media users, but I want to encourage people to go to the group page because that’s actually how I met the ladies. That’s how I met Paula Liz and she brought me into the group, I started the group page. And again, I really encourage people to know that you go in with this intentionality of being anti-racist and we’re always a work in progress, so to show up on that group page on Facebook, Art Teachers for Anti-Racist Curriculum, and come and ready to help each other be accountable for the information that’s being shared. I just love the idea of a group forum. So, please do link up on there. I do have an Instagram, it’s missbartescapades, but I really don’t post much on that.

And I also want to add though to what you said earlier, I think, Khadesia. I asked Barnes & Noble to order it and then within three days they sold out. So please do encourage your bookstores to go and order the book. Because once people see it and what it’s about, I know that they’re going to be extremely excited. I would’ve loved a book like this, in especially the beginning of my teaching career and even now. So it’s something I’m proud of and I have a copy myself and I use it. I know, Tamara, you have also said that. We use the book, because what’s wonderful about writing a book with five other wonderful art teachers and educators of all kinds, is that their voice is in there, and it’s something that I need learning in as well and growing in as well. And I’m learning from my fellow friends and colleagues. So please do encourage your bookstores to purchase the book.

Cool. All right. Well, hey, thank you all for coming on and chatting with me. It’s been a great conversation and hopefully we can get some more eyes and some more hands on these books here. And yeah, I appreciate everything that y’all are doing, so thank you.

Yes, thank you so much for allowing us to step onto this platform and share something that we worked really hard on over the past couple of years. So we appreciate you doing that. And I appreciate the opportunity to work with all these awesome teachers because I learned a lot myself creating this book. And I know that other people, if they give it a shot, they’ll learn a lot from it too. So again, I appreciate you giving us the opportunity to come talk about it, because it’s so exciting.

Yes, thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

All right. Thank you again to Khadesia, to Abby, to Tamara, and to Paula Liz. Appreciate their time, appreciate sharing everything about their book. And like I said in the beginning, I love that we can celebrate these art educators who are pursuing their passions and making a difference out there. I am just so impressed that all of them are working overtime to pursue what they are passionate about and they’re bringing their project to fruition. They’re sharing ideas about identity, about self, about equality, things that a lot of us are wanting to teach in our classroom. I appreciate them sharing all of their ideas, so many lessons, and putting it all together for us there.

And again, like I said in the intro, I would encourage everyone who listened to this today to think along those same lines. What are you passionate about? What do you want to share? What project do you want to work on? I think today’s conversation is just a great example of teachers sharing, connecting, finding their community, and collaborating to put forward something that’s really valuable. And I think it’s worth asking yourself, can you do the same?

Art Ed Radio is produced by The Art of Education University, with audio engineering from Michael Crocker. Thank you as always for listening, and we will be back with you again next week.