Educational Equity Emancipation
“We have to do better”… That’s Dr. Almitra Berry’s heart-felt answer when asked about educating children from diverse cultural and language backgrounds.
Dr. Berry has a strong message for educators and school system leaders who don’t understand that cultural differences can profoundly affect the quality of education these children experience…
“You have children with failing test scores. You have teachers who want to teach but aren’t given the freedom or allowed to use the tools and strategies they need. You have teachers leaving the profession in droves.
And you have tax-paying parents who are very dissatisfied with their children’s education but don’t know how to effect change.”
In other words, our education system has a crisis on its hands. And this crisis affects all of us, not just teachers and those in the educational establishment.
It’s a crisis we must address if we’re going to have an exceptional nation with school systems free of systemic oppression.
We need to take it to heart. We need to act on Dr. Berry’s message. It’s a message she’s deeply passionate about.
As an educator, speaker, and author, she focuses on the education of the most historically marginalized: culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
She has worked diligently for over 30 years to help marginalized learners, learners of color, of linguistic and cultural diversity in low-wealth urban school districts, experience higher academic achievements.
Dr. Berry is on a mission. A mission bigger than herself. A mission to change the conversation happening around the topics of education, equity, and intellectual emancipation for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
But she can’t do it alone. So she’s looking for leaders to join her. Is that you?
If you’re nodding your head and saying “Yes!” as you read this, we invite you to subscribe and listen to The Educational Equity, Emancipation Podcast.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 23 minutes
- Episodes
- 153
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Season 2 Trailer
Dr. Almitra Berry shares exciting updates for the show, including upcoming interviews with everyday equity warriors and professional learning workshops starting June 1st. Listeners are …
Ep 32: Equity or Charity? Why are People Really Engaged in the Profession of Education?
This episode discusses the difference between equity and charity in education. The speaker argues that the education system can be abysmal, particularly for children of color, low-incom…
Ep 31: So You Think You're Ready to do the Work of DEI and Especially Antiracism
The podcast episode discusses the importance of authentic equity in education and addressing issues faced by marginalized and oppressed children worldwide. The death of George Floyd has…
Ep 30: When You Talk About Children At Risk Who Are You Really Talking About
In this episode, Dr. Berry challenges the common label "at risk" given to children from low-income households, those with incarcerated or addicted parents, or those who face challenging…
Ep 29: Why do We Call February Black History Month?
In this episode, Dr. Berry talks about the significance of Black History Month and why it should not be limited to a single month of the year. She emphasizes the importance of infusing …
Ep 28: The Bullshit of Performative Equity
THIS Is Not Real Equity
Today, Dr. Berry contrasts two different types of equity: performative and authentic.
Performative equity may sound like real equity, but it’s not. And the peopl…
Ep 27: Young, Gifted, & Black… Unidentified, Underserved, or Unserved – How Systems are Fueling the Excellence Gap
Young, Gifted, and Black
White students make up 56% of the American school population. They account for 68% of students identified as gifted.
Black students make up 17% of our studen…
Ep 26: The First Valve on the School to Prison Pipeline is Preschool Suspension or Expulsion and Trust Me, It's Well Greased
An Infuriating Problem With Early Childhood Education
Just how inequitable is our education system? Consider this…
Early childhood teachers employ much different, and far less fair, teach…
Ep 25: Listen to this during your next recess!! They are Suspending Tens of Thousands of our Kids for Showing Up to School Late!! And 90% of them are Black and Brown
Something’s Terribly Wrong When THIS Happens!
It’s ironic…
When students are two minutes late for school, they sometimes get suspended. They get sent home for missing two minutes of c…
Ep 24: Thugs, Sexpots, & Perverted: That's What School Dress Codes Say to and About Black and Brown, Female, and LGBTQIA students
Another Way Minority Children Are Being Discriminated Against
School dress codes disproportionally target culturally diverse students.
This isn’t merely Dr. Berry’s opinion.
GAO resea…
Ep 23: The Racist Origins of Policing are Alive and Well in our Public Schools Resulting in Sexual Assaults and Deaths of Black and Brown Children at the Hands of Blue Officers
There’s Something Wrong…
Policing in schools…
It's the fastest growing area of law enforcement. And it’s a phenomenon that leads to more problems, WAY more, than it solves. As you might…
Ep 22: A Voice from the Sunken Place - One African American's Take on the Controversy over CRT
Today, Dr. Berry tells the story of “Don”, a white male HR director married to a woman of color. They have two biracial daughters.
Naturally, he struggles to understand and relate to …
Ep 21: A Brief But Important Message from HR about Equity & Antiracism
A Message From HR
Today, Dr. Berry tells the story of “Don”, a white male HR director married to a woman of color. They have two biracial daughters.
Naturally, he struggles to unders…
Ep 20: Of Course, Climate Affects the Weather & School Climate Can Weather Black and Brown Bodies Impacting Long-term and Multigenerational Physical and Mental Health.
The “Climate Change” Affecting Our Schools
Today, Dr. Berry talks about climate change. But not the climate change affecting our earth’s atmosphere. Rather, she talks about the climate …
Ep 19: Don't Eat That! It's Expired! You'll Get Sick! The Tale of Stale Curriculum
Pale, Male, And Stale…
These words describe the poetry, literature and stories that are forced upon our children.
We live in a nation where the majority of our K-12 students are childr…
Ep 18: Privilege or Racism? What's the Difference? Is that CRT?
White privilege…
White people don’t see it. But it’s there. Especially in our schools, where children of color suffer from it every day.
Today, Dr. Berry shares a poignant, shocking …
Ep 17: I Should've Said Something
How You Can Help Fight Against A Growing Problem
In today’s episode of The Education, Equity, Emancipation Podcast, Dr. Berry talks about the disturbing trend of bad behavior in public p…
Ep 16: Sorry Boo, It Ain't About You!
A White Man Take Up The Equity Challenge
Dr. Berry says if you don't stand for something, then you stand for whatever you refuse to stand up against.
In today’s episode (LINK to episode 1…
Ep 15: Is Our Children's Future Being NAEPalmed?
Is Our Children’s’ Future Being NAEPalmed?
The National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) gives us an indication of how our children are doing in the foundational skills of math…
Ep 14: School Shootings Are Killing Our Children & We're Slaughtering More, Faster Every Day In Our Classrooms. Don't Believe It? Don't Listen!
What To Do About The Epidemic Of School Shootings
Our schools are places we send our children, trusting they will be kept safe. But that is often not the case. Sadly, many of our preciou…