Episode 62, ACT 1: Step In and Go Slow - In Conversation with "Start the Conversation"

Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie

We are back with an exciting three-part series titled “In Conversation with ‘Start the Conversation.’” In episode 62, Act 1: “Step In and Go Slow,” Courtney sits down with panelists Caitlyn McCain, Tara Kirton and Nicole Hogsett to discuss how New York City Children’s Theater resources came to be, beginning with a three-part video series called, “Our Relationship to Race.” The series we focus on in Episode 62, Act 1, as Caitlyn and Nicole state, was born out of urgency and necessity during the racial uprisings of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. Caitlyn notes that the series they’ve created invites deep conversations between adults and kids about their relationship to race and racism within the context of the U.S. and its ongoing struggle to reconcile its society’s shared violent past and present. As Tara states, these conversations may seem, to some, too big for kids to understand but, as she also notes in the episode, research tells us that is simply not true. Kids, indeed, notice and are curious about the world around them, and the adults in their lives can either face harsh truths, challenge the status quo and have deep conversations with kids, or they can perpetuate the white supremacist standard of behaving as if these topics aren’t meant to be investigated and therefore reinforce white supremacist culture norms in kids, therefore passing down dangerous, deeply-rooted practices that negatively affect humans of the global majority and society at large. Big questions asked here are: How can we get to a place where we can begin to notice, ask, learn and celebrate what we may not understand so that we can grow as individuals and as a society? How can we invite white-identifying families to interrogate themselves in a way that is structured to create brave and meaningful conversations among one another? Despite the current wave of legislation being pushed to restrict knowledge centered on our actual shared history, how can we be brave to push past discomfort to have deeper conversations and learn together to affect societal change? Listen to this riveting conversation to hear and learn more, and be on the lookout for Act 2 next week as we continue to be “In Conversation with ‘Start the Conversation.’”