All Episodes · Podcast · Season 5 · Untold Stories

The Untold Story of Rosa Parks

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 5, Episode 7, "The Untold Story of Rosa Parks"

What did you learn about Rosa Parks growing up?

You may have learned, like I did, that she was a tired seamstress on her way home from work and when a bus driver asked her to give up her seat to a white person it was the last straw so she decided not to stand. Well she was a seamstress, but the true story is so much more exciting than that. Rosa Parks was a high ranking member of the NAACP and her actions were not only planned but part of a larger, multi-organizational strategy. In this episode we talk about all of the events leading up to Ms. Parks’ fateful decision, and one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement: Claudette Colvin.

Read the episode transcript

Bite-Sized Black History

Bite-sized Black History is a program that empowers you to teach the little ones you love about brilliant Black Americans who have been largely overlooked by our history books. We featured 12 different people in Season 1 of the program and are featuring 12 all new Black Americans in Season 2.

Season 2 is live, invest today!

Buy Bite-sized Black history

Articles, Studies, & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode

Montgomery Bus Boycott-Stanford

Claudette Colvin: The 15 Year Old Who Came Before Rosa Parks

Before Rosa Parks There Was Claudette Colvin (NPR)

An Interview with Attorney Fred Gray

Bus Boycott Took Planning, Smarts

Browder v Gayle

Song credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN

Join the conversation on Instagram

Head over to @firstname.basis on Instagram to join the First Name Basis community.

“Is a (fill in the blank) costume cultural appro

“Is a (fill in the blank) costume cultural appropriation?”

“How do I know if the costumes we’ve picked are appropriation?”

“I don’t understand why ______ would be considered cultural appropriation. Can you explain it to me?”

I’ve received dozens of DM’s like these throughout the time I’ve been doing this podcast, and I know it’s because cultural appropriation can be tricky. It’s not black and white, and not everyone agrees on what it looks like. While I wish I could have a conversation with each member of our First Name Basis fam who wants to talk specifics, hopefully these guidelines can help all of us as we’re navigating cultural appropriation on Halloween.

Learn more by listening to “Culture is Not a Costume” on the First Name Basis podcast.

#halloween2024 #culturalappropriation #inclusionmatters #antiracism

Many of you have told me that cultural appropriati

Many of you have told me that cultural appropriation can be so confusing. Celebrating the people around us and their unique cultures is exciting and incredibly enriching, but where is that fine line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation? How can you know whether you’ve been engaging in cultural appropriation?

I help answer those questions (and so many more) in this Back to the Basics compilation. These three episodes are full of answers to questions that YOU in this community have asked me, questions that help us understand cultural appropriation more broadly as well as in real-life situations where the rubber meets the road.

In these episodes, you can learn about:
• How power dynamics are at play in cultural appropriation.
• How to differentiate between impact and intent and why that matters.
• How money comes into play in cultural appropriation.
• How to avoid appropriation in children’s costumes.
• How cultural appropriation is linked to racism and white supremacy.

As an added bonus, the last episode on the list, “Season 3, Episode 2: Real Talk: Cultural Appropriation & White Supremacy” is a real and unfiltered conversation with my friend Michelle Franzoni-Thorley from @florafamiliar. You don’t want to miss the perspective she adds to this topic!

#culturalappropriation #halloween2024 #firstnamebasis

Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off in a few days, a

Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off in a few days, and we want to celebrate all the beautiful cultures that are part of the Latine community! One of the best ways we can start to include kids in those celebrations is through books.

Here is a list of 11 books for you to take a look at, but please be sure to read our note in the first few slides ❤️ We encourage you to listen to those in the Latine community and follow their lead in how they identify.

#hispanicheritagemonth #hispanicheritagemonth2024 #latine #childrensbooks #inclusive #kidlit #diversitymatters

I hear all the time from parents and teachers that

I hear all the time from parents and teachers that they don’t know what to say when a child says something racist.

Moments when that happens can be stressful, emotional and hard to hear, but I have some suggestions to help guide your reaction — the 5 B’s!

1. Be proactive: Don’t wait until something racist happens to talk about race. Teach children that EVERYONE is important and has value and that differences are a normal and exciting part of life.

2. Be calm: Your child/student is looking to you to know how to react.Don’t overreact or underreact. Overreacting would be shaming your child, and underreacting would be ignoring the situation or sweeping it under the rug.
3. Be curious: Before you go into teaching mode, ask questions to understand what your child/student is thinking. Seek to understand the underlying belief your child is holding by calmly asking, “I wonder why you said that?”
4. Be clear: Help the child understand the impact of their statement, even if they didn’t intend to cause harm. Explain the harm. This can include explaining melanin and making it clear that racism, not skin color, is the reason why BIPOC have been treated poorly in the past. Ask your child what they can do to fix the harm.
5. Be reflective: Talk about what happened with another adult you trust and share how you think it went. Ask yourself, “Is there something in my environment that might be contributing to this prejudice or bias?” Follow up with the child and keep the conversation going.
Have you ever had a conversation like this with your kids or students? Share in the comments what you learned, what went well, and what you’d do differently.

You can learn more by listening to the First Name Basis Podcast, Season 4, Episode 4: “Oh No! My Child Said Something Racist.”

#firstnamebasispodcast #firstnamebasis #antiracism #antiracist #antiracisteducation #antiracismeducation #teachtruth #diversityandinclusion #inclusiveparenting #inclusionmatters #diversityequityinclusion #diversitymatters #parentingsupport #parentingpodcast #familypodcast

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