With the national conversation about critical race theory gaining so much momentum in recent weeks, I invited Dr. Angel Jones and Dr. Kate Slater to educate our listeners of what critical race theory is, the true origins of the theory, and the specific actions that K-12 educators can take to integrate the basic tenets of the theory into their curriculum and daily teaching practice.  They also shared about the ups and downs they experienced being women in the Academy.  To learn more about Dr. Jones' work, you can visit her website at angeljonesphd.com and follow her on all social media platforms with the handle @angeljonesphd.  To learn more about Dr. Slater's work, you can visit her website at kateaslater.com and follow her on Instagram (@katerslater).   

BIO:  Dr. Angel Jones is a passionate educator with 15+ years of experience in K-12 and Higher Education. At her core, as both an educator and a researcher, she endeavors to improve the lives of marginalized students while providing opportunities for their stories to be told. Broadly, her research focuses on the experiences of Black and Brown students at historically White institutions. More specifically, she examines how their experiences impact their mental health and overall well-being. Her areas of interest include microaggressions, racial battle fatigue, gendered-racism, and the psychological impact of each on Students of Color. Additionally, her research is informed by Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Feminism, and other theoretical frameworks that acknowledge and highlight the impact of race, gender, and other marginalized identities on the experiences of Students of Color. ​She is a proud first-generation college student who received her Ph.D. in Education from George Washington University with a focus on inequality in Higher Education. She also has an M.Ed. and Ed.S. in School Counseling from Georgia State University, as well as a B.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University. She is also a Brooklyn native and proud Afro Latina.  

Dr. Kate Slater is a White anti-racist scholar and educator.  She is currently the Assistant Dean of Graduate Student Affairs at Brandeis University. Previously, she was the Associate Director & Manager of Programs at the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, a nonprofit that promotes racial equity in the American educational sector. She is also a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire for the course Teaching Race, which explores the history of race and racism in America. Her doctoral research centers the experiences of underrepresented minorities students in higher education, and in particular, at predominantly White institutions. She also investigates White racial identity formation and how racism operates individually, organizationally, and systemically. She leads facilitations, trainings, and affinity groups with K-12 institutions and universities, as well as with numerous private organizations.