Welcome to Episode # of The Equity Experience Podcast!
In today’s episode, we have an informative and empowering conversation about equity for Black males in K-12 and higher education. Let’s welcome Dr. Alan Baker, Dr. Dramaine Freeman, and Mr. Nathaniel Smith. We have an in-depth conversation about:
Listen to this episode to receive insights, perspectives, and recommendations to help us create strong educational equity learning spaces for our Black boys.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Dr. Alan Baker, a Houston area native, serves as a chiefcontributor to the Houston Heath Department’s Health Access and Equity Team. He is both an operational and subject matter point person in the strategic execution, curriculum development, facilitated training, and planning of Health equity coursework. Having recently defended his dissertation focused on higher education workplaceequity, his existing work involves a critical exploration of the theories of race and gender in the context of higher education and public administration policy and practice in those labor settings. Mr. Baker has designed anddeployed initiatives to advance and create community-wide opportunities for the development of skills in combating bias and promoting belonging and thedevelopment of knowledge about differences, about the importance of cultural competence, and about the needs of uniquely diverse populations.
With over two decades of dedicated experience in education, Dr. Dramaine Freeman's rich and diversebackground spans a broad spectrum of roles. These include substitute teaching, classroom instruction, tutoring, counseling, and administration. His educationaljourney started with a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Computer Technology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.However, his true passion was ignited by his desire to advocate for all students' aspirations, with a particular focus on empowering Black males.
Dramaine firmly upholds the enduring value of continuous learning and has directed his studies into examining the profound impact of educational structures on minority students and school leadership. This commitment moved him to pursue advanced degrees, acquiring a Master's in Education, a Master's in Administration, an EducationalSpecialist license, and a doctoral degree from Appalachian State University, with the research focus of exploring the social perceptions of Black males insociety and how those perceptions impact Black male leaders in K-12 spaces.
Nathaniel Smith is an ordained minister and lifelong educator recognized for his leadership across New York State, and by UNCF, NAACP, Marquis Who’s Who andothers. A faith-oriented agent for social justice, Nathaniel shares his gifts and expertise to educate, engage, and empower students, institutions, andorganizations in culturally diverse communities. Nathaniel is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Denver under the mentorship of internationally renowned scholar, Dr. Marvin Lynn. He has been accepted into the 2024 scholarly cohort of the prestigious Asa G.Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore Research Course on African Americans and Education led by Drs. Jerlando Jackson and Chance Lewis. Nathaniel has spokenat several national conferences and hosted various educational programs as a discussant alongside revolutionary scholars such as Drs. Michael Eric Dyson,Gloria Ladson-Billings, Marc Lamont Hill, Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Shaun Harper, and Nikki Giovanni.
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