Dr. William Smith

Asia and Kevin’s interview with Dr. William Smith of the University of Utah were so saturated with wisdom that we returned him for part II! Dr. Smith shares his wisdom in this conversation, doing a deep dive into Racial Battle Fatigue. He discusses a litany of topics, including his rebuttal of the notion that Racial Battle Fatigue is analogous to post-traumatic stress disorder and the various manifestations of RBF, behavioral, psychological, and physiological. He reveals that addressing racism as Black educators and their communities experience it requires an honest look back over centuries, as opposed to reading a book or having a community circle in professional development. Get out your notebooks; Dr. Smith is going to take you to school with this one

This is a real special episode of the Exit Interview! Asia and Kevin talk with Dr. William A. Smith, professor of Education and Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah. Dr. Smith, who developed some of the most profound research around the concept of Racial Battle Fatigue, shares his research, insights and experiences tracking this phenomenon. In this profound and wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Smith discusses a veritable library of topics, so many that we decided to expand this conversation to two parts (Part II will be out this summer–stay tuned!). He shares his perspectives on the positioning of school leaders and teachers in regard to revolutionary action. He shares his thoughts on Black representation in film as a pacifying force. He names the genocidal actions taken against Black people both past and present. Throughout this conversation with this next level scholar, the learning is strong, the struggle In contextualized, and the inspiration is total. Tune in!