Voices in Equity Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University

In October 2022, hundreds of attendees from throughout the country came together at the Washington Duke Inn to hear speakers from Duke University faculty and other scholars, practitioners, philanthropists, and journalists. The Pandemic Divide Conference included topics on the impact of COVID-19 on wealth, entrepreneurship, health, housing, employment and education, with an emphasis on determination of steps that could have been taken to mitigate the full impact of a pandemic and offer concrete public policy solutions that would allow the nation to effectively respond to future crises.

We know we can’t prevent future pandemics, but we can certainly learn from what happened the past few years.

Today we’re going to give you a taste of the conference, as our production team at Earfluence interviewed several of the attendees, asking them why they attended the conference, what impact the pandemic has had on them, their work, and their communities, and what “aha” moments they had.

On today’s episode, we’re talking about social justice (and injustice) in both India and the United States. The caste system in India has some remarkable similarities to systemic racism in the United States. Here to unpack the historical context and what we can do about it are three guests - Professor Nico Slate from the History Department at Carnegie Mellon University, Professor Amit Thorat from the Centre for the Study of Regional Development in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharwal Nehru University, and Arko Dasgupta, graduate student at the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.

On today’s episode, we’re talking about another book that sheds light on that inequality in America. Together, Julia Jordan-Zachary and Shamara Alhassan edited Black Women and da ‘Rona, a collection of stories from many collaborators, rooted in the ways Black women understand their lives, healing, mothering, and advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today we’re talking about chapter 11 of The Pandemic Divide, The Rebirth of K-12 Public Education: Postpandemic Opportunities, written by Kristen Stephens, Kisha Daniels, and Erica Phillips. We have all of the authors of this chapter on this episode, and we’re also joined by Sashir Moore Sloan, Social Studies teacher at Durham Public Schools.
When Kisha, Erica, and Kristen wrote this chapter back in 2020, there was no vaccine, and the “two-week pause” in March had turned into “when will this end?”.  But it turns out, the time away from the classroom created an opportunity unlike any other time in history - and teachers made the most of it.
Last week on part 1, we discussed:
The scariness around the uncertainty of 2020Transitioning to online learningTeachers adapting to the inequities among studentsThe parents' perspectiveSocial and emotional learning in seclusionStudent mental healthToday, we go over:
Access to wifi and the digital divideThe achievement gap and learning loss from the pandemicThe extended "summer slide"Getting students excited about learning againAbout the Authors:
Kristen Stephens is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Program in Education at Duke UniversityKisha Daniels is an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Education at Duke UniversityErica Phillips is the Educational Equity and Policy Specialist at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity. Voices in Equity is the official podcast of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. The Cook Center is named after Samuel DuBois Cook, the first tenured Black professor at Duke University who exemplified the pursuit of social justice and equality. With research focuses including social mobility, education, health, wealth, and policy, the Cook Center aims to develop a deep understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality, and develop remedies for these disparities and their adverse effects. The aim of this podcast is to expand upon the work of the Cook Center through continuing crucial conversations that further our research and programming.

On our first podcast series, we’re focusing on The Pandemic Divide: How COVID Increased Inequality in America. It’s a collaborative book from faculty - many here at Duke - who are committed to shining a light on inequities and truly making a difference.
Voices in Equity is hosted by Madeleine Braksick and is produced by Earfluence.

We invite you to check out three new books from The Cook Center:
“From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century”, by William A. Darrity & A. Kristen Mullen“The Pandemic Divide: How COVID Increased Inequality in America”“A Dream Defaulted: the Student Loan Crisis Among Black Borrowers”, by Jason N. House and Fenaba R. Addo

Today we’re talking about chapter 11 of The Pandemic Divide, The Rebirth of K-12 Public Education: Postpandemic Opportunities, written by Kristen Stephens, Kisha Daniels, and Erica Phillips. We have all of the authors of this chapter on this episode, and we’re also joined by Sashir Moore Sloan, Social Studies teacher at Durham Public Schools.

When Kisha, Erica, and Kristen wrote this chapter back in 2020, there was no vaccine, and the “two-week pause” in March had turned into “when will this end?”. But it turns out, the time away from the classroom created an opportunity unlike any other time in history - and teachers made the most of it.

Topics on today's episode include:
The scariness around the uncertainty of 2020
Transitioning to online learning
Teachers adapting to the inequities among students
The parents' perspective
Social and emotional learning in seclusion
Student mental health

Today we dive deep into Section 3 of The Pandemic Divide: COVID-19 and Financial Disparities, with guests Fenaba Addo and Chris Wheat, and hosted by Dr. William "Sandy" Darity. Topics include:
Student loan debt and the 2020 election
The racial disparities of student loan debt
How Black-owned businesses were affected by the Pandemic
The overall racial wealth gap since the Pandemic
The uneven distribution of PPP funds
The role of venture capital in Black-owned businesses