The Waiting, with Ali Michael, PH.D.

As writers, we are eager for feedback and validation that something we’ve birthed has value and waiting for it, to paraphrase the late Tom Petty, is sometimes the hardest part. Today’s guest, Ali Michael, Ph.D. echoed that in something she said during our conversation, but make no mistake, this really isn’t a conversation about the writing process. It’s a conversation about her path to working towards racial equity through her writing. I really enjoyed this conversation and learned so much from Ali, and I hope you do too.

Meet Ali Michael, Ph.D.:

Ali Michael works with schools and organizations across the country to help make research on race, Whiteness, and education more accessible and relevant to educators. She is the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry and Education, which won the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She recently joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her latest book, Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Antiracism for White People, which she co authored with Elenora Bartoli.

Why, even though she has multiple books published, Ali does not identify as an author. How Ali’s experience in an African American Literature class helped her talk about race without freezing up. Her path to working towards racial equity. How we can have better, more productive conversations about race without “knocking people out.” Why sometimes the waiting is the hardest part of the writing process.