Sneak Peek: Revisiting the Renee Watson Podcast

Renée Watson: I became a mentor and one of the places that I worked at was my former high school. And I remember sitting in a meeting with all the adults, all the mentors, and we’re getting the stats on the young people and on the neighborhood, and the way that they were talking about the students and the space, I really had to raise my hand and say, “I’m sorry, I just want to say I grew up here. You all are talking about my home. I still live in this neighborhood, so let’s just pause a moment and not only focus on the things that need to change. There is beauty here, and I’m not interested in only having field trips where we’re taking kids away from where they live, but let’s explore this neighborhood and the history that’s already here.”