Ed Gap Evolution

Mental health diagnoses are still considered “taboo” among a large portion of the African American community, so many children and adults remain untreated for mental illnesses that hold people back from living their best lives! That’s why in this episode we take a closer look at the benefits of mental health therapy and common reasons why the prospect of receiving a diagnosis causes some to shy away from prioritizing mental health ...

Old habits are tough to break! Especially when that habit is poor posture. Physical Therapist, Researcher and Children’s Book Author, Shweta Kapur joins us on the show to discuss her new book, POSTURE TOWN, because children are the future and we must ensure that they are equipped with skills and behavior patterns that help their bodies support their great minds.

We discuss:

• How posture affects phy...

At 7.3%, African Americans make up but a slither of America's $23B conservation industry. Not to mention, African Americans are less likely to go outdoors and enjoy outdoor recreation because of historic discrimination. This is harmful because as humans, we are nature, so it’s important for our mental health, well being and survival that all people have the awareness and tools to participate in protecting and preserving our earth.

Across America, 40% of college students fail Organic Chemistry on their first attempt. A huge majority never pass it at all. For students who have always dreamed of becoming a doctor, this is a big deal because if you don’t pass organic chemistry, you don’t get into medical school … and right now, students of color make up the majority of hopefuls who are forced to suppress their dream of becoming a doctor. Instead, they must settl...

This episode is also a 40th-anniversary celebration! Utilizing acts of service to create inclusion and community is an ideal that the National Youth Leadership Council was founded upon 40 years ago.

On March 16, 1983, Dr. James Kielsmeier founded the Minnesota-based organization. Since then, youth from around the country are empowered to become leaders in their lives and communities. 

In this episode, you will hear from NYLC’s...

America hasn’t taken the time to get to know Black boys for centuries, and it shows. Black boys make up the majority percentage of children in America who attempt childhood suicide, and in this episode, you’ll gain a better understanding of the work that needs to be done on a personal, familial and societal level to help Black boys reclaim their humanity and define their own masculinity in a healthy manner.

Topics discussed inclu...

Whether you are looking for help for yourself or a family member who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, one of the first things you can do to get immediate help from people who want to help you, not judge you, is by using your telephone to call the number “988”. That number will put you in touch with someone from a FREE Crisis Lifeline. You can call this number 24/7. If you feel like you need to call this number right now, please d...

During this episode, we're talking about our campaign to save lives through child suicide awareness and prevention. September is National Suicide Awareness month in the United States and, unfortunately, children as young as five years old are deciding that life is not worth living.

More specifically, since 1991 suicidal attempts by Black children have increased by 80% ... and from the looks of things ... this number will continue ...

Is a high-dollar monetary investment in my child's education worth it or am I in over my head? In this episode, you will hear from Baltimore, MD native and racial equity advisor, Alexis Seth. Alexis makes up a super small population of African American Baltimoreans who attended independent schools throughout the span of her childhood education. She is passionate about Black and brown children not just existing in diverse educationa...

“It’s better just to do it in the moment,” are wise words from kid entrepreneur, Ryann Lucas. She’s a big believer in simply doing the things you don’t want to do “in the moment” instead of allowing nagging tasks to, well, nag you! This is how she maintains her high energy, joy, and success as an entrepreneur.

Throughout this episode, Ryann and her mom, Dr. Tammira Lucas give us the 411 on life as an entrepreneurial family based ...

According to the CDC, infant mortality rates for 2021 were 541 deaths for every 100,000 births. Now, this may not come off as an eye-brow-raising statistic if we're talking purely math. However, we're talking about human lives. Family members. Our nation's future. 

Up to 42 days after giving birth, more and more Black mamas are losing their lives. Throughout the episode, we take a closer look at startling statistics that inevitab...

Owning financial assets is a major key to building generational wealth. More specifically, commercial real estate is a lucrative, wealth-building industry that continues to thrive in the U.S. Yet, for people of color, only 28% percent are real estate professionals and less than 4% are working specifically in commercial real estate.

To give you a better idea of the magnitude of wealth that’s possible for emerging professionals of ...

When a young person knows that their voice matters and exercises their right to speak up and create change, more solutions to humanity’s longstanding and unprecedented issues are discovered and implemented. In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast, we speak with the Founder and Executive Director of Black Swan Academy, Samantha Davis. 

Black Swan Academy is a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. that concentrates its...

In this episode, we’re talking to the Vice President of Innovation at CityWorks DC, Lateefah Durant. CityWorks DC is a non-profit venture incubated by CityBridge Education that is launching new and amplifying existing initiatives that reshape education-to-employment pathways for young people in Washington D.C. 

During our talk, Lateefah goes in-depth about Modern Youth Apprenticeship and the importance of every child having access ...

There are so many ways for children to learn, but too often, conventional education in America confines students to specific eurocentric writing, reading, and arithmetic methodologies that have proven to be largely ineffective for quite some time now, especially when zooming in on educational experiences of Black and brown children in America.

In this episode, we’re speaking with the founder of the Canady Foundation for The Arts,...

In this episode, we dive into my personal experience with public schools distributing fake grades to students, and what my family did to sound the alarm. It was quite the event.

If you're looking for the resource that I mention in this episode from GreatSchools.org, here it is:

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/common-core-test-guide/

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast, you can!

Simply subscribe wherever ...

In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast we’re speaking with high school students Sydney McPherson and Kevin Kim about America’s tech gap that continues to prevent so many of America’s children from receiving a quality education, thus widening the Education Gap.

Sydney and Kevin are the perfect people to speak on this topic because not only are they students who currently attend public school in the U.S., but Sydney founde...

In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution podcast, we are speaking with ceramics artist and creative art therapist (LCAT-LP), Nala Turner. And if you’re wondering what a creative art therapist is, then listen to this episode now to find out!

Nala is a Lead Art Therapist working with youth at The Animation Project (TAP). 

The Animation Projects is a non-profit therapeutic workforce development program unlocking the professional an...

The 2021-2022 school year is fast approaching and neither parents nor students can afford to jump into this school year blindly. Because as we all know, COVID-19 turned everything that our nation once knew about getting a public K-12 education upside down.

2020 was the first year that students and parents were forced to adapt to an online learning model without much warning or precedent.

So as students, parents, and school adminis...