Dr. Kimberly White-Smith on Academic Justice for Minoritized Students

In this episode, we interview Dr. Kimberly White-Smith, Professor and Dean of the LaFetra College of Education (LFCE) at the University of La Verne. Dr. White-Smith was adopted when she was a little girl, and her adoptive mother told her stories when she was growing up about her biological parents being highly educated university graduates. It later turned out that her adoptive mother had fabricated such stories, but in part as a result, Kimberly attributes this to never doubting her own abilities, or likelihood to succeed.

The power of storytelling is so important for people to see all possibilities in themselves, and consequently achieve their potential. Dr. White-Smith also recognizes the great community support she received along her journey. As a way to give back to the community, Dr. White-Smith is dedicated to fostering academic justice for minoritized students through enhanced educational environments, organizational structures, policies, and teaching practices. In our interview, Dr. White-Smith talks about how the teaching approach should not be limited to one norm and it needs to be adapted to meet individual students’ needs as well as their learning styles. Let’s hear more from Dr. White-Smith about addressing historical schooling inequalities through teacher education.