Education as a Practice of Freedom with Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury

October 1, 2024

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“We are all human, trying to do the best we can as we navigate complexity; an appreciation for each other’s journey, but have a sense of urgency when it comes to racial equity; to work everyday to learn more about ourselves and others, practice interrupting bias, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, vote in the best interests of others, work to heal communities, commit to liberating ourselves and others.”
–Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury

In this heartfelt and inspiring episode of ‘Social Justice Origin Stories,’ we sit down with Dr. Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury to explore the personal experiences and pivotal moments that shaped her commitment to equity and social justice. As a former Detroit public school teacher and now a professor at Grand Valley State University, Dr. Bailey-Fakhoury delves into the lessons learned from her grandmother, the challenges faced during her early years, and the powerful influence of Black educators in her life. She highlights the importance of educators who pour into and uplift students, recalling her own experiences with Black teachers who affirmed her capabilities. The dialogue stresses the significance of individual contributions to social justice, the transformative power of education, and the necessity of dreaming and building for a more equitable future.

Meet Chasity

Passion, curiosity, grace, and critical hope are the gifts I bring to the spaces where I am called to learn, lead, and fellowship. As a Black woman, mother, sociologist, teacher educator, and former Detroit Public Schools social studies teacher, I will always and forever connect self to systems and society–the personal to the sociohistorical and the converse.

I am rooted in “education as the practice of freedom” and promulgate that ethos as a freedom dreamer and creator, seeking to grow communities and deepen connections one place at a time.

More From Chasity

Pivotal Moments of Reflection

“1st Moment: Experiencing race relations in a segregated southern town at a young age; I felt conflicted and confusion at how my grandmother was treated when we went to the “white side” of town (across the train tracks) v. how she was treated in the Black community; There wasn’t anything that I could do but it left an indelible mark on me.

2nd Moment: Developing a friendship with a little white girl in 2nd grade who lived down the street and being shunned by her family; Beth and I were friends and one morning I walked to her house so that we could walk to school together, but when I got to the door and knocked her older brother answered and told me that I had to wait outside for her, that I couldn’t come in. Then one day is school Beth had been so nice to me I kissed her on the cheek to show my gratitude and I got “in trouble” a day or so later for doing so; I felt confusion, shame, unease, but also noted a growing sense of difference between Beth and I that seemed to be insurmountable.

3rd Moment: Having Black teachers throughout my elementary and secondary education in Detroit Public Schools; they treated me quite differently than my white teachers; they took as a given my brilliance and cultivated it, invested in me, poured into me, they introduced me to Afrocentric ideologies; I discovered all the lies I had been told about my people, my culture, our histories–my Black teachers were liberating me through math, literature, social studies, the sciences, oratory, the arts, home economics, etc.”

On How Her Experiences Influenced Her Current Work

“I see that a had a natural proclivity toward appreciating and understanding difference and how people with diverse heritages and worldviews interacted–I was always a sociologist at heart. So, I went from a very “can’t we all just get along” phase to a very pro-Black phase to a phase of questioning what I thought to be true to raising my awareness to now understanding that my liberation is bound up in everyone else’s liberation and as a womanist I’m working so that we all can get free.”

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

00:00 Introduction: Education as a Practice of Freedom
01:12 Host Introduction and Project Overview
02:21 Guest Introduction: Dr. Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury
03:05 Personal Background and Early Life
04:22 Reflections on Education and Freedom
07:24 Impact of Ancestry and Early Experiences
12:00 Navigating Racial Dynamics in Childhood
24:31 The Importance of Black Educators
31:36 Gratitude to Black Educators
32:24 Returning to Detroit: A Personal Journey
34:14 The Importance of Representation in Education
35:55 Building Transformative Educators
38:29 The Power of Love and Intention in Teaching
44:18 Honoring Influential Figures and Personal Heroes
51:18 Legacy and Future Generations
52:40 True Social Justice and Personal Reflections
56:42 Final Thoughts and Gratitude
01:01:01 Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Name Drops, References, and Resources from Chasity

So many mentors: My grandmother, my mother, and my cousin Sandra; Miss Zareef my kindergarten teacher, My Angela Jones my 3rd grade teacher, Mr. Banks my middle school counselor, Mrs. Quincola Wyatt my 9th grade history teacher, Mr. Dana Payne my 9th grade English teacher, Miss Mignon Oldham my 11th & 12th grade African American Lit. and English teacher, and Mrs. Christine (Mallard) Davis my high school sociology teacher; professors at U of M-Dr. Robin D.G. Kelly, Dr. Elsa Baker Brown, Dr. Charles D. Moody, Dr. David R. Williams, and John Matlock; professors from Wayne State University Dr. Bob Pettapiece, Dr. Heather Dillaway, Dr. Monica White, and Dr. R. Khari Brown; Dr. Olivia Williams, Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell; Dr. Paola Leon; Ira Berlin; James & Grace Lee Boggs; Dahia Shabaka

Intellectual mentors: Patricia Hill Collins, Gloria Ladson-Billings; Venus Evans-Winters, Tukufu Zuberi, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva; Rodney Coates; H. Richard Milner, IV; WEB DuBois, Anna Julia Cooper; Shaun Harper; Audre Lorde; Angela Davis; Maya Angelou; Toni Morrison; John Hope Franklin; Walter Rodney; Marva Collins; Cheikh Anta Diop; Ivan Van Sertima; John Henrik Clarke; Jawanza Kunjufu; Nell Irvin Painter; Geneva Smitherman; Joy DeGruy; Sojourner Truth; Ida B. Wells; Molefi Asante; Asa G. Hillard; Nikki Giovanni; bell hooks

Books: Black Feminist Thought; The Fire Next Time; The Souls of Black Folks; Dusk of Dawn; The Invisible Man; Up From Slavery; A Voice from the South; Das Kapital; Black Skin, White Masks; The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.; The Warmth of Other Suns; We Gon’ Be Alright; The Origins of the Urban Crisis; Lies My Teacher Told Me; White Logic, White Methods: Racism & Methodology; Teaching to Transgress