Looking Forward by Throwing it Back

Get ready for PoCC 2024 in Denver by throwin’ it back to PoCC 2023 in St. Louis. Amani Reed and Abe Wehmiller sit down for a conversation with educator, activist, artist, and author Christopher Emdin, recorded immediately prior to his closing keynote address at last year’s conference. He shares thoughts on what keeps him up at night in the world of education, how we can make serendipitous moments less accidental, and why he considers science “the most poppin’ discipline.” Emdin is the Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education and professor of science education at Teachers College, Columbia University; the director of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship at the STEAM DREAM and Ideal Lab; an alumni fellow at the Hip-Hop Archive and Hutchins Center at Harvard University; and a scholar in residence at Lincoln Center. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too, as well as numerous other education-focused works. His belief in hip-hop as a voice for the voiceless led him to create #HipHopEd, a multiplatform and cross-curricular initiative that explores the intersections of hip-hop and education.