Sam Chaltain

Sam Chaltain Sam has a account Partner at 180 Studio Washington, District Of Columbia 500+ connections Contact info 180 Studio The George Washington University About Sam Chaltain (@samchaltain) is a DC-based writer, filmmaker, and partner at 180 Studio. Sam began his career teaching high school English and History in the public and private schools of New York City. Since then, he has published six books, produced two films, and served as a speechwriter for two U.S. secretaries of education. Find out more at samchaltain.com Articles 1,321 followers What White People Need to Understand Sam’s profile photo Sam Chaltain Published on LinkedIn Last night, I listened to David Remnick’s New Yorker podcast interview with James Comey to hear what he had to say about our 45th President, but what disturbed me more was what he had to say (at ~13:30) about the phrase “mass incarceration.” “It connotes an intentionality,” Comey explained, “but there’s nothing mass about it. Everybody was charged individually, represented individually, and everybody appeared in front of a judge. I think you can talk about those systemic problems without making it sound like there was an intentionality where law enforcement decided it was going to round up huge numbers of black men.” Riiiiiiiiiiight. . . Then, this morning, another white man on the radio made me cringe. This time, it was National Review editor Jonah Goldberg, who was on NPR to talk with Steve Inskeep about a new book, but who ended up talking (at ~3:30) about the recent incident at a Philadelphia Starbucks in which two Black men were arrested for, well, being Black at a Starbucks. “If it’s bad to reduce two black guys in a Starbucks to members of a category I distrust — it’s also bad to say that I’m responsible for the stupid mistake of a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia,” Goldberg opined. “Identity politics reduces people’s lived identity to these thin abstractions.” “And you don’t like being blamed for that as a White person?” Inskeep asked. “I don’t like thinking of myself as a White person,” Goldberg countered. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight . . . Thank God, then, for the Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt (also White), who wrote a piece in today’s paper that underscores what both Comey and Goldberg — and millions of other White Americans across the country — are unwilling or unable to see. Hiatt’s column was an informal review of the new Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, which opens later this week, and which features a stirring, disturbing outdoor memorial to the thousands of African Americans who were lynched in American towns and cities (both North and South). The museum and memorial, Hiatt suggests, offer “an alternative, and overwhelmingly coherent, arc of the history of white supremacy” — a history that runs from the advent of slavery right up to and through the arrest of those two men at Starbucks. Until we as a country can confront the full weight of that history, says the Museum’s founder, Bryan Stevenson, we will never be able to transcend it. In fact, in Stevenson’s view, the modern legacy of white supremacy is best seen in the inequities of our criminal-justice system. “Blacks were — and are — more likely to be suspended from school, denied parole and when freed from prison denied benefits, kept out of public housing, blocked from employment or professional licenses and, once again, prevented from voting,” Hiatt writes. Are you listening, Mr. Comey? Plainly, the color of one’s skin is still an arrestable offense in America, as we saw in Philly last week. So while it’s nice that Jonah Goldberg doesn’t want to be thought of as White, the reality is that we all inhabit a world that was built on these foundations, and in which those “thin abstractions” are all too real for too many of us. As Henry Louis Gates famously said, “I know race is an abstraction, but I still can’t catch a cab in New York City.” In short, there are forces at play that benefit white people (#whiteprivilege), and forces that place black people at risk, and there always have been. “There was this hope that this race stuff would just evaporate over time,” explains Stevenson, “but it doesn’t work like that. It is a serious disease, and if we don’t treat it, it doesn’t get better. It doesn’t go away. “We’re not doomed by this history. We’re not even defined by it. But we do have to face it.” 9 Likes 1 Comment Like Comment Share See all Experience 180 Studio Partner Company Name180 Studio Dates EmployedJan 2018 – Present Employment Duration1 yr 7 mos LocationEverywhere 180 is a global design studio with offices in Asia and America. Our goals are to design human-centered physical environments that can best unleash human potential; and to curate stories and strategies that advance our understanding of the future of learning -- and, by extension, the future of humanity. 180 turns us around -- because now is the time for a new learning story. thisis180.com thisis180.com WONDER, By Design Partner Company NameWONDER, By Design Dates EmployedJan 2016 – Present Employment Duration3 yrs 7 mos LocationWashington, DC WONDER is a global design studio that helps schools and communities reimagine the future of learning at the intersection of space, culture, and story. We help schools with spatial redesign, as well as cultural, structural, and pedagogical transformation. And we do so with the spirit of educators, architects, and ethnographers. As the world prepares to shift to a new era of learning -- one in which the learner, not the system, is placed at the center -- WONDER is uniquely positioned to help that shift occur. See less www.samchaltain.com Chief Troubadour Company Namewww.samchaltain.com Dates EmployedMay 2010 – Present Employment Duration9 yrs 3 mos Since May 2010, I have served as a strategic consultant on all issues related to the changing face of teaching and learning. My clients have included both U.S. cabinet secretaries and Oscar Award winning artists. And my work has ranged from speechwriting/ghostwriting, to designing national advocacy campaigns, to facilitating strategic planning meetings, to providing leadership development, professional training, and advice to schools and communities about how to create the optimal learning environments for children and adults. See less The Forum for Education & Democracy National Director Company NameThe Forum for Education & Democracy Dates EmployedSep 2008 – May 2010 Employment Duration1 yr 9 mos Provided organizational and strategic leadership for DC-based education think tank. Represented organization publicly via panel discussions, keynote addresses, articles, online communications and Op-Eds, and education conferences. Oversaw federal policy outreach and national grassroots campaigns, communications strategies, and overall organizational efforts to build public will, understanding and advocacy on behalf of a progressive education agenda for the 21st century. See less FIVE FREEDOMS PROJECT Founding Director Company NameFIVE FREEDOMS PROJECT Dates EmployedJun 2006 – Sep 2008 Employment Duration2 yrs 4 mos Led and facilitated leadership development workshops and organizational change strategies in schools and public and private sector organizations nationwide; researched and wrote books, curricular materials and opinion pieces; monitored and analyzed national education policies and emerging business trends; advised on national advocacy campaigns; spoke nationally and internationally about how to create optimal environments in which people can work and learn. THE FORUM FOR EDUCATION & DEMOCRACY See less First Amendment Schools Project Co-Director Company NameFirst Amendment Schools Project Dates EmployedFeb 2001 – May 2006 Employment Duration5 yrs 4 mos Directed national school reform initiative for major foundation; formulated multiyear school and community implementation strategies; conducted on-site trainings and professional development workshops; wrote and edited legal guides, history books, opinion pieces and magazine articles; represented project on national media outlets, at conferences and on expert panels; organized and facilitated annual conferences for project grantees. See less MURRY BERGTRAUM HIGH SCHOOL English & History Teacher Company NameMURRY BERGTRAUM HIGH SCHOOL Dates EmployedAug 2000 – Jan 2001 Employment Duration6 mos Taught modern American History and English courses to over 100 students, ages 14-18; wrote curricula for American Social History and African-American Literature courses. THE BERKELEY CARROLL SCHOOL English & History Teacher Company NameTHE BERKELEY CARROLL SCHOOL Dates EmployedAug 1996 – Jun 2000 Employment Duration3 yrs 11 mos Taught modern American History and English courses to over 100 students, ages 14-18; wrote course curricula; supervised high school journalism program, including production of bi-monthly newspaper; established and ran Chinese-language after school program; coached varsity boys basketball and middle school co-ed soccer teams. See less Show fewer experiences Education The George Washington University The George Washington University Degree NameMasters Field Of StudyBusiness Administration; non-profit management and organizational behavior Dates attended or expected graduation 2007 William & Mary William & Mary Degree NameMasters Field Of StudyAmerican Studies; 20th century American social & cultural history Dates attended or expected graduation 1999 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Degree NameBachelor of Arts Field Of StudyAfro; American Studies & History Dates attended or expected graduation 1989 – 1993