UW–Madison Professor Emerita Gloria Ladson-Billings is featured in the new season of PBS Wisconsin’s “Why Race Matters,” a digital series elevating issues of importance affecting Wisconsin’s Black communities.
In the series, host and producer Angela Fitzgerald connects in conversation with everyday people whose work and commitments center on race, identity, and achieving racial equity in the state. The program shares the layered, lived experiences of Black people in Wisconsin, exploring topics simultaneously historic and urgent — offering hope, guidance, and resources to thrive.
Ladson-Billings, the former Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, appeared in the premiere episode of the new season, which was released on Sept. 12. She speaks with Fitzgerald about the history of Critical Race Theory, what it is, and how it’s used in educational settings.
Ladson-Billings remarks that it is sometimes important to have uncomfortable conversations in the classroom. “Nothing about education is about just making you feel comfortable,” she says. “Sometimes we learn the most in the midst of discomfort.”
The new season is streaming weekly at whyracematters.org, and on the free PBS Video App, streaming devices, and Smart TVs.
View the episode featuring Ladson-Billings here.