PPO Book Study
“Why Are All the Black Kids [still] Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: An Educational Interpreter’s Journey through Conversations About Race and Social Identities in the Twenty-First Century Classrooms”
September 15th - October 13th, 2025
This four-week online book study course
is designed for educational interpreters who want to deepen their understanding of racial identity, community dynamics, and the experiences of Black
children in educational settings, as explored in the book "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. Participants will engage with the text’s key themes through weekly readings and online discussions and live Zoom meetups, facilitating a richer interpretation experience for the diverse student populations they serve. This course aims to empower educational interpreters with the knowledge and skills necessary to support students from diverse backgrounds and foster inclusive learning environments.
Target Audience:Â K-12 Educational Interpreters
Educational Objectives
Cultural Competence:
Develop an enhanced understanding of racial identity development and
its implications for educational settings, enabling interpreters to better support Deaf Students of
Color (DSOC).
Effective Communication:
Improve interpretation skills by exploring nuanced discussions
around race and identity, fostering effective communication in diverse educational contexts.
Empathy and Advocacy:
Cultivate empathy and advocacy skills to support marginalized
voices within the educational system, ensuring all students feel heard and understood.
Development of Antiracist Action Plans:
Participants will develop an action plan to address
how they will reduce potential power, privilege, and/or oppressions (PPO) in their work and/or
social interactions with Deaf Students of Color (DSOC).
About your facilitators
Karen King, a nationally certified interpreter (NIC) and proud SODA from Portsmouth, VA, has nearly 30 years of experience in educational interpreting and over 15 years in video relay interpreting. She serves as an Educational Interpreter for Newport News Public Schools in VA and as the Professional Development Director for NAIE. A lifelong learner, she holds degrees from Regent and Rutgers University. Her article Illusions of Communication was featured in Views (Winter 2023, Vol. 1, Issue 40).
An advocate for reflective storytelling, Karen is the author of Whispers of a Wildflower, an autoethnography exploring her personal journey. She is dedicated to creating meaningful connections and empowering others through communication and shared experiences, whether interpreting, mentoring, or writing.
Dr. Suzette Garay is Deaf BIPOC and a third generational Latina(x) from South America, Nicaragua and a third member of my family who was born Deaf. She holds the following degrees: BA, MA. PSY.S, and a Ph.D. Her major areas of studies are Special Education with an emphasis on Deafness and Learning Disabilities, Psychology, and teaching of American Sign Language. She is currently a retired Educational Psychologist and teaches online diversity training courses and/or Interpreting sign language courses and currently facilitates the Dear White Interpreter course with the CAITE BHI program. She also co-owns a private online website working with many families, individuals, and private business owners about interpreting, accessibility, diversity, and advocacy with diverse DHHDB consumers at www.thediversityacademy.com.
Dr. Garay’s resume includes the following qualifications: 25+ years of direct teaching, evaluating, and mentoring with Special Education students, ASL/Interpreter students, working nationally-certified interpreters, and/or community business members who use American Sign Language for communicating with their consumers. She also has invaluable personal experience and success teaching, evaluating, and mentoring diverse deaf individuals and/or consumers from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds.
Save your spot today!
September 15th - October 13th, 2025
$50 for DAI Members, $75 for the general public
You must attend one LIVE Zoom meeting per week along with online discussion participation.
Mondays OR Wednesdays
4pm PST / 5pm MST / 6pm CST / 7pm EST for 1 hour each.
Diversity Academy is an Approved RID CMP Sponsor for continuing education activities. This PPO Professional Studies program is offered for 1.2 PPO CEUs at the Little/None Content Knowledge Level.
Diversity Academy promotes and supports policies of non-discrimination and an environment that is mutually respectful and free from bias.
Requests for accommodations must be submitted to [email protected].Â
Cancellation Policy:Â
In the event that this course has to be canceled, we will notify you within 48 hours. We will provide an alternative course date.Â
Should you decide that you can no longer participate in the course, you may cancel with a full refund before the start of the course.Â
