Episode 283: Learning to Relearn with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah Part 1

Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week on the podcast we have Part 1 of a two-part conversation centering a favorite topic of mine - education. The effectivenss of LinkedIn and it’s networkinng superpower facilitated our connection through common connects, Adja Maymouna Sakho (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/guests/adja-maymouna-sahko) and Laureen Adams (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/guests/laureen-laury-adams). My guest, fellow educator Kwame Sarfo-Mensah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Temple University. For nine years, he served as a middle school math teacher. Currently, he is the founder of Identity Talk Consulting (https://www.identitytalk4educators.com/), a global educational consulting firm that specializes in developing K-12 teachers into identity-affirming educators. Throughout his 17-year career as a classroom teacher, author, and consultant, Kwame has worked in the United States, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Zambia. Additionally, Kwame has earned numerous accolades for this work, which include being honored as the 2019 National Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and being recognized as a Top Education Influencer by brightbeam, Inc. in 2021 and 2022. His newest book, "Learning to Relearn: Supporting Identity in a Culturally Affirming Classroom", recently won the 2025 IPPY Award for Best Education Commentary Book and the 2024 Foreword INDIES Gold Book Award for Best Education Book. Another dimension of Kwame’s glocal citizenship is the way that he, as a “trailing spouse” has forged forward despite the obvious challenges and has found success and expansion in his craft. I hope your listening will shed additional light on the ways that borderless mindsets are indeed manifesting a new world! Where to find Kwame? On Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07L8MS615?ccs_id=ab1feada-c3e7-4b9d-b7d5-e06317e06e27) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper/) On Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/kwamesm.idtalk4ed/?_rdc=1&_rdr#) On Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@kwamesarfo-mensah5785) What’s Kwame reading and watching? The Message (https://ta-nehisicoates.com/books/the-message/) by Ta-Nehisi Coates Untold Fall of Favre (https://www.netflix.com/gh/title/81748451) Coach Prime (https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Coach-Prime/0J0DQNOK5IDQ0F9CH5SX59YYLC) Other topics of interest: About Mampong, Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mampong) Where is Nsima, Ghana (https://satellites.pro/Nsima_map#google_vignette) About the Akwamu Empire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akwamu_Empire) Lusaka, Zambia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusaka) A bit about Nyanja and other Zambian languages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewa_language) Education past and present in Sierra Leone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Sierra_Leone#:~:text=History,-The%20remains%20of&text=During%20the%20nineteenth%20century%2C%20Sierra,educational%20institute%20in%20the%20region.) Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZniOuoREU) by Beverly Daniel Tatum Special Guest: Kwame Sarfo-Mensah.