History as a Superpower: Dr. Cheryl LaRoche on 'The Resurrectors'

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1:00Welcome back to Sugar Bad. Get it delivered. Contestant, you're out of food and you're meds, but are too tired to get up to you A. Pout. B. Bag your roommate or C. Get Walmart to deliver it all same day. Same day. Who knew? Uh, gonna go with C. Walmart. That is correct. Walmart offers same day delivery for prescriptions, groceries, and more. I loved that leaving my couch. Walmart. Who knew? Subject to availability, restrictions, medication, exclusions, and fees apply. That's the sound of Lego Pikachu training for battle. That's the sound of Lego Pikachu enjoying a post-training snack. And that's a reminder to not let Lego Pokemon in the recording studio. Lego Smart Brick brings Lego Pokemon Play to life. Lego Pokemon with Smart Play. You're the trainer now. I want to lead us to believe in a new direction.

2:03And I want to lead us to believe in new kinds of ways of thinking about history, ways of thinking about blackness, ways of thinking about heroes. I talk, I have a little clip about George watching and Williams in the book. And so I want to lead us. I want to lead us in a whole different direction towards power, towards history as your superpower. And the resurrectors is what that's all about. You talked a little bit about it because you were fundraising last time you were here. Talking about a possible liberation. Paul Quinn, which was amazing. We talked about the Underground Railroad and how the AME churches are all kind of stops. This is quite a different kind of book. And it's a children's book, the resurrectors. Harry Highland, Garnet, and The Spirit of the Wind is sort of like a Harry Potter. And the Sorcerer Stone is sort of like, so tell us how this germinated in your spirit. Well, a couple of ways people kept asking me to write a children's book.

3:05And I kept saying, I don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don't do children's books. And I've got you know, I'm a college professor. I don't do this. And I can't even get my language there, right? But as I thought more about it, one of the things people said to me is if you really know your subject matter and you can explain it to children, that's when we really know you know. And I decided along with someone else, my colleague Eric said to me, I want you to write a children's book. So he was the last person to say it, not the first, but the last. And this time I listened. So that was the push to really get started. But I'm telling you, Karen, I also, one of the things we say about the resurrectors is it's a read aloud book. It's a book designed for children to read aloud to their families because the families don't know these stories. I've everybody I've asked. Your listeners are exceptional. First of all, and thank you. And I want to say personally to everybody who supported this book, thank you very much.

4:09We met our Kickstarter campaign and our Kickstarter goal because of you all. And I want, I was very pleased. The book came out. We have the hard copies. We see it today. And it has been birthed because of you and your listeners and generous people who help believe in this story. So that's number one. But I also want to say that this is a story that adults don't know. And that unless you studied black history, you don't know who he is. And a lot of people I know, particularly a little older, and they didn't have this kind of history in school, they have never heard of Henry Highland-Garnett. And this is a very, very powerful name. So spider, mica, and Tio. Yeah. How did they time travel? There's an artifact that they hold. Oh, they, they, the first time they time travel, they sort of go off in the wind. The storm picks them up.

5:09That's the spirit of the wind. So we have the spirit of the wind sort of walking through the book. I had to get them to the past. And that's how they get there. The stone has properties that we learn about in other books, but they just find the stone. So between the wind and the stone, that puts them into the past and gives them the kind of physical powers that they need to sort of negotiate, fly, move around, do whatever they need to do so that they can be in the past with Henry Highland at his feet, basically listening to his story. So these three children are in what state, what city? I don't have to, so there's a lot of ambiguity in the book. I don't give you, I don't give you states, I don't give you cities. These are kids. Will you show imagination? If you want to, I think I'm in Iowa. If you want to be in Vermont, and Vermont, if you need them in the low country, they're in the low country, far to fine. If you want them in Texas and Texas, I try to just make a story that you can imagine.

6:15So there's a lot of things I do not give you. And there's a lot, but there's also kind of a lot that I don't give you. I have asked the children, not me, the children ask some very difficult questions when you start to talk about anti-literacy laws because Henry Highland-Garnett is learning to read. You have a kid say, well, wait, why do I read? I'll answer that. That's for your teacher, that's for your parents, that's for you to read aloud, ask that question, and then struggle with it. So all the times, why do they want to put it in slavery? Those are not, I do not answer them. So there's a lot of room in this book for your imagination. There's a lot of room for questioning. There's a lot of room for teachers to come in. There's a lot of room with parents want to teach them more or less, and I'm not trying to do that. You know where you want your child to go, not me. I'm just giving you the scaffolding to get them there. I love it. So Spider, Micah and Tio, they go into time and they end up meeting a nine-year-old

7:20who is escaping enslavement with his family. That's right. And this is how we meet Henry Highland-Garnett. So we meet him as a little boy. You meet him as a little boy because kids want to read about other kids. I love this. And when you think about the underground railroad, what do you usually think of? What do you have? You have a grown man with a satchel on his back and he's running from the dog. Right. You don't have a family planning and escape and it's not leisurely, but certainly no dogs after them. You don't have people who are planning and thinking and doing all this higher order thinking that we're not supposed to be able to do because you've been led to believe that this is something that we're incapable of doing. When you see that dude and that underground railroad icon with that satchel on his back, you know what that says? That's his suitcase. Dude has packed. He's got his food and he has planned even if it's a quick escape. He is out there with his stuff. He has been informed. Yes.

8:20So what we think about and the ways in which we have thought about and been taught about and led to believe about the underground railroad, the resurrectors is an answer to that. Because families, I have so many stories of families at a state that children that escape, that young children that escape, that mothers at a state. These are the people you never hear about and the stories are dramatic. They're heroic. They're huge. They're inspiring. And you really begin to understand that this is a narrative that we have really not been taught unless like many of your listeners, you have a depth of knowledge. But most people do not have the kind of knowledge that is required to understand what I'm saying. Or not to understand, but to even imagine what I'm saying. And so that's why I pushed and pushed and pushed for this. Well, you did it. And you did it on your own steam and it's beautiful. The book comes out in November between now and then.

9:21I also want to talk with you about ways in which we get this story read. You can pre-order the resurrectors now Henry Highland, Garnet, and the spirit of the win. You can pre-order that now. Pre-orders are important. We already know that. Play Cane has taught us the path. We're going to follow it with the pre-order. Well, that's where to go. Go to thereserectors.com. Oh, okay. Go to RES, U-R-R-E-C-T-O-R-S. .com and pre-order the book. It's a beautiful book. We're so proud of it. We're proud of the illustration. And we're so excited that it's out. You know, we have the pre-books that they're out of ready. So anybody who's subscribed, we have your book for you now. And anyone else can pre-order it. Please, please help us, help us make this book make a mark. Not just for our ratings, but for our children. Yes, I got you. Dr. Cheryl LaRose, thank you so much. Thank you for being here. Appreciate you.

10:21Wasn't that awesome? Well, please make sure to make Karen Hunter is awesome. Your favorite podcast, and feel free to share it on social media with someone who needs to hear it. And check out the other amazing podcasts on the Women's Empowerment Network. Thank you for being a part of this family. Till next time. I want to share something that really caught my attention as a parent. I've learned that myopia, near-sightedness, is becoming much more common in kids. And it's not something you want to ignore. If it goes unchecked, it can have an impact that goes way beyond schoolwork. What really matters is starting with an eye exam. An eye doctor can tell you what's going on with your child's vision and walk you through options that are designed specifically for kids like Esselaer's Stellast lenses. I like that Stellast lenses are made for children

11:23and fit right into everyday life. They look like regular glasses, but they're part of a more thoughtful approach to managing myopia. If you're a parent and you've been meaning to book an eye exam, this is your sign. Visit Esselaer.com to learn more about Stellast lenses and to find an Esselaer expert eye care professional near you. Instagram teen accounts have automatic protections for what teens see and who can contact them. Plus, time management tools. And Instagram will continue adding built-in safety features to help create age-appropriate experiences. Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at instagram.com slash teen accounts. Never bet against American grit or American energy. Through innovation, venture global is not only building some of the largest energy facilities in the world right here in the United States,

12:25but delivering American energy at a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time. So while others are busy talking, we're busy building. That's venture global. That's unstoppable energy. Welcome back to Sugar Bad. Get it delivered. Contestant, you're out of food and you're meds but are too tired to get up to UA. Pout. B, beg your roommate or C, get Walmart to deliver it all same day. Same day. Who knew? Uh, gonna go with C. Walmart. That is correct. Walmart offers same day delivery for prescriptions, gross reason more. I loved that leaving my cats. Walmart, who knew? Subject to availability, restrictions, medication, exclusions, and fees apply.