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Further Forward
Honest conversations on the art of becoming.
Through solo reflections and conversations with soulful, sharp, and courageous guests, Ashley creates room for the stories that don’t always get told—the pivots, the struggles, the magic, and the mess. Part spiritual, part practical, always human—Further Forward is a space for women invested in their becoming, who know growth is both messy and worth embracing.
Further Forward
Know Your History: Literacy, Legacy, and Becoming with Ashley Houston- King
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This week, we welcome Ashley Houston-King to the Further Forward Podcast! We explore identity, colorism, and the history of Black literacy- from slave codes to modern “reading crisis” headlines. AHK details her dissertation as we connect policy to practice, unpacking how testing, zero-tolerance legacies, and curriculum politics land on real kids, and why after-school, third-space, and community-led programs are essential. Part history lesson, part blueprint for action, and a love letter to teachers, ancestors, and the future we’re writing together.
Ashley Houston-King is a Ph.D. student at Boston University studying Language and Literacy in Education. Ashley is also a reading specialist in a K-6 Boston Public School, and a former classroom teacher. Her research interests include exploring the intersections of literacy instruction, identity, and disrupting anti-Blackness in education. She is interested in studying in-and-out-of-school literacy spaces to better understand how youth navigate injustice and work toward collective liberation.
Follow her on Instagram: @ashley_althea4
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Further Forward: Honest Conversations on the Art of Becoming, is hosted by Ashley Mitchell.
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