Hustle, Heart & HBCU Love with Latoya Turner

About this episode

Dr. Asia Lyons interviews Latoya Turner about her journey as an educator and her work in promoting literacy and HBCUs.

This conversation is a testament to how classroom teaching can birth movements that extend far beyond what we could ever imagine. In this episode, Dr. Asia sits down with Latoya Turner, M.A. , a Detroit-born educator, author, and filmmaker who spent 13 years in the classroom before pivoting to create Brown Hands Literacy, a nonprofit dedicated to educating children about HBCUs through books, films, and community events. LaToya shares her journey from a high school cadet teaching program to teaching across Detroit, Maryland, and Cincinnati, where she discovered her passion for literacy and began writing children's books during lunch breaks and planning periods. She opens up about the pull of family that moved her from city to city, the birth of her son August (now a published author himself), and how she coached 90 Black men ages 18-24 through the Leading Men Fellowship program, planting seeds of literacy that will impact generations. From turning her book "Brown Hands, Black Schools: HBCUs" into an animated film featured at the Essence Film Festival, to being inducted into Central State University's Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame, LaToya embodies the Detroit hustle culture while…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Asia Lyons

Guest: Latoya Turner

Topics covered

• education
• literacy
• HBCUs
• Black educators
• entrepreneurship
• community care

Keywords

• HBCUs
• literacy
• Black educators
• entrepreneurship
• children's books
• community events
• Detroit hustle

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Brown Hands Literacy, Central State University

Books & works: Brown Hands, Black Schools: HBCUs

Places: Detroit, Maryland, Cincinnati

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