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Chicago Debates With Dr. Toinette Gunn

Portrait photo of Dr. Toinette Gunn
Dr. Toinette Gunn, executive director with Chicago Debates

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Toinette Gunn, executive director with Chicago Debates.

Chicago Debates is one of the largest organizations that is not only helping thousands of students, including African American and Latino youth to exercise their voice and speech capabilities – but also teaching them distinct life skills, providing career preparation experiences, as well as confidence building and academic achievement.

Gunn talks about data and statistics that impact African American youth and African American boys in particular; three critical things that must be done in the educational system to keep them from falling through the cracks; why language development skills are critical to the academic achievement of youth and the real impact of debate and oratory skills on African American youth beyond just speaking capabilities.

John L. Hanson is the producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio series In Black America. It’s heard on home station KUT at 10 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:30 a.m. Sundays — and weekly on close to 20 stations across the country. The weekly podcast of IBA, the only nationally broadcast Black-oriented public affairs radio program, is one of KUT’s most popular podcasts.
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