The Cost of Reform and the Power of Community with Representative Jennifer Bacon

In this deeply moving episode of The Exit Interview, Colorado State Representative Jennifer Bacon recounts how her early teaching career in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina became a catalyst for her journey into law, education reform, and public service. Reflecting on her experience as a young Black educator with Teach For America, she vividly recalls the chaos and trauma of evacuating during the storm, witnessing the devastation, and volunteering at a Red Cross shelterwhere she saw her students arrive with little more than plastic bags of belongings.

Jennifer shares the inequities she witnessed in the aftermath, including the erasure of Black educators, the rise of charter schools, and the criminalization of Black youthall of which shaped her understanding of systemic racism in education. Her reflections unpack the historical and political roots of educational injustice, from the collapse of the Orleans Parish school system to the national charter school movement. She explains how these experiences fueled her decision to attend law school, organize against the school-to-prison pipeline, and eventually serve in elected office.

Now a key voice in Colorado education policy, Bacon discusses current challenges like the states school funding crisis, the importance of mandating financial literacy courses, and the urgent need for Black teacher recruitment and retention. The episode ends with a raw and heartfelt meditation on rest, resilience, and the moral obligation to fight for systems that truly care for Black children and communities.