Articles

Noting the essential role the department holds, James “Fresh Professor” Miles, Chief Strategy Officer of Path with Art and assistant professor at Seattle University, emphasizes that “the Department of Education is in charge of funding for public schools, administering student loans, enforcing civil rights laws and running programs to help students from low-income communities and students with disabilities.”

He says that all the uproar over an urgent need to end this department is a fabricated crisis...

In the Second Episode, called Beats as Bridges, of Arts IgnitED: The Social Justice Learning Podcast, we chat with James Miles, “The Fresh Professor,” about how hip hop serves as a dynamic bridge that connects the culture of youth to positive educational outcomes. Miles delves into how the culture of hip hop fosters creativity, critical thinking, and cultural awareness, transforming classrooms and engaging students from all backgrounds. Tune in to discover how hip hop is reshaping the future of learning and building connections across generations.

C89.5 and 4Culture Present Coping 101: The Fresh Professor w/ James Miles: “As artist Yasiin Bey said, ‘the arts are something we forget we need, until we need them.’ In this episode of Artist Mental Health Stories we’re joined by one of Seattle’s cultural thought leaders James Miles, fondly known as the Fresh Professor. Miles is an Assistant Professor at Seattle University ....

We all want the same things, mostly…

When I moved to Seattle, from Brooklyn, NY, I knew that I would face some significant differences, but I thought I was ready for it. I was hired as the Executive Director of a beloved arts education organization, serving mostly low income, BIPOC youth in south Seattle and on the southern border of Seattle. 

I am clawing at my face, I can’t see, and I’m four years old. Just had surgery on my eyelids because my eyelashes were growing into my eyeball. I remember my mother crying and my father consoling her. Lying supine on the bed, I remember the feeling of the cotton sheets on my ankle, and the sound my hair made on the pillow..."

“When I think of the word Resilience, I think of every young person that wakes up in the morning, cold, hungry, and tired. I think of that person looking at the tv, phone, or reading a news article and all they see are negative images and stories of people that look like them..."

Seven fifteen in the morning. I remember when the sun wasn’t out, at this time, but the mornings are gradually brighter every day. I turn right to look out of the bay window where my exercise bike is housed. I live by the water, so close that I taste salt when I open my windows. Meniscus on the horizon throwing me off balance, while calming my heart. Reflections from the water are blinding.

"Yet, we do not often highlight the negative impacts when those mostly white and well- meaning mentors leave their mentee, sometimes making the situation worse. When youth of color are taught in a colorblind way, as if we live in a meritocracy where hard work pays off, the reality of racism/sexism/paternalism prove the opposite, and those youth feel more marginalized."

As reported by Transgender Europe, “in the past 12 months, 350 trans and gender-diverse people were reported killed globally. Of the reported killings worldwide, sex workers make up the majority of victims. People of color make up 79% of the 28 trans people murdered in the USA....”

A tractor was upside down on the street, the top of the license plate scraping the concrete. Trees were knocked down, as were power lines. Sand and dried salt water dusted everything, in sight...

Teaching is like dancing. Sometimes your step on someone’s feet, misread cues, or land flat on your ass. Whatever the case, teaching is both exhilarating and frightening...

A couple weeks ago my kids and I saw Spider-Man: Homecoming. It was a fun movie with cool effects, fun action sequences, and a predictable plot. However...