MNUDL Alum & Coach, Sandy Bolton Barrientos, Featured on EDTalk Series

High School Debate As Abolitionist Education

Sandy Bolton Barrientos, MNUDL alum and current coach, was featured in Achieve Twin Cities’ winter EDTalk series with the presentation, What High School Debate Can Teach Us About the Power of Abolitionist Education.

Read Sandy’s introduction below and watch the talk on YouTube!

Young people are feeling increasingly disempowered and disengaged as they see and experience structural injustices in their communities and persistent uncertainty about their futures. But Sandy Bolton Barrientos, the community coach for South High School’s debate team, sees a way forward. Sandy believes debate offers a unique space where students can freedom-dream institutions that affirm their livelihoods, visualize a future of joy and liberation for all people, and ultimately begin to formulate imaginative and realistic solutions for the big problems facing their communities. Sandy will present testimonials from current and former students on the impact of debate on their lives and argue strongly for additional resources and support for debate in Minneapolis Public Schools.

We love seeing our alums sharing their own interpretation of debate’s power and promise with the larger community. Congratulations, Sandy!