On this episode, Winston Brady interviews Dr. Anika T. Prather about the value of a Classical education and the role Classical texts played in shaping the minds of leaders in the African-American community, notably Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., among others.

Dr. Anika T. Prather earned her B.A. from Howard University in elementary education. She also has earned several graduate degrees in education from New York University and Howard University. She has a Masters in liberal arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and a PhD in English, Theatre and Literacy Education from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her research focus is on building literacy with African American students through engagement in the books of the Canon and recently self-published her book “Living in the Constellation of the Canon: The Lived Experiences of African American Students Reading Great Books Literature.”

She has served as a teacher, supervisor for student teachers, director of education and Head of School. Currently she teaches in the Classics department at Howard University and is the founder of The Living Water School in Southern Maryland. In her research, Dr. Prather focuses on “building literacy with African American students through engagement in the books of the Canon”—that is, reading through the books in a Great Books curriculum to inspire in her students a lifelong love of learning.

"Living in the Constellation of the Canon: The Lived Experiences of African-American Students Reading Great Books Literature": https://www.amazon.com/dp/172493337X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_DJo9EbDYGWCEV