This is Part 1 of a two-part series featuring Changemaker Educator, Angie Clevinger.  I was fortunate to meet Angie at Radford University when I was teaching in the Educational Leadership Program there.  She was working on her licensure to be a school principal at the time and I could tell right away that she was something special. But when I read her writing, I knew that she was way beyond “special”.  Magical would be the word I’d use instead. Angie has a way of using her sharp intellect inside her Southwestern Virginia accent and occasional dialect to surprise you with her wisdom and perspective on the world.  You’ll see what I mean when you tune into her story below.  If you watch the video version, please forgive a few spots where the image freezes up or goes blank for a brief moment.  Technology was not our friend on the day we spoke last summer.  You won’t notice this issue once you are immersed in Angie’s compelling story in video, podcast or written form.  I highly recommend listening to her story in Angie’s own words, but I hope I’ve done her justice in my attempt to summarize her amazing story of transformation from a child dragged around to KKK rallies to staunch advocate for children of every background and ethnicity.I used the Blue Roads “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World” mantra to guide our conversation as is my habit for these chats with changemakers.  In this first portion,  we focus on Angie’s homegrown roots and lessons learned early in life.  She carried her powerful learning into adulthood as a teacher determined to better meet the needs of children like herself whose early role models may leave something to be desired by “middle class” standards.



































HOMEGROWN ANGIEAngie’s early life was challenging and may be shocking to some of us born out of privilege or protected from the rougher edges of life.   Her father dragged her around to Ku Klux Klan rallies on a regular basis and represented a racist agenda when featured on the local news. She learned to stick up for herself with strong words and fists when called for in the neighborhood she describes as “Section 8 housing”.   Angie's “survival tactics” weren't appreciated at school where she got in some trouble from an early age and spent quite a bit of time in the principal’s office. She reports low grades and struggling academically up until she reached the fifth grade.  That’s when she met Mr. John Hocker, the African American teacher who changed her life forever.Angie introduces Mr. Hocker to us by telling of how she took over as the driver of the family car at age 9 to transport her father to school for a parent teacher conference when he was intoxicated.Chagrined and embarrassed by her father, Angie was moved beyond words when Mr. Hocker, who surely knew of her father’s reputation, treated them both with great respect and turned to Angie as the focus of the meeting. I was born into a home that didn't have plenty, as far as resources are concerned. As I grew up, I realized that my parents lacked in many areas, not to say anything derogatory, but when you look at a cycle of poverty, we often see that those people coming from that background, not only come from a place of not having a lot of money, socioeconomically speaking, that they come from a place of trauma. Both of my parents are not an exception to that.