Born and raised in Minnesota, Shivani Kamat is the daughter of immigrants from India. Now 24, Kamat grew up hearing about the traditional caste system in her parents’ native country and observed it for herself while visiting relatives in India.
“Historically the caste system divides people into groups based on their families, lineage, where they are from. It determines their lives—where they can live, who they can marry, what jobs they can have,” Kamat said.
Kamat never considered that such a system existed in the US until she read the Pulitzer Prize winning book Caste: The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson. In the nonfiction bestseller, Wilkerson makes the case that American racial tensions can be explained “through the lens of caste,” a deeply-rooted hierarchy that places white people at the top and Black people at the bottom.
“I love the book so much; it’s a must-read. It struck a chord with me,” said Kamat. “One point in the book is that caste in America is hidden but it determines your opportunities. To think about racism in this way was eye-opening for me as a woman of color.”
On April 28, Kamat will be in the audience at Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota when Isabel Wilkerson takes the stage. Wilkerson’s keynote lecture, entitled Exposing America’s Invisible Scaffolding, will be presented by Teach For America Twin Cities and the Minneapolis Foundation.
Kamat herself is a Teach for America corps member, now teaching special education at Prodeo Academy in Columbia Heights.
“I am passionate about my students, most of whom are low income and from families of color,” she said. “I re-read Caste before I started teaching and it has connected to my experiences in the educational system.”
Teach for America attracts and trains a national corps of educators who teach for two years in underserved, low-income schools. They commit to building an antiracist and student-centered education system that expands opportunities.
With a presence in the Twin Cities for 14 years, the local Teach for America organization has built a network of almost 1000 alumni. About half work in education, as teachers, administrators, policy-makers and other leaders.
“Our vision is to go deep and make an impact on our TFA corps members throughout their careers,” said Maryam Zahid, communications and external affairs director for Teach for America —Twin Cities. “We partner with diverse educators and steward their careers so they are working on equity in education to change the landscape for our students.”
Equity and closing Minnesota’s historic achievement gap is the top priority of T each for America—Twin Cities. The organization has set an ambitious goal to double the number of students reaching key educational milestones in the communities it serves by the year 2030.
“In order to solve problems in education, we need to think about system wide change and the obstacles to economic mobility faced by students and their families,” Zahid said. “In her book, Isabel Wilkerson reframes how race and class permeate every level of our lives in America, including education.”
Isabel Wilkerson’s appearance in Minneapolis will be the fourth DEI lecture that Teach for America Twin Cities and the Minneapolis Foundation have staged.
Each of these signature events have brought best-selling authors and influential thinkers on race to a local audience.
Previous distinguished lecturers have included:
Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility
Ibram X. Kendi, author of How To Be An Antiracist
Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
“Exposing America’s Invisible Scaffolding” features NY Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s live lecture is scheduled at Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities on Friday, April 28th at 7pm.
Tickets start at $10. For information and tickets click here.