Episode 12: Analise Harris

Welcome to the TeachHER Podcast Powered by The Innocent Brown Girl Project. Our mission is to convey strategies for Grit & Grace with educators and advocates of African American and Latina Girls. Thank you for joining us today.

Today, our guest is Analise Harris. Founder of Curls on the Block, Analise currently works as an adjunct professor at Community College of Denver. Hailing from Waukegan, Illinois, after obtaining a degree in Sociology and Communications at Creighton University, she moved to Denver in 2011 as a founding corps member of City Year Denver. Inspired by the year of service and evaluating her life goals, Analise pursued an alternative teaching license from Metropolitan State University and obtained her Master’s in Education with a certification in Special Education. During her work as an educator, Analise realized that girls of color were often receiving extreme punishments, experiencing lower self esteem and essentially not having good self care starting as early as elementary school. More than not, those issues were linked to their hair, not taking off a hoodie or bandana, being teased for a bad hair day and asking for basic supplies such as hair ties or hair gel. In order to address the glaring issues, Analise started offering safe spaces for girls to explore beauty and hair care needs, eventually creating the standards based curriculum Curls on The Block.

Social Media:

TeachHER Podcast (Instagram)

The Innocent Brown Girl Project (Instagram)

The Innocent Brown Girl Project (Website)

Guest Social Media Info:

Curls on The Block (Instagram)

Curls on The Block  (Facebook)

Curls on The Block (Twitter)

Websites Mentioned:

Curls on The Block (Website)

Harriet’s Yellow Jacket (Books)