Interracial friendships are associated with a host of positive outcomes for those who share them. Yet these relationships are rare in the United States, where both adults and children share mostly same race friendships. In this talk, Cinzia Pica-Smith will discuss why this is the case, and ways in which to support these important relationships among youth in schools. Cinzia is an Associate Professor at Assumption College in Worcester, MA in both the Education Department and the Department of Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed journals and articles focused on the interracial friendships of youth in schools; paying particular attention to how educators and school systems in both the U.S. and Europe can create equitable and socially just school environments to support young people. In 2013 she was awarded a Distinguished Paper Award by the American Educational Research Association for her article about the raced, classed, and gendered deficit discourses related to so-called “at risk” youth. Her most recent publication is a book titled Social Justice Education in European Multiethnic Schools: Addressing the Goals of Intercultural Education. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx