In this episode of The Karamo Show, host Karamo welcomes his executive producer, Gloria Harrison Hall, to discuss her newly self‑published children’s book, Glo: My Childhood in Two Worlds. Karamo introduces Gloria, noting she is usually behind the scenes, and then invites her to share the book’s premise: a young girl navigating two contrasting environments—her home in Dorchester and a predominantly white suburban school—while learning about identity, confidence, and belonging. Gloria recounts vivid childhood memories, describing the cultural shock of moving from an inner‑city neighborhood with hopscotch, double‑Dutch, and soul food to a wealthy suburb where she was the only Black student, facing racism and feeling isolated. She illustrates two pivotal themes—being corrected and being protected—through anecdotes about a second‑grade teacher’s discipline and a fourth‑grade incident where she was called the N‑word, prompting her mother to confront the school. Gloria explains how the book incorporates interactive prompts, such as asking readers to identify their “superhero” and reflect on the worlds they inhabit, encouraging self‑acceptance and resilience. She notes that her own children served as early proofreaders, shaping the book’s language and colorfulness. Karamo and Gloria also discuss the self‑publishing process, highlighting that Gloria funded, produced, and unboxed the book herself, and they promote the website booksbyglow.com where viewers can obtain copies, with a giveaway for the studio audience. The conversation ends with mutual admiration and a call for viewers to keep talking, growing, and reading.
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So I am so excited to introduce my next guest to the world. She's my friend, but she's also the executive producer of The Karamo Show. So everyone, please welcome Gloria Harrison Hall to The Karamo Show.
May I have a hug?
Of course. Hi, Gloria.
Hi, baby.
How you doing?
Take a seat. You look good. Oh, thank you.
Because I don't get to see her normally dressed up like this because Gloria is usually right here. Running the show, handling everything. So our studio audience knows, she normally just be in work mode. You look phenomenal.
Thank you.
But I have to tell y'all, she's on my stage right now for a very special reason. It's because not only is Gloria the executive producer that makes this show work, make our guests work, but she's also now an author. And I have to be very real with y'all. I read this book and there were some pieces of the book that really hit me. So I wanted you to come on the show. So tell everyone about the book.
So, you know, Glow is about a young girl growing up in two worlds.
Yeah.
Home and school. And she has to try to figure out how to shine in both. And Karamo, to be honest with you, I feel like that's you and me.
That is you and me. Okay, that's all of us. That's all of us, right?
It's about identity, it's about confidence, and learning how to find structure even when you enter into a room where you're not welcome.
There was a part of the book that stood out to me where you said, that you told your parents when you got to a new school that no one looked like you.
Yes.
And you said you went home to your parents and said, "Why does no one look like me?" Yes. And so the reason that hit me so hard is because I see a lot of our young guests on this show that are often in spaces and environments where no one looks like them.
Yes.
And no one understands them. What was that experience like for you?
So I'll take you back. Like here I am, I'm growing up. I grew up in the inner city of Dorchester. So I wanna take y'all back. Y'all appreciate this. I'm talking about hopscotch, double dutch. I learned how to play spades, okay? I'm talking about eating grits and soul food. I learned community and faith. And to me, that was my home. 6 blocks away though, there's gun violence. There's drive-by shootings back in the day. So my mom and dad said, "You know what? We wanna try something different for you." So they kept saying to me, "You're gonna go to a new school. You're gonna meet new friends." I was like, "Okay, you're gonna meet new people." I was so excited. Meanwhile, I'm 6 years old when they put me on the bus. My feet can barely touch the floor. I get on the bus, it's an hour and 20 minutes away. I get off, it's the wealthy suburbs. Get off the bus, going to class, I'm like, "Hold up." Tell me, hold on. "Hold up, they didn't tell me any of that." They didn't tell me that the teacher wouldn't look like me, the kids in my class didn't look like me. So it was a shock to the core.
Talk about it.
And I wanna tell you about two things that inspired me. One where I was corrected and one where I was protected. Oh. Yes.
Come on.
Let that sink in.
Corrected, right?
Come on, yes.
And then protected.
And so in second grade, I remember vaguely playing and the teacher said, "Everybody come and sit down, it's time to sit down." I said, "I ain't gotta listen to you, you ain't my mama." Okay? Little did I know Mama Harrison was right behind me. She was right there. She said, "Come here for a second." Took me into the bathroom, okay?
Listen, you already know. We know this, we know this.
All of us. Right? She got on her knees and was like, "Listen, hold up. I sent you out here for a better education. You better sit your ass down in that class and listen to the teachers." Let's fast forward to 4th grade. It gets a little deeper. Now my parents are getting calls again. So they said, "Gloria, what's going on?" And I said, "Mommy, Daddy, I don't get picked for recess. And if I do, I'm last. Y'all got me playing soccer. When my hair gets wet, it unravels. They laugh at me." I said, "Another thing, Mommy, I can't say the word, but they call me something else." She said, "What is it? Tell me." I said, "They called me the N-word." She said, "Oh, hell no." And the next day she went back up to the school. She met with the principal. She had me sit right there in front of all the teachers. She said, "Listen, I teach my daughter to be respectful, but I'm not gonna tolerate you guys making her feel small, making her feel different." In that moment I saw a superhero. I said, "Yo, I told her what was going on. I spoke up.
She came to the school, she lit into their ass and she protected me." And I love that in this book, You wrote in it and you asked the kids like, who's your superhero? You ask them things about what worlds are they in? It gives kids this perspective in my opinion that helps them not only see themselves as whole and beautiful and see their glow, but also it helps them to understand that they are just made perfectly.
Yeah, I gotta tell you, that's my favorite page in the book because it allows kids to pause and reflect just like you saying, I want everyone to, anybody, the book is truly for anybody who's ever tried a new school, ever moved to a new house, ever tried a new sport. And what I'm finding is exactly what you said. Adults are like, you know what? I'm reading this for the kids, but I'm getting a little something out of it too. It's allowing me to reflect on my childhood as well.
Have your kids read the book?
Oh my God. Read it. They're like my focus group.
Okay.
Yes, they are amazing. They've been my proofreaders. They were like, mommy, Make it colorful. No matter how old you are, we all feel vulnerable inside and we all wanna fit in.
Yes, we all do.
Yes, there go my superheroes.
Okay, this is you reading it. Yes. 'Cause I know you volunteer at your kids' school and read the books, which I think is so great. What would you say to 6-year-old Gloria today if she could see you EPing a show, riding a bull? What would we say? Look at that little baby, look at that little baby. No, I wanna know.
You know what I would tell little Glo? You're gonna get teased, it's okay. You're gonna fail at something, girl, get back up and try again. You know what I'm saying? Somebody talk about you, go tell your mama. Somebody talk about you, tell your daddy. Speak up because every one of us matters. And I'll tell little Glo, hang in there. You know why? Greatness is within you. You are going places. You're gonna be an EP on Karamo, okay?
This is why I love Gloria. I have chills going down my spine, 'cause not only am I incredibly proud of you, inspired by you, I can say since day one of being on this show, you've helped me find my glow. Oh!
Oh man. Right back at you, brother.
And to know that you did all this work. By the way, she self-published this herself. Self-funded, self-published. She was up unboxing.
Thank you.
I love you so much. Listen everyone, I highly recommend this book. And if you want a copy of your own, you need to head over to booksbyglow.com because this is the first of a series. And if you're lucky enough to be in our audience today, you gonna shine because Glo is giving all of y'all a book to take home. Go pick up your copy of Glo: My Childhood in Two Worlds. And as always, everyone, I want you to keep talking, growing, and reading. I love you all, and I love you too, Gloria.
