A photo montage of the author during her trip to Greece and after completing the Chicago marathon.
Check-In:
Amidst all that is happening in the world and in my own backyard, I was not sure if I wanted to talk about abundance. I was afraid I would appear disconnected but when I thought about it - I see it all connected. It is the search and yearning for certain types of abundance that pushes people to lose their humanity. A different type of abundance is needed.
I remember the first time I read Heavy by Kiese Laymon. What struck me the most were the scenes with his teachers and school personnel. He and his friends had to make intentional efforts to create as they often said, “Black abundance.” For Kiese and his childhood friends, Black abundance was generating joy, excellence, and opportunity amongst themselves because the adults in their school were not giving it to them. Laymon has called “Black abundance”—not a destination but a process of becoming, of astounding society's low expectations for Black men and women with unimpeachable excellence.
In the past month, I have experienced Black abundance. I spent a week in Athens and Santorini, Greece celebrating ten years of marriage of friends of the family. A vacation with just my sister and I.
I ran the Chicago marathon. I got to experience it with my niece who was running her first marathon along with her fiancee with our family members cheering us on. The crowds made me feel like a rockstar and I enjoyed every mile.
I also got to help generate abundance for others. I did several book talks and workshops expanding the community of leaders of the global majority and supporting their leadership development.
Abundance because it was always in community. Abundance because each experience exceeded expectations. Abundance because there were those who thought I couldn’t but I did.
Our past and current history shows that there will be efforts to take this abundance away but I embrace it now and hold on.
What abundance are you creating?
#mondaymotivation: I will accept that black children are all worthy of the most abundant, patient, responsible kind of love and liberation this world has ever created. And we are worthy of sharing the most abundant, patient, responsible kind of love and liberation with every vulnerable child on this planet. -Kiese Laymon, Heavy
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Patty is the Equity and Excellence Coordinator for a medium-sized district in California. She has been in the role for over three years. The comments below are Patty’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.
Mary: Do you have access to the superintendent?
Patty: Yes. I do. And I know there's support there, but it's the...
Patty: I think the challenges come out of microaggressions and aggression aggressions. I shouldn't have to go speak with her to address something that you would think shouldn't even be happening.
Patty: There are folks not agreeing, or I would just say questioning, questioning the path that I had laid out, questioning the authors that I wanted to use, questioning my expertise even though I have the experience, etc.
Mary: What does that sound like for you? Are you at a place where you feel like when it happens, you call it out right away, or do you wait, and what's your kind of process for managing those?
Patty: I'm getting better with that and trying to call that out
Patty: Subtly bringing it back up. “You said “x”, and that means, “y”
Patty: Trying to be better at calling out on the spot and not coming back around to it.
You can read more from Patty in “Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of Color”. Let me know if you would like to be interviewed and/or recommend someone to be profiled in this section.
What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To:
I’ve combined the “What I’m Reading” section with the “Resources” section and created the “What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening to” section:
READING: Roxane Gay’s latest Audacity Roundup includes suggested reading about Palestine and Israel. An overview of some of the history of the war and another overview.
MORE READING: The latest issue of Rethinking Schools is focused on “Asian Americans and Educational Justice.” There are articles that explore the Affirmative Action decision, Asian American history, and other topics from being undocumented teachers to LGBTQIA+ rights and the climate crisis.
WATCHING: I ended my Banned Books week rewatching Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Netflix. The documentary includes those who knew Morrison as well as interviews of the late author Toni Morrison exploring the ways her work reflects themes of race and American history.
LISTENING TO: The first four episodes of Grapevine have dropped. It was especially interesting listening to them while I was visiting Grapevine, TX for the ASCD Leadership Conference.
You can find a full list of my book recommendations here. Please note that I am an affiliate with Bookshop.org and receive a small compensation for your purchase when you use the book links provided.
Upcoming Events:
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