A compilation of pictures from all of the conferences that the author attended in the past few months.
Check-In:
There is something about being in a room where everyone understands what you are saying. There is no need to define, filter, or explain. It is just understood.
In the past two months, I have presented at six different conferences in six different cities, in five different states:
ASCD Leadership Conference- Grapevine, TX
National Association of Diversity Officers in K12 Education- Alexandria, VA
Courageous Conversations Summit- Austin, TX
National Association of Multicultural Educators- Montgomery, AL
National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference- St. Louis, MO
National Association of Black School Educators Conference- New Orleans, LA
No matter the conference, the goal for me was to create a space for leaders of the global majority to connect. In each of those rooms, the music, the storytelling, and the conversation helped to cultivate that space.
As I reflect on each of these spaces, I have to think back to how all of this started. When I became an equity officer in 2018, it was the first job I had with no book, standards, or blueprint for how to do the role so I set out to start finding out what others were doing. After each conversation, I was so thankful to have connected and learned from someone else who was also trying to build liberated spaces. At the same time, I knew others were struggling, burning out, leaving voluntarily, and/or being pushed out. I couldn’t keep the collective roadmap that I was piecing together to myself. And now as I share the outcome of over 35 interviews, the connections are continuing and expanding.
At a time when there is such a desire and need for connection across cities, countries, and perspectives, I’m honored to have been a facilitator in all of it and look forward to what is next.
How are you creating connections?
#mondaymotivation: "Nobody's free until everybody's free." - Fannie Lou Hamer
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Shannon* is the equity director for a small-sized district in Wisconsin. She has been in the role for over two years. The comments below are Shannon’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.
Mary: What is work that you are proud of?
Shannon: What I'm proud of is when I first started here, it was eight men on our cabinet or council and one Black man. And now we've flipped it. And so, I personally recruited three Black women to come take on administrative roles. So, we went from eight men, seven white men, to now we have two white men. We have three Black women and one Latina woman and a new director of business services that's a woman as well.
Shannon: Representation matters, and it matters for all people, and it matters for our community, it matters for our kids, and it matters for me. I could not be in these white spaces without that team. That I hopefully help put together, but more importantly, that I hopefully helped support. That's one thing I'm proud of.
Shannon: I knew, this was not going to be sustainable for me personally or professionally if I stayed in these spaces. I also knew my own blind spots. And so, what these women allowed me to do is they checked me in a very professional, loving like, that isn’t going to work. That's not going to work.
Shannon: I really trying to flip the mindset. And we have four schools. And so, I intentionally went after people that would be in all four buildings.
Shannon: I recruited ones that I thought were best for kids. It also gave me some insight into what was happening in buildings, because as a director, you can't be everywhere, and you cannot move this work forward without some co-conspirators who will be able to deliver the message that you trust they'll deliver it in a way that you want to deliver without you always having to deliver it.
Shannon: A lot of hours, a lot of conversations, a lot of stuff outside of the eight to four workdays. A lot of evening hours. They know that they can call me at any time and vent and be their authentic selves because throughout the day, sometimes they can't be. And you must hold it together in that moment, so you don't lose it with said individual or said system or said structure. And then it was sitting down with them and talking about our vision for kids because there were things that we didn't get as kids that we felt we could give to the next generation.
Shannon: They're all brilliant. They are all more than qualified. They're kid first people. And that was what meant most to me.
Shannon: But people don't understand when you do this work and you're in this role, it never turns off because you can get a call at six in the morning from someone who's frustrated about what a staff member said or sometimes doesn't. I always say equity work is how you engage with people, and then the privilege you get to not engage.
*name changed
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: I just finished How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by
Safiya Sinclair. Sinclair is known as a poet and her skills comes through beautifully as she chronicles her experiences as the oldest of four children growing up in Montego Bay, Jamaica under the rule of a strict Rastafarian father. I listened to the audio read by Sinclair which I highly recommend.
WATCHING: Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi was one of the most impactful books I have ever read so I definitely had to watch the documentary Stamped from the Beginning. I love that the voices of the documentary are almost all Black women.
LISTENING TO: This episode of the podcast Missing Pages focuses on Book Banning Part I: The History of Banned Books.
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:
I will be doing a webinar with ThinkCERCA on December 13th at 11am CST. You can register here: https://info.thinkcerca.com/leading-liberation.
How to Continue to Support Leading-Within:
Go to Amazon and rate or review the book there! Reviews are a great way for others to see that this book is worth the time to read.
Post about the book on social media using the hashtag #leadingwithin. Even better if it includes a picture of you WITH the book!
Host a book club with your affinity/ERG group. Two study guides are also available on the ASCD website - one for leaders of color and one for white co-conspirators that are perfect for starting a group conversation. For book clubs with participants who have purchased and committed to reading the book, please reach out to me so I can support your journey!
Connect with me to speak to your organization or group about topics covered in the book, like ‘practicing love and rage’, ‘building a coalition’, and ‘taking a stand’.
If this is your first time reading, please go back and read my Introductions post.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. If you like it, please share it with your network!