A red rubber duck with a crown is in opposition to a group of yellow rubber ducks. Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
Check-In:
Amanda and Christina are counseling psychologists and co-owners of the organization F.A.C.E. Race Consulting. I have learned a lot from the affinity, cross-racial, and individual conversations I have been a part of with them over the past few years. One impactful lesson I have learned is the concept of “multiple truths.”
Multiple truths is to embrace the idea that although someone else’s facts are contradictory to my facts doesn’t make them wrong and me right (although I want to be right)- there can be and will be truths in both sets of facts.
Multiple truths can be seen as an antidote to the white supremacy trait of either/or thinking. Either/or thinking shows up as positioning or presenting options or issues as either/or — good/bad, right/wrong, with us/against us.
As I reflect on the past year, I have seen either/or thinking play out in conversations about book bans, wars, AI, etc. One idea, group, or concept has to be either good or evil otherwise we do not know how to respond. When something is new or different, the general reaction is to restrict it and regulate it. This binary thinking creates division and I continue to see what Paul Friere said, “The oppressed becoming the oppressor”- all in the name of a single truth.
An antidote to “either/or thinking” is to avoid trying to assign a single cause to a problem or a challenge; acknowledge how oppressions intersect and reinforce each other as well as how oppression can operate at the interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels.
This antidote feels more accurate to what I’m seeing, hearing, and feeling. Isn’t everything just a bunch of gray and nuances? Personally, I’ve felt the need to support a friend while also challenging their assumptions. I have felt excitement and sadness in the same breath. I’ve enjoyed being part of a team while also exploring doing my own thing. I’ve pushed for clarity while also embracing messiness.
As we reflect on the events and experiences of 2023 and make plans for 2024, what opportunities are there to seek and embrace multiple truths?
#mondaymotivation: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” -Angela Davis
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Mekka was the chief of staff for a charter school network in Massachusetts. She was in the role for over two years. The comments below are Mekka’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.
Mary: What did you learn in the early years in your role?
Mekka: I found that the principals really wanted frameworks and guidance and they really want it to make the learning [about equity] concrete. If you think about the way that we teach teachers, how to diagnose student misunderstanding, you can go through these templates or these different activities. And I think people want it to kind of treat it like that.
Mekka: And people were not comfortable with just sitting in the mess.
Mary: What was your response to those folks that were saying, "Well, let's get to action?"
Mekka: I think I push back on the idea that reflecting was not action. So, I center us on the fact that the unsurfaced thing that happened in the conversation is action.
Mekka: The fact that we couldn't get the principal and the AP and the teacher in the same room talking about the same thing before. The fact that we didn't have principals admitting racism to their staff like that's new. It feels like you're just talking but that’s action.
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: My latest contribution to Larry Ferlazzo’s Education Week column What Teachers of Color Say They Need Most
WATCHING: Season Two of High on the Hog where Chef Stephen Satterfield continues his tour from Africa to Texas exploring Black food.
LISTENING TO: Book Banning Part II: The Current State of Banned Books of the podcast Missing Pages includes an interview with a parent, who seeks to explain why she wants more control over the stories her children are exposed to, a librarian and best-selling author Jodi Picoult, who has written many books that have been banned across the country.
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 for Leading-Within:
Leading-Within Wednesdays will return in January!
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!