Two pictures are lined up side by side to show similarities. The picture on the left is a close-up of the writer’s daughter smiling. The picture on the right is a close-up of the writer’s son smiling. They both have their nose scrunched up, their eyes smiling and their mouths are open showing their few new teeth. Pictures taken by the writer.
Check-In:
I come from strong genes. My face is the same as my mother’s which is the same as her mother’s which is the same face as my son’s and daughter’s. I say that my kids are twins born 8 years apart (see photo). Each generation adds something a little different to the features but overall the foundation is constant and unwavering.
Sameness can be comforting. I’m pretty certain if I had a 3rd child, I already know what their face would look like. Sameness can also be cost-saving. New fashion trends are just old fashion trends repackaged (welcome back 90s!). But when sameness results in the same types of people being oppressed generation after generation, comfort quickly turns to frustration.
I was reminded of this sameness this past week when I discussed James Baldwin’s 1964 Talk to Teachers. Whenever I share it, folks voice how it reads like it was written yesterday. The sameness is what I feel every Black History Month when I see the same companies who decimated their DEI offices and programs but want you to buy their products to commemorate the month. I feel sameness when I see leaders of color rise to the highest level of leadership during times of crisis and then be let go because of a dearth of philanthropic funding.
At the end of 2023, I listened to When Crack Was King by Donovan X. Ramsey. I’m currently listening to the 10-year anniversary version of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Both of these authors expertly discuss how our government systems relied on the sameness of white supremacy and capitalism to ensure Black and Brown were systemically minoritized.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
How do you embrace the beauty in sameness while leading the change?
#mondaymotivation: “In America, it is traditional to destroy the Black body- it is heritage.” -Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Tauheddah was the Chief Equity Officer for a large district in Georgia for over 4 years. The comments below are Tauheedah’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.
Mary: What have you learned since taking on the role?
Tauheedah: What I've learned in this role, is that this is lifetime work. Martin Luther King said that we're not going to see change in our lifetime, but we must get up every day and work as if we will.
Tauheedah: And it requires that the organization is truly able to do real equity work and not performative equity. I was always reticent about chief equity roles because people tend to throw chief equity, equity roles, or divisions or creating equity departments around so they'd have a dash of equity salt and stuff.
Tauheedah: So, for me, I'm like, is this sprinkled equity salt or is this like equity is the table? Equity should be the table that everything is presented on, not the dash of salt you sprinkle just to appease people and say you did equity.
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:
READING: I started 2024 strong with 6 books read/listened to in January!!! If you’re a Roxane Gay fan, I suggest reading her latest collection, Opinions. As someone who has lots of opinions herself, this book is a masterclass in how to share them without sounding preachy or condescending. I enjoyed listening to Erasure by Percival Everett. Similar to the movie, American Fiction but also very different. An enjoyable commentary on how art and people are impacted by institutions and society. A final recommendation of Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson. A middle school-level book that is a snapshot of time in 1970s Bushwick Brooklyn. Appreciate Woodson’s ability to weave together history, social commentary, and the day-to-day challenges of being a kid growing up all in an easy short package. 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.
WATCHING: I was a guest on Dr. Sheldon Eakin’s Leading Equity podcast. You can watch the YouTube video where we talk a lot about being the only or one of few leaders of color within a white space and the tough decisions we have to make within that space. You can also listen to the full episode.
LISTENING: I was on the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health podcast, “Into the Fold” alongside my friend Dr. Angela Ward in connection to a National Day of Racial Healing event we co-hosted with the Austin Justice Coalition. You can listen to the episode or read the accompanying blog post.
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!
Beautiful!