A picture of the author posing in front of the Dexter Avenue Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastor from 1954-1960. The Montgomery bus boycott was organized here on December 2, 1955.
Check-In:
I grew up in a religious household. Church on Wednesday and twice on Sunday level of religious. Christian school, VBS (vacation bible school), and summer camp level of religious. It was the foundation for everything.
However, there were cracks in this foundation from the beginning. Our church often preached color blindness. Jesus Loves the Little Children was a Sunday school staple but it didn’t align with the experience in my Christian school kindergarten classroom where all the Black kids were placed in the “C” reading group without a pre-assessment. The cracks continued as I learned how the institution of the church was associated with with so much oppression- slavery, segregated schools, etc. As I learned more history, church become more like every other institution in the United States.
But there are positives that have come from its midst. Just as a church was the birthplace of the Montgomery bus boycott, it has been the a source of support for many historical, life-changing social movements.
There’s an understandable call to dismantle our institutions and rebuild them anew. To stop tinkering around the edges of reform and actually create institutions that center those who have been historically minoritized.
Although there is hate masked in religion being spoken from pulpits North, South, East and West, the faith that was instilled in me as a little girl, has hope to find those who are creating this new path forward.
What institution(s) do you want to become better than it is today?
#mondaymotivation: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool.” ― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Carrie Bovill is an entrepreneurial program specialist in higher education. These comments are the personal reflections of Carrie and her experiences, they do not reflect the opinions of her employer.
Mary: Do you see any differences in being a black woman in K to 12 space versus in higher ed, if any?
Carrie: I don't really see differences. My sister, who's in K12, and I talk about our experiences as Black women in general from our different perspectives and they pretty much align.
Mary: Could you share a little bit about what you were experiencing and how you've navigated through them?
Carrie: I would say for higher ed, I think the biggest challenge that I've experienced is the anger black woman [trope]. I would say in my previous position that was something that I fought very hard against and that I wasn't that to people, but I found myself being the one who spoke up the most about the injustices that were happening.
Carrie: And then when you speak about it, it just goes over deaf ears or having incidents or issues happening between staff and the supervisors say, this seems like a “Carrie issue.”
Mary: And how do you respond to that in the moment as well as just in general?
Carrie: I've had really authentic conversations with supervisors and I kind of just take their reaction or the actions that they take as the lesson that I'm going to learn and it helps me decide my choices and what I'm going to do.
Carrie: I've learned that my job is not my life. I navigate it that way. You're going to give pieces of me, I'm going to do my job and that's all I'm going to give you.:
** **HELP! HELP! Please let me know if you would like to be interviewed and/or recommend someone to be profiled in this section. I need new interviews! ****
What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To:
READING: Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson is a young adult book about a young woman, Jade, who has been told the best way to succeed is to leave her neighborhood; however, now that she is attending a private school at the other side of town, the experience isn’t at idyllic as it has been portrayed. I appreciated the discussion around class within your race, managing microaggressions with friends, and what it all means to find your voice as a young adult. 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 deeply admire Shirley Chisholm and have loved Regina King since 227, so I couldn't resist watching the movie Shirley. This movie focuses on her historic run for president in 1972 so not her whole story but it is still a great way to see her memoir and biography come to life on screen.
LISTENING: I don’t proclaim to be a member of the BeyHive; nevertheless, I appreciate art that pushes boundaries so enjoying all that Cowboy Carter brings.
Exciting News:
Leading Within is now an online course!!! You can access it on the ASCD Witsby platform. If you want to keep learning, head over there to engage in deeper learning focused on the ten competencies.
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!