Issue 48: Multiracial
Adjective. Made up of or relating to people of several racial or ethnic groups.
Picture Description: The EdLoc National Convening nametag is hanging around the author’s neck. A button attached says “Black Woman Leader” and on the tag itself, it says “2024. Mary Rice-Boothe. The Leadership Academy. EdLoc Member. Preparing for the Marathon.”
Check-In:
Welcome to the family reunion also known as the Education Leaders of Color (EdLoc) National Convening. I loved seeing so many people that I have had the privilege of working with, admire and respect come together in Baltimore, MD and a time was had.
The mission of EdLoc is to catalyze the academic and economic advancement of young people of color by harnessing the power of our multi-racial, multi-sector, and values-aligned membership network. The theme of the convening this year was “Preparing for the Marathon: Sustaining Multiracial Coalitions in a Fragile Democracy.”
The challenges and beauty of a “multiracial” coalition came through from start to end!
In the opening panel, Charles Blow proposed for Black people to return to the South in a Reverse Migration. Blow was unapologetic that his proposal was for Black people. He also shared his disappointment in multiracial coalitions because their success often rests on the backs of their Black members. He lifted Atlanta, GA as a model for Black power. However, as an audience member lifted up in her question to Blow- Atlanta has its challenges with displays of Talented 10th behavior and exemplifying the phrase “all skinfolk aren’t kinfolk.”
The panel the next day that focused on Latinx representation in the media felt like a continued conversation when audience members challenged panelists to discuss how colorism and anti-Blackness are barriers to the Latinx community being in community with each other and with Black people.
The final panel was a podcast recording of Say More with Tulaine Montgomery and Lisette Nieves where they discussed what it means to create what New Profit calls the MIC: Multiracial, Intergenerational, Cross-Functional coalition.
History tells us that multiracial coalitions lead to systems change but it’s not easy. Towards the end of his life, MLK spoke to the challenges of building and sustaining coalitions during the Civil Rights Movement and he had Ella Baker (the blueprint maker of movements!!) by his side.
A coalition must give room and space for conflict and grief. We cannot be asking each other to devoid ourselves of our identities and lose ourselves in “unity.” We must individually recognize what we bring to the table be it colorism, anti-Blackness, or other characteristics of white dominant culture.
Connection with purpose and love is hard and as LaTisha Vaughn, Co-Founder of E3 Education, Empower, Elevate Foundation stated in a workshop, coalitions can only “move at the speed of trust.” However, this is what I believe is the beauty of an organization such as Edloc. If we can’t have push-and-pull conversations in a space void of the white gaze, where can we?
That said, I’m thankful to have attended and to be a member of this community. My mind, body, and soul were fed. I’m ready for what’s ahead, knowing I’m not doing it alone.
How are you connecting with others to be ready for the challenges that lay ahead of you?
#mondaymotivation: “Become a dedicated student of your own joy.” -Tulaine Montgomery, CEO, New Profit
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Benny Vásquez is the Chief Equity Officer at KIPP Foundation. He has been in the role for over six years. The comments below are Benny’s and do not reflect the opinions of his school system. Another excerpt of Benny’s Interview is available in Issue 22-Joy & Pain
Mary: I'm in Texas now and I'm having a very interesting conversation with our Latinx school and district leaders here not wanting to engage in the conversations about race because they feel like it doesn't include them. They believe the conversation should be about looking at socioeconomic status. How would you respond to them?
Benny: That question is such a trigger for me. I think one of the ways that I am trying to think about interacting with folks like that is by naming anti-blackness.
Benny: There's a connection for me around folks not wanting to engage in this conversation and wanting it to focus on socioeconomic status. That's saying, “I don't want to focus on Black folks.”
Benny: And there'll be a lot of folks who say, "What are you talking about? Like, I'm not that." But if you, as someone who's Latinx don't understand that the more that we fight for Black liberation, including those Latinos who are Black, that liberation also includes socio-economic liberation.
Benny: And so there's no way that we could talk about social economic status without talking about race. Capitalism is grounded and was formed on the backs of enslaved Africans. So if you want to talk about socio-economic status, let's start there.
Benny: And let's start with the fact that socio-economic status is also a path to citizenship. It's a path to immigration policy. And a lot of immigration policies are anti-brown and anti-black. And so, we can't separate the two.
Benny: If we separate the two, what we are doing is supporting white supremacy in a way that gets us to not talk about blackness.
Benny: Which is exactly what we're supposed to be doing. That's part of the plan. We're not supposed to be engaging in coalition with Black folks. We're not.
Benny: And so that further division is what causes there to be so much tension sometimes around this organizing work between Latinx and Black folks.
You can read more from Benny in “Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of Color”. 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: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour is characterized as satire. It’s a dark comedy and a commentary on being Black in the American workforce. Buck, who is the main character and narrator of the story captivated me from page one. What a rollercoaster of a story with many unexpected turns. 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.
LISTENING TO: Imani Perry is one of my favorite writers and she was a recent guest on the podcast, Reckon True Stories. She dropped many, many gems but one of my favorites was “One of the things that I think is good for most writers, and certainly good for me, is when things don’t go according to plan. Because when things don’t go according to plan, then you are oriented toward problem-solving and emotional intensity and seriousness. And then that’s when you actually can get to something like art.”
WATCHING: I miss the Summer Olympics very much so I decided to watch Simone Biles Rising It’s just the first 2 episodes available now but I learned some new things about Simone and appreciated the background and history of gymnastics in the US and what it means to do this sport as a young Black woman.
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!