Issue 65: Eugenics
Noun. The practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations to improve the populations' genetic composition
Check-In:
The Bell Curve was published during my last year of high school. I remember seeing a friend’s father carrying it. He was also a teacher at our school, so I asked him, “Why are you reading that?” By this time, I had endured four years of being the only Black person in my school, so I had adjusted to the weight of being the “representative of my race” and had long lost the fear of speaking up when necessary. My friend’s father responded that he was curious about the theory presented in the book. I can’t remember my response to his response. Maybe 18-year-old Mary was not ready to reckon with any answers to follow-up questions.
Seeing that thick book carefully cradled under the arm of an educator was an exemplar of my K-12 education. So many people talk about the teacher who believed in them and encouraged them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that person. I thank Ms. McCreath, my AP American History teacher, for introducing me to authors like Zora Neale Hurston, but that’s about it. Instead, I describe my K12 education as a series of proving the adults wrong. I excelled beyond what was assumed based on my race and gender. It often felt like a daily debunking of the theory laid out in that book was my goal in school.
Eugenics was the foundation of the US education system, and “intelligence” tests such as the IQ and SAT were created to help perpetuate the ideals that education was only for a select few. (NOTE: Read Original Sins by Eve E. Ewing for more background on this statement). Every few decades, a new iteration of these theories rears its head again. We are in that time again.
I spent my October in the Atlanta area of GA, Jackson, MS, and Nashville, TN. -school systems built on the belief of the inferiority of the Black and Brown mind. In Nashville, we watched the documentary By Design: The Shaping of Nashville’s Public Schools, which tells a familiar story of the segregation and integration of the city’s schools. These districts are now predominantly led by Black leaders, but I wonder about the residue left over. The look of the leaders may change, but how do we ensure reimagined systems combat the original systems built to teach assimilation to “white American ideals” and keep Black and Brown students on the margins?
How are you ensuring students in your care are excelling because you believe in them, not despite your disbelief?
#mondaymotivation: How does it feel to be a problem? -W.E.B. DuBois
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Owen* was the Senior Director of Equity Programming & Design for a national CMO for over two years. The comments below are Owen’s and do not reflect the opinions of his school system.. His first excerpt was in Issue #20: Teacher.
Mary: You’ve worked deeply within schools and districts. What helped you build the confidence and perspective you bring to your current leadership role?
Owen: “I spent many years in my role as a school leader and as a school leader manager participating in professional development on communication, instructional coaching, stakeholder management, personal motivation, leadership coaching, mentorship, and understanding the purpose of schools. This was all before I began to explore the socio-political nature of schools and the monolithic archetype of school leadership that was anchored in a deficit-oriented expectation for Black and Brown students.”
Mary: What do you believe the larger education system needs to do differently to truly support leaders like you?
Owen: “I need the role of Sr (I’m abandoning the title ‘Chief’) not to be seen as the equity police, or an HR role. This role is intended to help an org strategically define the problem it’s trying to solve related to DEI or Racial justice and then be the point-person for promoting ownership, alignment, and commitment for all of the org employees.”
Mary: How have you seen collective leadership make a difference in creating more equitable systems?
Owen: “We began as a collective dedicated to exploring our own positionality in leadership and to identifying and dismantling inequitable practices that were leading to the exiting of other leaders of Color. Through their efforts, and my tapping into the power of the collective, my position was created, and my responsibilities evolved to be centered around equitable leadership mindsets that lead to liberating learning experiences for students, teachers, and leaders.”
Please let me know if you would like to be interviewed and/or if you would recommend someone to be profiled in this section. I need new interviews!
What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To:
READING: Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children by Noliwe Rooks gives the background and insights into the Nashville documentary I saw and the story I’m gathering about my own parents’ school experience before and after Brown.
LISTENING TO: Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship
by Dana A. Williams. This book discusses Morrison’s remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors. You can hear more from the author on this episode of the podcast, The Stacks.
WATCHING: Abbot Elementary is back with Season 5, and their Halloween episodes continue to be my favorites.
Get Ready!
There was a lot of back and forth, but I will be sharing the title and official synopsis of my next book later this week!
I’m collecting blurbs from people in the education field that I admire- NOTE: Emailing a well-known figure to ask them to read and make a public statement on your book is very, very nerve-wracking, but I’m incredibly thankful to everyone who has said yes.
We are starting to work on book covers.
Publication date TBD, but aiming for late spring 2026.
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!