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Welcome to Leading-Within Wednesdays. Once a month, I will share a little bit about one of the 10 competencies introduced in my book, Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of Color.
This month….
Practice Love and Rage
This competency has become a favorite of many and I think it’s because I think the idea of emotions and extreme emotions such as love and rage resonates particularly in the contact of tropes that many of us leaders of color experience.
I had the opportunity to be part of two conversations at SXSW EDU last week with colleagues that I have talked about this competency with on several occasions. For TaraShaun and myself being labeled the angry Black woman is real for us and we have each gone on our journeys to reclaim that trope and use it as a rallying cry for the change we are trying to see in our world. For Maurice, the conversation was about the importance and challenge of holding both of these emotions for ourselves and to use as a catalyst for change.
A reflection question for you to think about this competency:
How are you leveraging the range of your emotions as a catalyst for change?
More explanation of this competency, how to practice it, and additional reflection questions and resources are in Chapter 3. Two study guides are also available on the ASCD website - one for leaders of color and one for white co-conspirators.
See you next month, when I give a brief overview of Competency #4: Practice Self-Care
The two pictures are side by side. On the left, the author is standing in front of a SXSW EDU step-and-repeat with Dr. Maurice Swinney of Chicago Beyond. On the right, the author is standing in front of an SXSW EDU step-and-repeat with TaraShaun Cain of Surge Institute
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!