Member Insights: Leadership for Education Equity in Trying Times

Leadership for Education Equity in Trying Times

By Dr. Kenita T. Williams, chief operating officer at the Southern Education Foundation

For many people of color and those of us working in education, this is an especially anxious time given the socio-political turmoil in our nation.

Consider that legislators in some states have passed laws to restrict K-12 classroom teaching on race and eliminate longstanding higher education programs that serve students of color and promote racial equity. In addition, billions of taxpayer dollars could soon begin to flow in the form of vouchers to private schools — potentially including some of the private schools in the South founded in the 1960s in response to desegregation.

These developments are happening even though race and ethnicity remains a strong predictor of academic success and the caliber of education many students receive.

How can those of us focused on racial equity in education and philanthropy, especially those ready to take a leadership role, make a greater impact and help guide the nation in the direction of justice?

We must focus more investments on developing, inspiring and influencing both younger and more experienced leaders in education and the pursuit of racial justice.

The struggle for greater freedom and opportunity is nothing new. After all, this year marks 70 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Still, the current political era demands that philanthropies look for additional ways to raise up more courageous leaders in education.

We need more leaders dedicated to improving the lives of the many students of color and those from low-income families still lacking the opportunities they deserve. We also need leaders who can communicate why racial equity matters and rally others to the cause.

Those of us in the Grantmakers for Education (EdFunders) community must challenge ourselves to find more ways to build, support, and expand research-based leadership programs focused on racial equity in education.

Our two main leadership programs at the Southern Education Foundation (SEF)  — fellowships for young and developing leaders and more experienced education leaders — focus on racial equity and  carry on SEF’s tradition of developing leaders in education that dates back more than a century. We provided W.E.B. DuBois with his first academic fellowship, and Booker T. Washington once served on our board. Many of us in the community have benefited from similar programs during our careers.

In the same way, Grantmakers for Education and other philanthropy-serving organizations are providing leaders with opportunities to learn about the history and persistence of racial inequities in our country could not be more urgent. We must understand these challenges more completely to strengthen our capacity to make racial equity the central focus of our work.

To that end, EdFunders’ members, including board members, in July visited The Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama, including the National Memorial for Peace and Justice dedicated to the victims of racial lynchings in America. Spending time at the Montgomery memorial, museum, and sculpture park was a deeply moving experience that helped us reckon with this history in our own ways.

This is our history, and it’s profoundly connected to our work today. It challenges all of us to make underserved and marginalized communities the heart of our work.

EdFunders' and SEF’s leadership programs foster an “equity posture” for leaders in our field. What does this mean for such an equity mindset require of us as leaders?

Some lessons we’ve learned through our leadership work at SEF: First, that leaders who develop an equity posture understand that our own leadership is the first critical lever for transformation and change. Equity-focused leaders should also have what we call the three Cs:

• Comprehension: A clear, astute understanding that equity-focused leadership is required to change students’ experiences for the better. It’s our responsibility to push for equity and enact change. For leaders in schools and school districts, we challenge them to move beyond instructional leadership and recognizes that equity leadership is both different and intentional.
• Commitment: We must understand this work comes with risks. It can be difficult and arduous, often requiring great patience and vision. Equity-focused leaders persevere through discomfort and ensure meaningful conversations and change for issues of race and additional topics based on your own context, leading to change.
• Competency: Even when we’re fully committed to ensuring students have more equitable opportunities, leaders committed to racial equity must continually seek out resources and opportunities to build our knowledge and professional capacity to remedy racial inequities in education. We ask which students aren’t served well — and why. We then adapt best practices to help meet all students’ needs.

Building an equity posture requires strong communication skills, dedication, and skill — and our willingness, development, and dedication to carry out necessary change. It also requires us to communicate our goals so that people in our professional networks understand and support the need for change — and to realize our leadership is worth following.

Ensuring that students are ultimately served better — far better — than many are today, despite the difficulties and setbacks, absolutely demands it. This has been true throughout our country’s history, and it’s especially true right now.

About Member Insights

This article represents the opinion of the author; it is not intended to represent the views of Grantmakers for Education or its employees.

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