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"Without frames that allow us to see how social problems impact all the members of a social group, many will fall through the cracks of our movements, left to suffer in virtual isolation. But it doesn't have to be this way."

-Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw

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The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED

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https://classism.org/about-class/what-about-race/

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Leadership for social justice means you have to reframe situations and shift your perspective in order to create a new normal. Historically, diversity has been viewed as a threat and a problem in American education. The US education system currently and has always existed in a way that thrives on homogeneity and rejects diversity. White, cis-gender, heterosexual men are privileged in the system, and that means that everyone else begins their journey on uneven ground. Horsford & Clark explain that students from diverse backgrounds shouldn’t be thought of as “objects of curiosity or compassion,” but rather viewed holistically as entire beings (p. 77). That perspective shift allows leaders to engage with students in a new and optimistic way. Horsford & Clark also conclude that leaders should “develop the tools, strategies, and dispositions that reject the notion that students of color are problems to be solved, and rather, view their engagement of racially literature and inclusive leadership practices as possible solutions” (p. 77).  A shifted perspective would also allow for leaders to “challenge what a school community accepts as normal” in order to “open up new possibilities” (Capper, Roriguez, & McKinney p. 190). A shifted perspective means that leaders can tackle seemingly impossible problems. They’re not impossible, but they just need to be tackled outside of the current framework.

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https://classism.org/about-class/what-about-race/

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Leadership for social justice has to be a collective and collaborative effort. General leadership models typically look like a pyramid-- lead from the top down. Gardner explains that real leadership isn’t power or “official authority” (p. 4-5) but rather a person who is able to “institutionalized their leadership” so that a system, which includes a leadership team, can work together to complete the complex tasks of leaderships (p. 12). Scanlan & Theoharis also discuss collective action for social justice and write about “deliberately creating networked social justice communities” whether they are formal or informal (p. 9). Leaders cannot be experts in everything and they have their own experience and biases to grapple with. Engaging the community, whether that’s teachers, parents, or students, and giving these groups meaningful power allows for a more intersectional vision to be built in order to service all who hold a stake in educational growth. Collective action can move mountains, and mountains need to be moved if the US education system is to provide equitable educational opportunities for all.

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Effective leadership for social justice also requires dismantling the structures of oppression that hold the US educational system up. Kelsey, Campuzano, & Lopez write that leaders surrounding education, both formal and informal, “need the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and analytical tools to disrupt cultural and political rhetoric that public schools are failing” (p. 97). The fear held by leaders of being critical and disruptive leaves historically marginalized students trapped in a system that is not built for them. Many leaders may themselves have benefited from privileges within the system that have allowed them to get to formal leadership positions. Acknowledging that privilege and being willing to give it up and work against it in the name of equity for all is an essential tool for leadership. Dismantling an oppressive system means getting uncomfortable. Cooper explains that “avoiding conflict and uncomfortable dialogue related to equity and diversity can also mean avoiding the social and educational growth of school community member and missing opportunities to help prepare children to thrive in a multicultural society where difference is the norm” (p. 189).  Being an effective leader means bearing that burden, and having the expertise to confidently tackle the conflict in the name of growth.

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Equality is everyone getting the same thing. Equity is everyone getting what they need. Liberation is removing the systematic barriers that create oppression in the first place.

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"Everyone person without our schools must be valued with regards to the fullness of all the characteristics and differences that that person exhibits.”
-Koschoreck & Slattery (p. 171)