A Team of Heavy Hitters: Foregrounding Black Community Leadership to Disrupt Anti-Blackness in Educational Systems

Abstract

The normativity of anti-Black racism in educational system has led to increasing efforts to disrupt the endemic status quo. Anti-Black racism in educational institutions is racial violence that does not merely disregard the lives of Black youth, guardians, community organizations, and school staff rather their lives are “not even considered”. Scholars suggests reimagining learning space with the Black Community may hold potential to disrupt anti-Blackness. However, there is scant literature that investigates Black community leadership strategies to disrupt anti-Blackness in educational systems. Drawing on the combined theoretical frameworks of Wake Work and Culturally Sustaining Leadership this study analyzes the shared leadership of predominately Black youth, youth workers, community members, and school staff as they disrupt and resist anti-Blackness. Findings illuminate a shared leadership framework that foregrounds Blackened knowledge, shared leadership processes, and caring outcomes that can better serve Black people in educational systems. There is scant literature examining how predominately Black youth, youth workers, school staff engage in shared leadership which provide valuable insights to research and practice to better disrupt anti-Blackness.