Some Next Steps for Leaders Who Want to Be Equity Champions in Education

How do we stay confident in our struggle to be consistent upstanders for equity in the anti-DEI era? I struggled to answer that question for the last 15 years. I thought I would find the answer in some academic scholarship despite the fact that the scholarship tends to idolize reason. But it wasn't until this year that I realized that faith in the supernatural force of God, the treatment of Love as a core value, the time to study the common dilemmas that make it hard for people to be organizers and upstanders for equity, the promotion of concrete core values for equity, the recognition of committees to be an effective evidence-based strategy for equity, the purposeful setting of intentions to pray every day, the blessing of being surrounded by colleagues who are not ashamed to share that they're trying to be bservant leaders because of their desire for God’s glory, the constant stories that show how leaders can be upstanders even when there is resistance, the existence of wildly important equity goals for the entire organization, and the existence of mindfulness coaches are all helpful parts of the puzzle. Leaders and equity officials should advocate for these factors to exist in schools because they can help equity upstanders overcome cultural fragility (or the sense of shame and social anxiety that arises when faith in your core values are tested). Zaretta Hammond’s work and the sociological work on social change stand out as helpful places for people who want to create professional learn clubs at schools.

God is good.