Antiracist Change: School Leaders Navigating Individual Resistance During Institutional Change

• In Event: Cases of Antiracism and Liberation in Educational Leadership

Abstract

This paper explores Soleil Elementary School’s journey with antiracist professional development, focusing on the complexities faced by the school leaders in balancing individual educators’ development with urgent institutional change. The study, rooted in critical whiteness studies and abolitionist education frameworks, draws upon interview data and document analysis at Soleil. Findings highlight the challenges associated with navigating racial affinity groups and transforming disciplinary practices. The school embraces an abolitionist approach, while making acknowledged and unacknowledged mistakes along the way. Ultimately, the case study emphasizes the need for schools to carefully manage urgency, discomfort, and resistance in the pursuit of racially equitable educational practices.

Author

• Abby C. Emerson, Touro University