Culturally Responsive School Leadership: A Remedy for Communities of Color

• In Event: After the Locusts: Just Education Renewal for Black Communities After Racial-Capitalist Predation and State Dissolution

Abstract

In the current political context, communities of color are facing deliberate and targeted efforts to disenfranchise and marginalize with the aim to limit and restrict participation in the democratic process. The persistent menace of voter suppression, anti-black sentiment, and revisionist history perpetuates the enduring anguish and suffering experienced by these communities. Santiago-Rivera, A. L., Adames, H. Y., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., & Benson-Flórez, G. (2016) contend that “historical and institutional racism has had a negative impact on people of color, leading to detrimental consequences for their communities” and will continue in the future (p. 229).

Educational inequities continue to widen with communities of color caused by laws, pedagogies, practices, and policies causing harm, trauma, distrust, and loss. It is imperative for communities of color to engage with a leadership model that can effectively address and rectify the long-standing harms caused by racism and discrimination. This model can play a pivotal part and functions as a viable solution in the process of restoring and repairing prioritizing advocacy and activism for community empowerment.

In 2016, Khalifa, Gooden, and Davis developed a practical approach to leadership behaviors aimed at challenging and eliminating racist policies, oppressive leadership practices, and addressing educational inequalities. Identified as Culturally Responsive School Leadership, this framework consists of four domains:

1. Critically Self-Reflects on Leadership Behaviors

2. Develops Culturally Responsive Teachers and Staff

3. Promotes Culturally Responsive/ Inclusive School Environment

4. Engages Students, Parents, and Indigenous Contexts

This proposal proposes recommending Culturally Responsive School Leadership as a remedy to effectively addresses the needs of students from communities of color who have been negatively impacted by institutional racism and poverty. As a leadership model, it can address and repair the following:

• Unfair policies and practices

• Indifference and despair

• Restoring public trust and assurance in the community

• Evaluating practices, policies, regulations, and pedagogies to identify and address disparities, challenges, and concerns offering solutions

• Rebuilding the faith and trust of communities of color in scholars and practitioners by employing culturally responsive leadership approaches

Embracing Culturally Responsive School Leadership model principles, attitudes, and practices can help facilitate the process of healing, repair, and restoration in communities of color. This leadership model is culturally responsive to communities of color and will play a crucial role as a remedy in establishing organizations that prioritize social justice and combatting oppression.

Author

• James A Hearn, Wayne State University