Leading while Black in Crisis: Unforgetting Histories and Envisioning Culturally Responsive Futures in P-12 Education

• In Event: Student-Focused Leadership for Equity and Justice

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the culturally responsive leadership practices of African American P-12 school and district leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on interviews with leaders across a U.S. southern state, the study explores how they navigated racialized disparities, fostered community solidarity, and responded to crisis with creativity and care. Framed by Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL), the findings highlight how these leaders enacted traditions of Black educational advocacy. Their work not only addressed immediate needs but also modeled future-facing leadership grounded in historical resilience. This study contributes to the unforgetting of leadership histories and offers a vision for more equitable educational futures.

Authors

• Jennifer R. Esposito, Georgia State University

• Dionne Cowan, Georgia State University