Radical Imagination in Action: Black Feminist Pedagogy, Podcasting, and Humanizing Leadership in an EdD Program

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  In Roundtable Session: Building from our Histories and Transforming Future Methodologies and Pedagogies in EdD programs

Abstract

Paper Description
Six months into Trump’s return to power, we find ourselves confronting an increasingly aggressive assault on higher education. Stark political polarization, the dismantling of programs and research designed to redress historical wrongs, and the violent rejection of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives have grown alarmingly widespread. At our institution this broader crisis is compounded by the pervasive and corrosive fog of anti-Black racism. As Beverly Daniel Tatum (2003) reminds us, racism is sometimes “so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and day out, we are breathing it in” (p. 6). This violence runs counter to the values of our Lasallian tradition, which emphasizes inclusion, respect for the individual, service, and social justice. In response, we find ourselves oscillating between righteous rage and a deep sense of deflation.

Higher education pedagogies are often void of deep human connection and collective visioning, an affront to liberatory and communal learning (Budhai & Hill, 2024; hooks, 1994). And yet, as Ruha Benjamin (2024) reminds us, in these contentious socio-political times, imagination is a “field of struggle, not an ephemeral afterthought that we have the luxury to dismiss or romanticize” (p. 8). This paper contends with that struggle, exploring how Black feminist pedagogy (Joseph, 1995) shaped a transformative educational approach to preparing EdD students for justice-centered leadership and research. Specifically, we employ scholarly self-narrative to highlight podcasting as a creative, self-reflexive tool. This tool pushed us—individually and collectively—toward critical self-awareness and speculative possibility, reclaiming imagination as a vital practice in re-envisioning leadership and higher education praxis.

The paper begins with the faculty member’s reflection on three Black feminist principles that have guided her twenty years in education: a politicized ethic of care (Beauboeuf Lafontant, 2002; Lane, 2018); radical imagination (Benjamin, 2024); and the catalytic power of vulnerability in the learning process. These commitments informed the design of the mini-podcasting exercise within the Humanizing Leadership Praxis course, part of a reimagined Ed.D. in Leadership program rooted in equity-driven change. Our faculty situates this exercise within a broader lineage of Black women educators who have labored, often invisibly, to carve out subversive spaces in higher education where mutual risk-taking and collective growth flourish.

The heart of this chapter centers the voices of Ed.D. in Leadership for Equity and Social Change students, who co-author this work and offer layered, reflective insights into their growth as justice-driven leaders across sectors. While their testimonies span the course experience, the podcasting project became a focal point—underscoring the potential of relational learning (and ‘practicing what we teach’) to seed revolutionary leadership in everyday practice.

Together, we issue an urgent call to reimagine doctoral education in ways that affirm students’ revolutionary potential. Grounded in practical strategies and ideological commitments, we offer four Pillars of Liberatory Leadership as a subversive blueprint for resisting institutional apathy and (re)shaping Ed.D. programs toward liberatory change.

Authors

• Monique Lane, Saint Mary's College of California

• Scott Drain, De La Salle High School

• Kenneth Farr, Salesian College Preparatory

• Candace Jones, Saint Mary's College of California

• Omar Sanchez, Saint Mary's College of California