Repairing Harm: Restoring the Spirit of Ubuntu and the Principle of Sankofa

• In Event: Ancestral Futures: Sankofa, Afrofuturism, and Black Educational Imagination

Abstract

This paper explores the reintegration of Ubuntu, an African philosophy centered on interconnectedness and communal responsibility, into educational leadership discourse. Through a systematic literature review guided by Newman and Gough (2020) and informed by Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, van Dijk, Wodak), the research examines how Western, individualistic ideologies and hegemonic power structures have disrupted Ubuntu’s influence in education. It investigates the epistemological tension between Western frameworks and African collectivist traditions, emphasizing the urgency of a paradigm shift. By re-centering Ubuntu and Sankofa, this study proposes a transformative framework that restores justice, equity, and humanity in educational leadership. The findings aim to advance theory, inform practice, and foster leadership grounded in relational accountability, communal healing, and the collective joy of shared humanity.

Author

• Shannon Renee Waite, Howard University