Propping the Door Open for Others – Mentoring While Black and Male: Developing the Gordon Paradigm of Mentorship of Leaders

• In Event: Mentoring Leaders of Color: Reimagining Preparation, Support, and Leadership Pathways

Abstract

The study explores the culturally rooted mentorship approach of Professor Edmund W. Gordon and theorizes a model of mentoring while Black and male. Drawing on firsthand interviews with Gordon and others, the model challenges race-neutral mentoring frameworks that exist within racialized social environments by centering Black intellectual traditions, relational ethics, and an intergenerational commitment to research. The Gordon Paradigm presents mentorship as a form of teaching that equips and inspires mentors and mentees alike. It affirms that mentorship is a transformative process of helping people find their unitary self in the context of community. In reclaiming these histories, we imagine futures where leadership development is rooted in liberatory practices with potential to reshape the present moment for more equitable possibilities.

Authors

• Phillip A Smith, Fordham University

• Wesley J Morris, Southern Vision Alliance