Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the National Teachers Institute, an intimate 3-day event organized by The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) with a focus on supporting teachers and administrators who primarily work with Black students. Early in my journey of facilitating racial healing, I discovered that it is most impactful to address any diversity-related topic with a colleague who brings additional diversity to the presentation team. However, in this instance, I was asked by Dr. Patricia Ackerman, a Past-President of NABSE, to present alone, while my mentor/partner, Dr. Portia Hunt, would simultaneously cover a related subject, so that all participants may partake in our presentations.
Dr. Ackerman asked me to lead a workshop on Cross Cultural Communication. I struggled deeply with this task, considering the racial and gender composition of the audience and questioning what knowledge I could impart to this group who had to excel in their communication skills to reach the level of success they had attained in their professional lives.
I ended up getting positive feedback from both the participants and the staff who assisted with my presentation, and I want to share what I learned from the experience.
Recognize Race Matters: One of my initial actions was to acknowledge the elephant in the room, that a White man is addressing a group of predominantly Black women educators. Unaddressed, the historical and present day implications of this dynamic could likely hinder productive activity or even cause harm. Naming what is true opens opportunities for growth.
Acknowledge the Wisdom: The audience was comprised of bright, strong, resilient people. This became abundantly clear as the workshops progressed and participants shared their struggles as well as ways they survive and thrive. Essentially, I facilitated a space in which teachers were able to teach and support each other.
Recognize Your Contributions: Entering a room with sufficient content to fill my allotted time could have been perceived as dismissive and perpetuating racial trauma. However, as we were summarizing what had been shared collectively, I was able to bring up ideas that had been implied but not explicitly stated. In this way, I introduced concepts such as "cultural humility" and "spectrum of allies" and these additions were well-received.
Public education and educators have been under attack for some time. What I appreciated most about this Institute was that in recognition of this cultural shift, NABSE shifted the focus from "learning about pedagogical concepts" to "looking within, building community, and healing" or as they succinctly put it "Reflect! Relate! Rejuventate!" I welcome your thoughts on how this model may be appiled to other demographics within education and related fields.
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