In Conversation

Leadership, Literacy, and the Power to Flourish

InflexionPoint Podcast | Anita D. Russell and Gail Hunter

What would we have to believe about Black children to build schools where they truly flourish?

I joined Anita D. Russell and Gail Hunter to explore faith, worldview, educational leadership, and liberation.

We discussed the experiences shaping my life's work and the Black Literacy Oasis™, my framework for cultivating the conditions necessary for Black literacy to flourish.

Our children can, if adults will.

In this conversation, I discuss calling, purpose, fulfillment, leadership, and the role faith plays in helping us understand why we are here. We explore the difference between talent and purpose, what it means to ask God to "use me," and how fulfillment is found when our gifts align with God's intentions for our lives.

Listen On:

Podcast Site Link: https://kingdom-grace-podcasts.captivate.fm/

What happens when belonging requires Black people to split themselves apart?

In this conversation, I joined Education in Context to explore W.E.B. Du Bois' concept of double consciousness and the pressure many Black people experience to shrink, soften, or fragment themselves in order to be accepted. Together, we discussed professional identity, Black educational leadership, authenticity, collectivism, and what it means to show up fully in spaces that were not always designed with us in mind. 

One idea from the conversation continues to stay with me:

"You need to be seen living."
 

For Black educators, students, and leaders, our presence matters. Not because we are perfect, but because choosing to show up whole gives others permission to do the same.

• Double Consciousness 
• Black Educational Leadership 
• Identity & Belonging 
• Afrocollectivism 
• Authenticity in Professional Spaces 
• Literacy, Culture, and Liberation 
• Showing Up Whole