Anti-Racist Educational Leadership In Times of Crisis

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored anti-racist educational leadership during a time of crisis, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic and our nation’s recent racial reckoning, within a Massachusetts school district. The study used Critical Race Theory as its theoretical framework and Community Cultural Wealth as its conceptual framework. This study examined the experiences and perceptions of Black educational leaders and the associated outcomes of leveraging community cultural wealth for communities of color. Data were collected through interviews, a focus group, a survey, and a review of documents. Findings revealed an experience of racism for Black educational leaders consistent with research that asserts that Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) leaders face racist challenges (Frank et al, 2019). Findings also present the perception of an opportunity in this historical moment for anti-racist work at the individual and system levels through increased attention to racism across the country, specifically anti-Blackness. Black educational leadership in the district experienced a decrease in daily microaggressions. In pursuit of anti-racist work, Black educational leaders leveraged social and resistant capital to sustain them in the field.