Negotiating the Politics of Antiracist Leadership: The Challenges of Leading Under the Predominance of Whiteness

Abstract

School leaders will undoubtedly confront complex racial politics in their school communities, and therefore need a leadership orientation and practice that more explicitly focuses on antiracism than those shaped by general frameworks associated with equity and social justice. This is particularly important for leaders and leadership programs nested within an urban context where a majority of students in schools are of color and the majority of teachers and leaders are White. As such, the articles presented in this special issue highlight the complexities and possibilities associated with antiracist leadership and antiracist leadership preparation. Furthermore, even leaders who are antiracist in their ideologies and practice can be challenged by stakeholders seeking to uphold whiteness and maintain the racial status quo. The ideology of whiteness works to protect White-centric power structures and perpetuate racial inequities, and so school leaders must have a strong antiracist resolve to undo the inequitable influence of whiteness. Therefore, the articles in this special issue also highlight the work of scholars who use an antiracist epistemology to destabilize the political reality of whiteness in leadership and leadership preparation. Finally, this special issue concludes with a commentary from a practitioner’s personal experiences doing antiracist work, as well as a book review that reflects the topics addressed in this special issue.

Barriers to Equality and Cultural Responsiveness in Three Urban Norwegian Primary Schools: A Critical Lens for School Staff Perceptions

“…An example of an anti-oppressive approach is maintaining expanded notions about students' achievements; doing so can significantly improve the trust that exists among staff and school leaders (Handford & Leithwood, 2013). Furthermore, school leadership values, ideologies, and practices, as well as culturally responsive pedagogy (Galloway et al, 2019;Rychly & Graves, 2012;Sleeter, 2012), are relevant to the discussion of race and equity (Welton et al, 2019). Critical race theory advocates the critique and transformation of structures and ideologies to develop consciousness and empowerment (Yoso & Garcia, 2007).…”

Advancing Anti-Racism in Child Policy Advocacy

“…Lewis and Diamond described a slew of factors that buffer progress toward anti-racism, including racial stereotypes, harsher discipline of Black students, and school policies that favor White students (2016, as cited in Irby et al, 2019). Some of the literature on the intersection of anti-racism and leadership emerges from primary education (Aveling, 2007;Gooden & Dantley, 2012;Khalifa et al, 2016;Welton et al, 2019). Anti-racist leadership in educational settings explores models and frameworks designed to reduce racial disparities and inequities in school settings.…”

“…White privilege enables a passivity toward pervasive and systemic racial oppression. Adherence to whiteness grants privileged access to traverse the world without being inconvenienced by racism (Case, 2012;Welton et al, 2019). White ignorance is passivity and indifference, or knowing designed to produce 'not knowing,' to white privilege and white supremacy (Mueller, 2017).…”

Utilizing a Critical Race Theory Lens to Reduce Barriers to Social and Emotional Learning: A Call to Action

“…Educators, including school social workers, have a responsibility to understand that students of color do not have the privilege of not addressing racial issues ( Watson, 2005 ). The philosophy of whiteness attempts to secure White-driven power structures and sustain racial imbalances; thus, schools must have a decisive antiracism goal to mitigate the impact of whiteness ( Welton et al, 2018 ). Watson (2005) outlines that school leaders and teachers should not only talk about race but also address how to be antiracist.…”