Judy A. Alston - Böcker

The field of leadership has often been criticized for excluding voices that are not White and male. Not only are women – specifically Black women – poorly represented in leadership positions and the field’s knowledge base, they are vastly underrepresented in the actual content of leadership courses and texts.This book analyzes the transformational leadership, servant leadership, and social justice leadership found in the lives of Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and Audre Lorde. The book not only chronicles the careers and professional contributions of these women, but also uses these leadership models as units of analysis to highlight their effective leadership «herstories» to inform current practice. As African American women who embodied the history, politics, and educational aspirations of an otherwise oppressed people, an analysis of their lived experiences and leadership roles creates a distinctive theoretical and methodological application to leadership theory and practice. These women advanced their ideas and theories about leadership through their personal, political, and social activism. Examining their lives results in a more complete picture of the effects of race, sexuality, and class and how they are related to current practice in leadership. Herstories provides an important (re)visioning of leadership theory by documenting the leadership lives of six strong black women.

The field of leadership has often been criticized for excluding voices that are not White and male. Not only are women – specifically Black women – poorly represented in leadership positions and the field’s knowledge base, they are vastly underrepresented in the actual content of leadership courses and texts.This book analyzes the transformational leadership, servant leadership, and social justice leadership found in the lives of Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and Audre Lorde. The book not only chronicles the careers and professional contributions of these women, but also uses these leadership models as units of analysis to highlight their effective leadership «herstories» to inform current practice. As African American women who embodied the history, politics, and educational aspirations of an otherwise oppressed people, an analysis of their lived experiences and leadership roles creates a distinctive theoretical and methodological application to leadership theory and practice. These women advanced their ideas and theories about leadership through their personal, political, and social activism. Examining their lives results in a more complete picture of the effects of race, sexuality, and class and how they are related to current practice in leadership. Herstories provides an important (re)visioning of leadership theory by documenting the leadership lives of six strong black women.

Effective leadership is the necessary ingredient in achieving educational improvement in schools; everything rises and falls on leadership. For School Leaders of Color, this leadership imperative is more difficult than it is for their White counterparts. Concomitantly with this leadership necessity are the social and academic disparities of racism, student poverty, lack of resources, just to name a few. Yet these leaders have courageously accepted their role to disrupt low performance and thus they have created environments where students learn and professors teach. These leaders are “purveyors of change.” The purpose of this educational preparation supplemental text is to share stories of these exceptional leaders in the field and in the academy.The experiences shared by the various authors cover four important areas in leadership: Culture & Climate; Student Success; Resilience, Persistence, & Turnaround; and Social Justice. The authors have shared some deeply personal issues and triumphs. These are the stories that resonate more deeply with students and that with these types of stories, the theory to practice bridge is successfully crossed. While many of the chapters include narratives of resilience and triumph in the context of the P-12 education system, the overarching themes and suggestions can be transmuted to any industry.

Effective leadership is the necessary ingredient in achieving educational improvement in schools; everything rises and falls on leadership. For School Leaders of Color, this leadership imperative is more difficult than it is for their White counterparts. Concomitantly with this leadership necessity are the social and academic disparities of racism, student poverty, lack of resources, just to name a few. Yet these leaders have courageously accepted their role to disrupt low performance and thus they have created environments where students learn and professors teach. These leaders are “purveyors of change.” The purpose of this educational preparation supplemental text is to share stories of these exceptional leaders in the field and in the academy.The experiences shared by the various authors cover four important areas in leadership: Culture & Climate; Student Success; Resilience, Persistence, & Turnaround; and Social Justice. The authors have shared some deeply personal issues and triumphs. These are the stories that resonate more deeply with students and that with these types of stories, the theory to practice bridge is successfully crossed. While many of the chapters include narratives of resilience and triumph in the context of the P-12 education system, the overarching themes and suggestions can be transmuted to any industry.

Much of the research and writing on faculty of color and persistence in the Academy speaks to mentoring, recruitment, retention, job satisfaction, and the Imposter Syndrome. Yet, in spite of the significance (though we are small in numbers) and necessity of faculty of color in the Academy, there is no literature to describe or explain our experiences with regards to our holistic (body, mind, and spirit) existence and persistence in the Academy.Some questions that persist for faculty of color include: How do I continue to persist in the professoriate either in the tenure-track or as a tenured professor? How can I just be me and still be a successful professor? Do I have to check certain parts of me at the door or can I bring all of who I am into the Academy? How can I teach, research, and serve with my whole self and still have my work valued and accepted? Do I have to do safe research/work or can I do the work that I am passionate about? This collection of chapters are the personal stories from faculty of color who have persisted in the Academy despite the sometimes very steep climb.