Inside Out

Sometimes you need to go outside so you can look in.  Honestly, I haven’t gone outside very much this year - in a professional sense, anyway - especially as compared to years past. (My husband would tell you that I had to be talking about my professional life since I do everything I can to stay indoors in all other aspects of my life.)  I’ve engaged in the deepest learning that I’ve ever experienced through the Aspiring Principals Academy, and I have been focusing on applying all of my learning through this experience to the teaching and learning in our school building.  Last weekend, I had the opportunity to step out to an event that I thought was going to focus solely on celebration, but this celebration was another part of my journey in learning and reflection.

On Saturday, I went to the Columbia Urban League’s Young and Gifted Awards Program where African-American seniors were honored for their accomplishments.  I attended this year because a previous honoree I was close to, Miles, made a point last year to tell me that I didn’t attend when he was recognized.  In a conversation in my office, MIles went on to say that no leaders from our school went to the awards ceremony, and he commented, “That told me we aren’t a priority.”  I’m not sure I even knew about the awards last year, but when it came across an email last week, I immediately put it in my calendar. I would have felt badly about Mile’s sentiment in the past, but with all of the work we’ve done this year in race and equity, I know how much that guilt and remorse are worth - nothing.  It’s time to show up; it always was.

One of the featured speakers at the awards ceremony, Carlos Brown, a Vice President and General Council for Dominion Energy, is one of only twenty-five African-Americans to hold the position of General Counsel in corporate America. He talked about growing up in Virginia in a small, crowded house with no indoor plumbing.  He told the kids that he made a success of his life because of his faith and the importance his family placed on education.  Mr. Brown also shared with the students and other members of the audience that he had gone to see the film Black Panther the weekend before; he said he sat in the theatre in awe of the mythical African land of Wakanda where the people were strong innovators and thinkers. He continued, saying that when he looked out in the audience, he believed that Wakanda wasn’t  a myth because of the students he saw before him. (“Wakanda, forever!”)

When I looked at the hundreds of students in that sanctuary waiting to be individually recognized - because, as the President of the Columbia Urban League stated, there is power in having your name spoken aloud -  I hoped that the students were surrounded by those who had impacted them, those who believe that these students are capable of making the world a better place. It was my honor to be present, and that event will be a priority in my calendar, just like our district’s Excellence in Education Banquet.  I want the students who are acknowledged at the Young and Gifted Awards Program to know that they are valued. I want them to feel that the recognition they received from outside of their school matters inside of it, too.