Bridging Black feminist thought, educational leadership/followership research, and the lived experiences of educators.
Reading That Guides The Work
(This is not an exhaustive list, but a curated set of works that continue to shape my practice as a practitioner–scholar.)
Story, Voice, & Lived Experience as Strength
These texts affirm that educators’ strengths are shaped by history, culture, identity, and experience. They support narrative-centered strengths reflection and counter deficit-based interpretations of professional capacity.
Narrative, identity, voice, and lived experience as legitimate sources of knowledge and leadership.
Core Texts
- Alston & McClellan (2011) Herstories: Leading with the Lessons of the Lives of Black Women Activists
- Bambara (1970) The Black Woman: An Anthology
- Cooper, A. J. (1988) A Voice from the South
- Dillard (2021) The Spirit of Our Work
- Foster, M. (1997) Black Teachers on Teaching
- Giovanni (2013) Chasing Utopia
- McCluskey (2014) A Forgotten Sisterhood
- Shange (1997) For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf
Strengths Alignment
- Meaning-making through story
- Voice as leadership capacity
- Cultural wisdom and ancestral knowledge as assets
Black Feminist Thought, Intersectionality, & Liberatory Knowing
These texts challenge dominant leadership and professionalism norms, offering a framework for recognizing strengths developed through resistance, care, and survival in inequitable systems.
Knowledge production, intersectionality, and the political nature of voice and leadership.
Core Texts
- Collins (2000) Black Feminist Thought
- Cooper, B. C. (2017) Beyond Respectability
- Hull et al. (2015) All The Women Are White, All The Blacks Are Men, But Some Of Us Are Brave
- King (2006) Black Education
- Lorde (2017) A Burst Of Light
Strengths Alignment
- Self-definition as strength
- Moral clarity and critical consciousness
- Collective and relational leadership
Leadership, Followership, & Courage in Practice
These texts expand strengths-based leadership to include followership, inquiry, paradox, and vulnerability—critical for educators navigating complex systems.
Relational leadership, ethical courage, and influence beyond positional authority.
Core Texts
- Adams (2022) Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 12 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching, and Results
- Brown (2018) Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts
- Brown (2025) Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, The Tenacity Of Paradox And The Wisdom Of The Human Spirit
- Chaleff (2009) The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To And For Our Leaders
- Clifton & Harter (2019) It’s The Manager
Strengths Alignment
- Inquiry and reflection as leadership tools
- Courageous communication
- Influence without formal power
Featured Research
Her Voice Matters: Life Histories of Black Women Teachers’ Working Conditions
G. Funmilayo Tyson-Devoe
Antioch University, Ph.D. Leadership & Change, 2024
Educational Leadership, Policy, & Qualitative Research
Abstract
This study explores the lived experiences of Black women teachers working in urban public schools during an era of high-stakes accountability and education reform. Grounded in Black feminist thought and critical race theory, the research examines how individual experiences (micro), school-level working conditions (meso), and broader socio-political forces (macro) intersect to shape Black women’s work in education.
Methodology
Using narrative inquiry and life history methodology, the study centers the voices of Black women teachers as knowledge producers, documenting their experiences through “griot” narratives. Findings reveal that leadership, teacher autonomy, camaraderie, collaboration, and student behavior are central to how Black women experience their work. Leadership emerged as the most influential factor, shaping school culture, teacher well-being, and retention.
Why This Matters
Black women are historically and culturally central to education, yet their working conditions are often overlooked. This research makes their experiences visible—and insists that teacher well-being is essential to student success, not separate from it.
This research calls for a reimagining of educational leadership— one grounded in emotional intelligence, social justice, and human-centered practice — to create sustainable and affirming working conditions for Black women educators.
