Roots of My Why

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Howard University

Workshop on Leadership Development

Fall 2020

On many levels, I realize that I have come to understand injustice, calamity and sacrifice through a multi-lens. After losing a phenomenally poised and loving single-parent mother due to cancer, I encountered various experiences as the youngest of four children and later as a middle child of five after the birth of a younger sibling. As we, my older siblings, two Black/African American brothers and elder sister who is uniquely able, met our teenage years as orphans, I began to see the world through each of our experiences. Through our experiences, I understand the vulnerabilities for students navigating the world and the public American educational system in the absence of hindered familial supports. I have witnessed injustices against people who are overlooked and/or misunderstood. This has influenced my desire to situate myself in a position to fight for those who have been denied access to resources that could lead to the pursuit of a fulfilling and quality life.

After the passing of our mother, we became aware of the characteristics of our lives that deemed us as “other” by those who held biased perceptions of young, Black and parentless children living in an American inner-city. As opposed to our Mother’s miracle baby, our older sister became seen as a “disabled person” and treated as a burden. She was blamed for having scoliosis and a mild case of cerebral palsy. Much like our sister’s observed disability, our brothers’ Blackness was met with fear, misunderstanding and a refusal to offer supports as they encountered the world without parental guidance. For our eldest brother, known for his brilliance at our local schools, this treatment led to a cycle of desperate measures of survival leading to imprisonment, constricted freedom, mental health crises and physical death on Earth. For my older brother who is known for his gift with mathematics and wit, being overlooked and misunderstood led to inactive guardians ignoring his desire to be enrolled in high school, no access to continued schooling, no access to a social security card or birth certificate to enter the mainstream economic system/workforce, exploitation by construction companies and temporary job agencies, desperate measures to survive, imprisonment and constricted freedom.

As a so-called "at-risk" valedictorian, I was offered the Gates Millennium Scholarship award that is an amazing gift to acquire an education as a first-generation student. While I began my doctoral journey at the University of Oklahoma, I relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in hopes of joining the Close-Up Foundation of Washington, D.C. as an alum-Program Instructor serving students across the United States and the U.S. Territories. I also had a deep desire to continue my studies at Howard University (HU). As I now study Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at HU, I am thrilled to engage my research and practitioner interests with such an amazing cohort. Such a dynamic group of colleagues will help examine and challenge existing policies that infringe upon the lives of vulnerable populations. Over the next few years, I hope to continue developing as a transformative leader open to collaborative efforts to contribute to the lives of students, their families and communities.