This bridge called my leadership: an essay on Black women as bridge leaders in education

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to contextualize the existing research literature on leadership for diversity, equity, and social justice in education with bridge leadership as historically practiced by Black women leaders in the USA. Its primary aim is to demonstrate how the intersection of race and gender as experienced by the Black woman leader has, in many instances, resulted in her serving as a bridge for others, to others, and between others in multiple and often complicated contexts over time. Framed by a discussion of Black feminisms, this project centers the intersectionality of race and gender identities alongside context as important indicators in the development of leadership philosophies, epistemologies, and practice. It concludes with how and why bridge leadership can serve as an effective model for leading diverse school communities where race and class divides continue to stifle learning opportunities for large numbers of poor, Black, Latino, and immigrant children and youth in the USA.

Keywords:

• bridge leadership
• Black women
• intersectionality
• Black feminism
• social justice

Notes

1. Ella Baker is often credited for making the following statement regarding the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement: “Martin didn’t make the movement,” she observed, “the movement made Martin.”