Many years ago, in a small classroom in Southwest Washington DC, two rookie social workers suffered through an interminable pre-service training program for child welfare professionals. More recently, one of them became a published author! Change The Narrative: How To Foster An Anti-Racist Culture In Your School by my friend Kathy Lopes and Henry J. Turner is a great starting point for aspiring, anti-racist school leaders. With clear ideas for both introspection and culture creation, this book makes the work feel a little less daunting. Learn more about Kathy’s work here, and check out my Amazon review below.

Amazon Review:
Being a school leader is an almost-impossible job. And, during a global pandemic, the realities became even more complex. During this period of extraordinary challenge, school leaders are also being asked to lead young people in navigating the racial reckoning currently underway in our country. It is unsurprising that, in this moment, many school leaders are stepping away.

Kathy Lopes and Henry Turner offer a well-timed guidebook for school leaders feeling overwhelmed by the work of anti-racism. Helpfully broken into two parts - the first focused on introspection and the second on culture creation - the authors offer behaviors, processes, and practices to contribute to the creation of an anti-racist culture. Most importantly, the authors make no false promises about linear progress and ultimate success. They’re honest about the difficulty of this work.

Clearly positioned as a starting point for anti-racist school leadership, the book also offers opportunities to Learn, Reflect, Act, and Assess at the end of each of the book’s chapters. Direct and honest, Change The Narrative serves as a useful tool for any aspiring anti-racist leader.