Creating Anti-Racist Building Leadership Teams Through Structural, Interpersonal, and Personal Anti-Racist Efforts

Abstract

In this case study, we show how building and/or instructional leadership teams (BLTs and ILTs) were repurposed to meet the challenge of the global health pandemic and the racial unrest associated with the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We outline how anti-racist work flourished during this critical time in one school district and led to the development of anti-racist BLTs (ARBLTs). Educators had to manage tensions associated with anti-racist work that both empowered them and made them feel vulnerable in their personal and professional identities. We conclude by providing insights into how systemic anti-racist leadership practices and structures can be developed at the local level and leveraged to enact change via well-established practices such as BLTs and ILTs.