“I Wonder If They Had Ever Seen a Black Man Before?” Grappling with Issues of Race and Racism in Our Own Backyard

Abstract

This article investigates the experiences of aspiring school leaders, predominantly Students of Color, within a predominantly White, male, upper class, Texas university educational leadership program. Based in the tradition of narrative inquiry, written reflections, semi-structured interviews, course documents, and field notes provided data for this qualitative study. Findings suggest aspiring administrators were not afforded opportunities to address issues of race and racism throughout their program of study. The author encourages faculty to join the conversation on issues of race, take seriously the call to work in support of Students of Color, and confront programmatic failures in preparing aspiring practitioners for effective school leadership.