Schemata Workshop is excited to announce that Principal Geoff Anderson has been selected as a participant in the Leadership Tomorrow (LT) class of 2021.
LT is an intensive civic leadership program focused on interconnections between elements of Seattle Foundation’s “Healthy Community” framework. The program helps participants further develop their leadership skills and practices, focusing on the goal of creating a healthy, just, and inclusive Puget Sound region. In particular, the program has been actively evolving its approach to racial equity, supporting participants’ development as antiracist civic leaders.
Geoff’s Reflection on Challenge Day 4: Arts + Culture
One of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of this Leadership Tomorrow (LT) year was to become more mindful of the privileges I am afforded as a white male that others, especially in the BIPOC community are not privy to.
March’s Leadership Tomorrow sessions presented poignant and personally-challenging experiences at a level that I had not experienced yet in this program The first of these came on Education Challenge Day.
Education Challenge Day
As a jumping-off point, we began our work on this topic by viewing “I Sued the School System”, a viral video in which the artist criticizes the traditional school system for “killing creativity, individuality, and being intellectually abusive” (more here) ”
This Leadership Tomorrow Challenge Day was eye-opening and challenging. For our prework, we delved into the history of Indian Boarding Schools and other racist education policies. Although heartbreaking, this is a part of our country’s violent history and something everyone should all have a better understanding of. We also studied current racial biases in education, and more about the School to Prison Pipeline (See Challenge Day 3)
Beginning the process of understanding the full extent of the privileges I had growing up in a wealthy, predominantly white suburb was challenging. I understood that my family chose where we lived growing up because of the “good schools” but I was ignorant to what this meant for many of our cohorts who were not afforded this privilege. I appreciated the benefits I had due to this privilege, but it was jarring to realize how utterly rare it is to have the resources and teachers I did. I cannot believe how much I took for granted. I wish that everyone could have the same access to great schools with long-term, dedicated teachers, extra-curricular activities, and even the unique programs that are provided by well-intentioned PTSA Boards at schools in wealthy districts.
LT program participants are given the opportunity to meet and interview area leaders in small team groups. My small team met with Michelle Merriweather, President & CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, to learn about her background and the journey that she took to arrive at this point in her career. Our conversation centered on leadership styles and the work that the Urban League does in the Seattle area. The most impactful moment of the interview, for me at least, occurred as we were winding down our talk, and Michelle was asked how she handles being a black woman in leadership, and the challenges inherent in that specific experience.
Michelle described how she uses ‘code-switching’ in professional situations such as conversations with funders or doing advocacy work. She continued by saying that about eight months ago, amidst BLM protests, she made a deliberate decision to no longer code-switch but has a fear of paying for this decision later – “on the other side,” as she put it. As a white man, I never have had to even consider code-switching, or the repercussions thereof, and this was something that I had never realized was a privilege.
