Parent Roundtable: How To Support The Leadership of Black and Latinx Girls

00:30 - Girls leadership is a national educational nonprofit, with a mission to teach girls to exercise the power of their voice.

00:38 - We are based in Oakland, California, and we run our programs nationally. We have programs for girls workshops for parents and run professional development training for teachers guidance counselors and nonprofit staff, our work centers racial and gender equity to address both the internal and the external barriers to girls leadership development.

01:03 - Today’s roundtable is the third in a series to understand the implications of our ready to lead research report, which came out in August. Today we are here to discuss the implications of the findings for the parents and caregivers of black and Latin next girls and their allies.

01:20 - girls and their allies. On May, 27, we’ll look at the implications in education and the round final round table will be June and we hope that you will join us for those conversations as well.

01:33 - We’d like to thank the sponsor of today’s event, Morgan Stanley.

01:38 - Before we begin, we want to acknowledge the land where we are gathered, while we’re gathered from all over the country, girls leadership is based in Oakland, California.

01:48 - Oakland, is the land of the Loney people. We remember their connection to this region and give thanks for the opportunity to live, work, learn, and prey on their traditional homeland.

02:01 - Let us take a moment of silence to pay respect to the elders and the lonely people, past and present, and we invite you to honor the land of the people, where you are.

02:19 - Thank you. We invite you to share today’s conversation on social our handle is at girls leadership. And today’s conversation thread is hashtag ready to lead.

02:35 - Please welcome our moderator for today’s conversation, our chief program officer, dR Kendra car.

02:42 - Kendra join the girls leadership team after almost a decade of work, and as an administrator at an all girls school in Oakland, California.

02:51 - She is deeply committed to girls programming that addresses the needs of all girls, especially those girls, the margins of society.

02:59 - Love, community, humility, equity, and commitment to liberating action, or the values that guide her work with youth.

03:09 - Kendra received a BS in political science with a minor in ethnic studies from Santa Clara University and an MA in education, with a concentration in equity and social justice from San Francisco State University.

03:23 - She received her doctorate in educational leadership from St Mary’s College of California.

03:29 - Please welcome Dr Carr, thank you so much for that introduction and I also want to extend a warm welcome to all of you who’ve taken time out to join in this discussion today to our audience members, and to our panelists today.

03:46 - So, like our panelists, I am a parent and like many of you in the audience and I very much am looking forward to this dialogue around.

03:54 - How do we make meaning of the ready to lead research report as parents and how can we use the findings to support our advocacy work on behalf of our girls.

04:05 - And so let me take this moment to introduce today’s panelists to you who are parents and caregivers of black and white and next children.

04:12 - They are also advocates community organizers educators and leaders. So first, we welcome Olivia rice, who is the program director for the UC Berkeley other and belonging Institute’s network for transformative change, where she supports a new movement to transform and penetrator most pressing societal issues.

04:34 - Previously, Olivia served as the executive director of justice matters, a racial organ racial justice organization based in Oakland, California, which brought together her background as a daughter and sister of immigrants, a mother community organizer and policy analyst.

04:52 - She dedicated herself to changing the conditions communities of color experience at public schools. By combining critical public policy analysis with powerful community organizing for educational justice, Olivia is a first generation college graph have benefited from Head Start and affirmative action programs and policies. Welcome, Olivia.

05:15 - Next I’d like to introduce Genji faith Hairston, the CEO and co founder of blaze Consulting Group Genji is a mother entrepreneur innovator servant leader ordained minister and author, with over 25 years of experience in the Education and Human Services arenas, with blaze Consulting Group Genji provides coaching to build the capacity of public and nonprofit organizations. She was the founding executive director of saving our sisters saving ourselves a youth development program that was invited to school districts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and served hundreds of girls gingers work in schools has focused on supporting the holistic needs of the child, her son’s nieces and nephews inspire her to work tirelessly on dismantling systems and structures that would threaten their well being.

06:07 - Welcome to you ginger. And our third panelist this afternoon is Sam lane. A Global Head of diversity and inclusion for Morgan Stanley’s and institutional securities group.

06:22 - And this role, Sam helps drive diversity and inclusion initiatives, with a focus on improving diversity representation advancement and retention.

06:32 - Sam joined Morgan Stanley from City, where he had a distinguished career spanning 19 years.

06:38 - During his tenure at City, he held various leadership roles including head of fraud management, had a group information security and had a vendor management for the North America private banking division.

06:50 - Most recently, Sam served as senior vice president in the Global Diversity and talent organization, where he was focused on building enterprise wide data driven diversity efforts for the firm.

07:02 - Sam lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two daughters, welcome Sam and Olivia dingy and Sam it’s just an honor to be in the space with you. And I’m going to turn it over to your opening reflections in just a moment.

07:16 - This afternoon we’re discussing the ready to lead report so I’d like to take a moment to just share a brief overview of the study and the key findings.

07:25 - So we had girls leadership we wanted to know what factors support and promote the leadership of girls of color, and what factors inhibit their success.

07:34 - So, the study method methodology. The data was collected in two phases and the first phase consisted of six focus groups with middle and high school girls across the country.

07:45 - And then the second phase consisted of online survey so we surveyed 2012 girls who were ages 12 to 18 years old, and the survey was created from focus group data and also the ropes rating scale for leadership and we’ll reference that also a little later.

08:02 - But the questions revolved around how they perceived. If you go back for one moment.

08:08 - The questions revolved around how they perceive their own leadership abilities and readiness. And then we also surveyed 601 middle and high school teachers.

08:17 - Thank you. Next slide please. And here’s some of the key findings from this study, first of all black and let it makes girls are ready to leave. So across all income levels, black and white next girls are the high scores for leadership.

08:30 - So, this question here was one from the roads rating scale for leadership. Do you agree with the statement I am a leader, 48% of black girls and 36% of Latinx girls said yes so they are more likely to identify as leaders and their white Asian and multi ethnic appears.

08:46 - Next slide please. This data point is around leadership aspirations and skills. So, black and white Amex girls are more likely to have leadership aspirations and skills and comparison to their white, Asian, and multi ethnic peers and black and white next girls are also more likely to seek leadership opportunities, and they report having more leadership opportunities than their peers.

09:11 - Next slide please. The study also found that families and communities develop strong leaders. So when asked how important it is to have leaders as role models who look like them, black and let the next girls agree that’s very important to have leaders who look like them in the same race or ethnicity at higher rates than their peers, and also a significant finding was that black and let the next parents are most likely to identify as leaders out of all the ethnic groups.

09:42 - And so the study found that when parents identify as leaders, their girls also report having more leadership skills.

09:49 - Next slide, please. And then the final data point is around bias teachers bias so when teachers. Teachers perceived barriers to leadership for black and Latinx girls were not actual deficits, for example, teachers perceived lack of confidence as a barrier, but black and Latinx girls actually have the highest levels of report at confidence. So teachers perceived that girls of color had internal barriers to leadership that were in fact, contrary to how girls of color viewed themselves.

10:23 - And so we wanted to share those few data points with you. As we begin this conversation and so I’d like to now turn the mic over to the panelists, and just give you a chance to share your reactions to the report findings and I want to ask if you can share a personal experience for your life or in your work with girls, maybe parent advocacy work so we’ll just begin with like what your, what’s your reaction to the report findings.

10:54 - And anyone can go. I’m happy to kick it off. Thank you, Kendra and thank you on behalf of Morgan Stanley Thank you for having me here today and it’s so nice to be with you and Simone and Olivia and Gen Z sharing this virtual panel stage with you all.

11:10 - So, for me. First, when I read the report.

11:15 - My immediate reaction was, when I looked at the key findings was. Yes, yes, yes, you know so many of these points resonated with me as as a son of a very strong mother, a mother that lead in all aspects of her life and continues to do so.

11:32 - To this day, two older sisters that were role models to me growing up, and did so much for me growing up so there’s a personal connection there that I can resonate with.

11:44 - Then as you mentioned in your opening comments also as, as a father, a father of two young black girls that are caring or loving. But I would also describe is ready to lead.

11:56 - So when I read these findings it resonated from a personal experience, and then you add in the intersection of just the role that I’m in. As you mentioned in the opening comments and corporate america and leading diversity inclusion efforts for division at Morgan Stanley. It resonates with the work that we do. I am surrounded by women, black and white next women in particular that our leaders, so I know it to be true.

12:25 - I see it I feel it. I have a team of four black enlightened x women, and they are leaders, and they are leaders in various facets, not just in the work that they do but in their personal lives and society the way they give back the way they lead with their values.

12:41 - So when I read this in it all made sense to me.

12:45 - So I completely resonate with the leadership piece.

12:49 - The other aspect of it that you highlighted briefly is the role that bias place.

12:54 - We know that bias exists all throughout society, not just in the school system not just with our young ones but with adults across different demographic groups here in the United States but all across the world have different shapes and sizes and forms.

13:09 - And we know the impact that bias can have on on all the people. And when you extrapolate that with what we’re focusing on or black and white and next young girls, we see the impact that can have an early stage of their life.

13:23 - And think about the impact that will have down the line. So that was my immediate takeaway Kendra I’d like to share.

13:30 - Thank you, Sam. Thank you for forgiving us kicked off gym to Libya, would love to hear.

13:41 - Sure, thanks Genji. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of such an important panel this topic of girl leadership girls leadership is so important especially today as we’re facing bigger more challenging problems globally than we ever have possibly, and, and and so leadership is critical.

14:08 - Kind of path to solve these problems that we’re facing kind of locally and globally and if we’re now not tapping into the potential leadership of black and brown, black and let next girls I think that we are making a terrible, terrible mistake.

14:27 - So that’s kind of one so you know thank you for for your organization for your work on this topic and for carrying out this study. I mean I guess I would say it’s validating first and foremost, having come up in public schools.

14:44 - As a chicken I know that some of the stories some of the data points that were there, brought up all sorts of stories from my childhood, coming up through the schools, and unfortunately from stories that, you know, some anecdotes that I could share regarding my daughter’s experience coming up through school schooling right now to just a personal anecdote that’s kind of tied to expectations are this, you know, this gap between where, how teachers perceived girls of color compared to how girls of color perceive themselves as so problematic.

It’s such a big problem. So, the story is this. Some schools use a are reading tests to motivate kids to read and to support them to read and kind of track their progression, how they’re doing on reading.

15:43 - And I think this was in second grade they started with my daughter doing this I’m not a big fan of it but some kids like it.

15:51 - She was one of them that kind of hesitated and was really nervous about taking this test on the computer to, you know, to measure. Her reading skills and she was seeing some kids that were doing really well and thrived in that kind of environment were going up and up and up and my daughter’s an avid reader.

16:14 - And, anyway she decided today okay I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it I’m like, all right, well let’s do it let’s go and let’s stay after school and you’re going to, you know, do this AR test your teacher really wants you to do it.

16:26 - And she’s like, and I’m going to do Harry Potter, I’m like, All right, cool do Harry Potter the first book I think that’s great, she’s like yeah because if I take it.

16:35 - Then I’m going to get to the top of the list.

16:38 - It was one book called me. And because of, I guess they, I don’t know it’s a it’s a higher grade level book and so you score higher right.

16:51 - And so we go in and then she tells her teacher okay I’m going to take the tests and it’s Harry Potter and the teacher sits down and she comes outside to talk to me alone.

17:01 - She’s like, you know, I don’t know how she’s going to do on this so afterwards, really just going to encourage her to, you know, pick another book at her level.

17:16 - And so, I was outside I’m like man I can’t believe I’m like setting up my daughter to have this experience like she finally got the courage to take this test and I didn’t like pusher you know to do another book you know just to figure out what this program looks like, and I hope you know now she’s kind of set up to fail. Anyway, she comes out, totally happy scored nailed at 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or whatever the thing.

17:41 - The scale was but he nailed it. And so it doesn’t only impact girls.

17:49 - It impacts parents because. For a second there. I was like, wait, maybe I didn’t do my job right.

17:58 - So it’s important. It’s important for kids it’s important for teachers and all adults in schools, and for parents to because, as you can see black and brown girls through your study were aligned with how their mothers are they’re adults in their life saw themselves and vice versa. And when there’s this big mismatch that’s really do to racial biases.

18:22 - It stunts leadership potential. So, those are kind of like opening thoughts.

18:28 - Thanks for asking. I appreciate that Olivia thank you for sharing and, and dingy. Thank you, Olivia and Sally says so much I’m like yes yes yes. So I want to first start by saying that I want to acknowledge all black and Latinx women in the room who have read this report and have found themselves as girls in the report, because we weren’t tripping when we thought we were being stereotyped when we thought the system was designed against us.

18:57 - When we got our voices muted and stolen from us in middle school and high school because we appear to be hostile or angry or aggressive and I like what one of the young girl says on page 40 she said were authentic as leaders we speak with candor and we have heart. And so I want to take a moment to just acknowledge all of us that lost a little bit of our voice, and I like to acknowledge and thank you so much for having me here Kendra and girls leadership it’s a chi, because I really want to acknowledge as someone who I train hundreds of hours with people around anti racist work undoing systems undoing structures from the banking system to the educational system to housing to the medical system.

19:39 - And what this report revealed to me that I can use for evidence in all those systems is that black and Latin next girls have been labeled since they were in middle school and high school.

19:51 - And so when you look at the labeling that has been done. There’s a stark contrast between the way we as black and Latinx girls are seeing ourselves and white educators in particular have seen us, that is a systematic problem that is evidence that we are not broken.

20:07 - That there is not we are not the problem. But that the system that is afraid of our strength and our power and our courage and our voice is the problem.

20:17 - So I want to lift that up because I think that is as I was listening, reading this over and over and I got this aha moment. I know as a black woman who grew up in poverty, I went to 10 different schools before college, but I had a mother who worked hard, love me deeply and tried her best. She was judged by many white educators because it didn’t look the way that they thought our life slip.

20:45 - But I think I turned out pretty okay and I’m pretty loud because my mother was the mentor I needed. It was actually not the educator that thought that she knew math better than my mother, but it was my mother or my aunties and mentors who actually were like speak baby speak.

21:02 - And so this report is foundational evidence to why those of us who are undergoing systematic oppression and organizations are dealing with a lot of white leadership that is now saying how do we work with angry black women.

21:16 - Hmm. One of the reasons My company is so busy, is because we help people understand how to work with black women that they and let next women that they feel uncomfortable with.

21:27 - Here’s where this links to the report. If the evidence shows that black girls publicly are put down, are muted are told they are too loud there too angry and aggressive between them and the teachers, there are students who are also watching that that now acquiring biases that when they matriculate out of the educational system whatever into the public workforce that they are bringing those biases into their organizations.

21:57 - It is a system like illness that I think this report proves for us as black and live next girls is rooted in the educational system that needs to be deconstructed.

22:09 - And I tell our people, our, this is the carpet at the moment. We’ve never lived through a revolution and a pandemic at the same time. So this is the perfect moment to rewrite this to tear it down, and to empower our girls and so when I think about that next mothers and black mothers and onto the mentors.

22:28 - If the school systems are afraid of our partners, They sure can’t handle us.

22:34 - But this is the season. We’re here we come.

22:37 - And this report can be used from, from a parent’s standpoint, who may not have a college education, all the way to superintendent. And I think that the reports, not only be used in studying districts, but I think that districts in particular should run run the report within their own school districts, the data, or excuse me, the survey to see where their staff stand, black and white next girls aren’t broken their adult.

23:04 - Whoo, you all. Thank you for these comments and dingy I want to underline. We are okay.

23:14 - We are at a toxic system but we are okay you said that before and Sam, you talked about seeing leaders leaders in your family your mother’s other women in your family and your colleagues and Olivia talks about leadership as a tool for community change, and then I’m just appreciating these experiences that you shared of bias with like low expectations, low expectations in labels that many of our girls have.

23:40 - and so I, you know, for the sake, I’m wondering if you can just share also what do you see as.

23:50 - Like what patterns of bias Have you seen in school or what are the most challenging, most pressing challenges, you’re seeing for girls of color and schools.

24:06 - And anyone can. Oh, I’ll go first. Thanks hundred. So, it’s the fact that it doesn’t start later in life, it starts earlier in life. And so it becomes a systemic pervasive issue from the very beginning of development of young black in line next girls throughout their life.

24:32 - So, if they are ready to lead, whether you’re in elementary school or as the survey began and middle school and high school.

24:40 - And those opportunities to lead are not there, or they’re not recognized, or the opportunities are not given, or they’re not supported, then that’s going to have a downstream impact over time.

24:52 - So it’s recognizing that there’s a point where it’s too late. Right, so we have to start early with our young ones in creating atmospheres of support atmospheres of empathy, understanding and and recognizing that black and white index girls have courage, they have strength, and they have leadership skills that as your report suggests, or they’re just waiting to let out.

25:18 - And if we if we throw it that if we, if we limit the abilities for those skills those trace those qualities to play a part in our greater society, then that’s only going to have a disastrous or impactful consequence negative impact down the downstream.

25:36 - Yeah. Thank you, Sam. Yeah, I think, you know, I’m just picking up on on what Genji what you’re talking about these preconceived notions that were broken, that we need fixing that we need help that we need to be saved.

25:59 - are so damaging and. And I think, you know that schools, think of children like that and then they blame parents for it. They blame the communities that they come from for it.

26:14 - And, and they don’t see the leadership that parents and families and adults in our communities have and what we have to offer.

26:24 - It’s you know the whole deficit versus asset, kind of framework of looking at what’s happening in schools, and you know you have teachers asking parents to, you know, come for a field trip come for this come for that and you start seeing kind of the pattern of who can and can’t for real reasons, or what kinds of roles are asked to fulfill or not.

26:55 - You’re never rarely do you see kind of the the concrete kind of cement layer versus you know father or mother coming and asked to kind of share about, you know, their work.

27:13 - And, and I think that’s a real problem and I just really wanted to highlight.

27:20 - You know how damaging it is not to have parents of color at the front of the room talking about their profession and about their jobs or multiple jobs as something to offer, either for real academic, kind of, in the books kind of this is what we’re learning about this week or on questions around leadership. And so I really wanted to underscore that how that works out in the classroom, but it also works out around the school community so I’ve been engaged in the PTA, kind of, on and off throughout my kids schooling years and often it’s, they just, they can’t.

28:06 - They’re working too hard. They have multiple jobs, it’s, it’s just, They don’t have money, they can’t get money, and all these reasons why.

28:18 - Black and that next parents can’t make it can’t turn out can’t help can’t support.

28:24 - Instead of kind of turning it around and say well what what are the ass. What’s the project about who informed at who got to decide what you know the agenda is going to be with the programs are going to be with the projects are going to be.

28:38 - We do have a lot to give, we give a lot all the time in our communities. It can also happen within the school community or surrounding the school community so that you know, just wanted to highlight that.

28:51 - Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Olivia. Great. I’m going to look at his systematic but then also as a parent. So, as in the system. One of the things I do realize and I’ve seen you know through numerous schools is that and it says in the report that they’re just are not enough black and let teachers that reflect students, and that does make a difference and I think school districts. Just don’t do enough on recruiting those groups in particular and paying them what they’re worth and so there is in the system there’s something that seriously needs to be addressed on how to have teacher workforces that resemble the youth that they are serving.

That’s one. The second part is, oh gosh this PTA, Olivia I’m so glad you brought that up.

29:39 - Parents often asked me, how do you get into systems within the school, especially if your kids are an elementary and middle school, and there’s a strong PTA, you have to get into that PTA in some way as a black and Latin next parent that PTA holds a lot of power over what happens at that school, especially on behalf of black and black next students or what does not happen, I should say. And so the PTA is we don’t see Diversity, Equity and Inclusion folks on there.

30:08 - My kids school when we walked into the school, the PTA was all white women, and I walked in there felt like I walked into the 30s.

30:16 - And I couldn’t pull my kids out of the school because it’s where we lived. And so my husband and I decided what we’re going to get to know them, and they will get to know us.

30:24 - And so the school did not celebrate martin luther king day period so they did nothing else. And over time, we created a parent group where they knew who we were.

30:35 - By the time my last son is graduating school now. They do a oratorical fest every year basically around Black History Month, it is the biggest attended by parents 500 kids.

30:47 - And when they asked our group to put it on we said no teachers have to put this on. And the reason why we said that because the onus to educate our kids in the academic way is not just on parents the teachers have to integrate this work within their classroom and they have to be held accountable for that. And so while we can collaborate as parents of colors, we have to bring in white teachers and say, You are with our kids this many hours a day, we require that you see them, and that you move forward with them.

31:18 - The second part I want to say and I want to tell the story real quick. As far as parents out here is that bring to the table what you have and find someone to link with that has something else.

31:30 - I was the Dean of alternative high school in Alameda, that was highly populated with African American Atlantic students, and we were putting together an event and people like we can’t get the mama sick, we can’t get the families come, we can’t get the Latin community come right and one mama came to me and she said, I’m working this many jobs. Just tell me exactly what you need. I said, Well, we don’t have a full budget.

31:53 - She said, I got this so let me, she said, I may have one piece of rice. But if I call this person and that person and we bring all our pieces of Ross, we have a full meal I said, Okay, show me.

32:05 - When they showed up in the way that this group of mothers chose to show up. They did something so extraordinary. We couldn’t imagine it didn’t fit in the book of what white educators, or systems may want, but it was extraordinary and the pride on their daughters faces was priceless. And so we’ve got to go into school systems and begin to redefine what showing up looks like because black and Latin next parents and mothers are doing whatever they can want to keep their kids alive and to to keep themselves going.

And so we need to really look at what parent engagement looks like the last part I want to say his parents keep showing up. If they’re scared because you’re loud keep going.

32:47 - Find the ally, find a abolitionists to stand there with you, but keep going. The evidence is in this report that we’ve got to keep showing up our babies.

32:56 - And if we can’t show up send it on to a mentor, a Go Daddy on your behalf.

33:03 - Thank you, thank you all for that and you already started talking about, oh, you have something all of you guys do and the thing that gets to me is that the, this is supposed to me, this is our joy.

33:17 - Our kids going to school as participating when we can showing up.

33:23 - And it just breaks my heart that you know we have to struggle for that piece but everything you talked about generally seeing like the kids, looking up at their adults at their moms at their aunties whoever.

33:36 - It’s their joy as well but this is kind of a period of our lives that should be so joyful and we cherish it and we all do regardless of our circumstances so, yeah.

33:48 - Yeah, absolutely. And what I hear both of you, you know, that you are talking about it’s like change is up to the school like we as parents we go and advocate, we collectively work for change, but it’s really up to the school and so this next question is really around like when schools do adopt like anti racist policies or start to engage in the work that parents are asking them to engage in. How would you measure progress like how would you say okay this school is making progress and doing better on behalf of black and Latinx girls.

34:25 - Yeah, I think that’s a, that’s a really great place to start really great question. Your judges comments earlier around systems policies, procedures, those are the foundation of bedrock of where change can happen.

34:37 - So if we’re not looking at that, to begin with, nothing else we do is going to have the impact that we’re really looking for. So I do agree that it begins there.

34:49 - But then what right what’s what’s How do you measure progress over time is it, is it changing one policy and just saying hey we check the box it’s done, here’s, here’s a, you know, we’re celebrating Martin Luther King Day.

35:02 - Right. It’s not just that. So to answer your question in simple terms, it’s sustained progress over time. If it becomes a one time exercise in one ear out the other or the perspective, or the implication that it’s a check the box.

35:19 - Nothing’s going to get done in the perspective of impact is not going to be there, from a positive standpoint. So really sustained progress over time.

35:28 - So, yeah, we talked about anti racism training, we talked about unconscious bias training earlier and I really think that’s really important, inclusive leadership training and workshops as well for our teachers as another piece that I think July as well and complements the previous two.

35:47 - But if you just do a one time, you tend to one two hour session or one half day session, and it’s not going to have the impact because it’s going to be in one ear out the other or maybe you have a positive reaction to it as a teacher, maybe say that was great I learned some practical points that I can apply in my life I can fly in the classroom.

36:05 - But if you don’t keep it going. Three weeks later, it might be gone.

36:10 - So how do we continue the learning. The same way the curriculum continues, the same way that our curriculum evolves year over year week over week semester over semester is how we should apply thinking about how we should be more inclusive leaders in the classroom, how we should have.

36:28 - Be aware of our biases, we all have them and be able to understand what those biases are mitigate those risks and continue to focus on improving piece by piece by piece.

36:41 - Thank you, Sam sustained over time. Genji or Olivia, would you like to.

36:52 - Yeah, I think so, I’ll go with a few were and Sam is right on and I want to say follow the money trail so one of the things I know about this work currently when it comes to anti racism and undoing systems and practices is in this time people are actually putting money where their mouth is and so is your school district allocating funds and resources to train teacher district staff, security, anyone that comes in contact with students and black and Latin next girls.

37:21 - And so if that is the case, it is a long term investment. This is not a sprint. It’s a journey we’re undoing hundreds of years of internalized external oppression and biases.

37:32 - And so, ask your district what is their three year plan, a lot of districts are now beginning to do the three year plan their funds coming down from the government.

37:40 - How are they redirecting those funds that’s one. The second one I want to say is there’s policy and protocol have to be addressed it addressed I’m sorry, but culture is what needs to be changed and culture happens under a top over time.

37:56 - If a teacher feels like it is okay to say certain things that they think are are not bad but they are right there at their racist thoughts and practices right, then that is the culture in the classroom that doesn’t in the moment, give mitigated by the policies and procedures and culture change means that another teacher will say something. So I want to refer you on I see the comments to someone who I think says it’s so much better than I can ever say a Dr 14 love has a talk called ally vs co conspirator, and I use this in a lot of my trainings now she wrote a book called we want to do more than survive this.

The way she articulate what we need from white people now who will consider some allies abolitionists is so powerful and so go ahead and watch that and research that and even read her book, because what we need now is we need people to stop learning theory and framework and put into practice the things that they have already learned that will change the system.

38:56 - The last thing Latinx mother’s parents and those who have black and my next children do not wait for the school system to change. By the time the actual system change your children will be out of 12th grade.

39:09 - Find mentor program for them, find online programs for them. The report states that mentors and outside leadership is super impactful for your girls so why you are forcing systematic change.

39:22 - Meet your girls where they’re at and give them the tools they need outside of their regular school day so that they are not impacted by a civil rights issue.

39:36 - And thank you teaching. Think Gen Z.

39:40 - I think that’s it. I think that’s it. Yeah, I, you know, I agree with everything that Sam Genji were just talking about I think you know the the art and culture of a community is so important.

39:55 - And, and what are kind of some of the signals.

40:00 - The positive signals or the negative signals and have your, your gut tuned to those You’re right. If you have to get this sense that that’s that’s probably what it is, we get a feeling.

40:15 - And, and call it out, you know, don’t let it sit.

40:20 - You know, if something, if you’re on the PTA if you’re at a meeting if you’re working with a teacher, if you’re talking to their parents. When you’re dropping off or picking up if you’re able to do that.

40:36 - And you hear something that’s dismissing an entire group of people because of their ethnicity because of their community because of their race call it out right there, don’t, don’t wait and say you know I, yeah, a lot of people who are struggling right now but, you know, they want to be a part of their kids lives and education as much as we do.

41:00 - And. And so I you know that that’s just one thing that I think needs to happen in any space. If you feel comfortable doing that. And, you know, a signal for me as an example of a positive one is at the school my kids go to a large school hundreds of kids six 700 kids, maybe 600 700 kids, you know the principal knew I would say pretty much every child’s name at the by the end of the school year.

41:33 - And so impressed by that. And in, you know, I’m not saying every principle does that or needs to do or can do that if I could just spend a special gift he had but to me that is so incredibly important that a child can walk through the campus, and the principal or a teacher or someone else can say hi to them using their first name. So being seen is so critical and so important, and, you know, so, for sure do that teacher pipeline teacher in service training so so important that has a lot to do with budget.

42:05 - budget, accountability, kind of reports like this and coming up with measures that campuses or districts can use are so important, paying attention to the roles that kids get assigned or, or, or can go after.

42:20 - And I think another one that’s so important that hasn’t been mentioned is leadership roles either as an entire community or the individual girls can jump into and play that are tied to community engagement or community advocacy and change efforts are so important I think there’s a total mismatch between the priorities, and the aspirations that essentially white lead public school system has compared to the needs and aspirations and visions that Latinx and black communities have And so making sure that there are real opportunities to plug in to community wide visions that agenda is important than making sure that that’s happening, is I think a good measure, that there’s work happening on this front.

43:10 - Yeah. I’m not sure if you all are noticing the chat but everyone’s appreciating these recommendations and this encouragement that you’re sharing and so, and there are a lot of questions in the q amp a so I wanted to pose a final question then we’ll see what questions audience members have. But what you know what is your vision for a school where girls of color are safe theme and affirm.

43:39 - What would be your vision as parents for schools where girls are safe.

43:46 - Yeah. To start, I think it’s it’s being able to benefit and leverage and recognize research such as this, the research piece that we’re talking about here.

43:56 - It’s, it’s data driven, it’s not anecdotes, not one person’s personal experience is a substantial robust deep analysis that’s data specific that helps to identify the issue with practical steps on how to solve and mitigate the risk of these issues continue to increase. So it’s recognizing the data behind the research, number one. Number two, it’s understanding the role that teachers have In addition, just a teaching that the curriculum, but their role as inclusive leaders, as we talked about before, inclusion is is really important, how do we look for opportunities to be inclusive and everything within the classroom and outside the classroom at an earlier age to be able to build up to be able to empower, to be able to support young black and white next girls that are looking to lead that are putting themselves out there that are trying.

44:52 - And the last thing we want is for that, that effort to be stunted. Right. And so one topic that we haven’t talked much about just in the interest of time, for the micro aggressions that exist, right, that everyday slights and indignities that people and and then this particular example black and white next girls face in the classroom and beyond that, when it happens just once. Fine, thick skin we’re tough, move on.

45:20 - But when it continues to happen over and over and over it has a disastrous potentially disastrous impact, right, it impacts productivity impacts morale and impacts your ability to want to speak up next time it impacts your ability to be part of a team.

45:34 - Part of the classroom, a sense of belonging, as we, as we’ve discussed earlier.

45:39 - So, so that’s number two, and then explicitly looking to give girls leadership opportunities.

45:47 - Sometimes you have to look for it, you have to, to make those opportunities, recognize that those opportunities need to be shared, so that you can support and nurture that growth and development.

46:00 - Sam Thank you. Cindy Olivia. I think black and Latinx girls are taking leadership positions in their daily lives and at school every single day and it’s happening all the time. I think that it’s not appreciate it and I think sometimes though it might be for roles are projects that the ones that are setting the vision that aren’t the ones setting the agenda, necessarily, and I think that’s the problem. I think women in general across our lives across our careers in schooling or in our jobs are seen as doers and people who are going to get the job done and that’s because we do, but there’s a difference between that and saying I’m going to be a creative social change maker right now and I’m going to envision and I’m going to lead a process with a lot of people like me and not like me to decide where we want to get to and I think that’s a huge difference that I would add to this, that it’s not take the leadership position on the fundraising to get money to go to this place that someone else already decided where we’re going to go or what we’re going to do with it I think that’s the problem, we’re turn to to do things returned to to fix things returned to to get the job done.

And our leadership skills are used in that and yet, our girls are imagining an entirely different world and that’s what we need right now.

47:25 - Yes, division shapers the dreamers. Yeah. Um, this is Sophie most often when I hear that question I have a 16 year old niece who lives with me who’s currently in high school and a nice who’s graduating and middle school and when I think about them, and the girls they go to school with one teachers need to be re educated, or educated. One of the things I have found in my anti racist work across sectors currently is some people just really don’t understand the micro aggressions that they put out there, they don’t understand the biases.

48:03 - Some of us come from oppressed groups so we understand oppression in a way that people who have had privileged don’t. And so there does need to be training around as Sam said micro aggressions systematic oppression the educational system.

48:17 - We can’t just assume that people know this stuff that we’re speaking the same language or the same vocabulary. And so I think that districts need to invest in that type of training I had a school in San Francisco very elite school, where the principal was a white male four years ago called me and said, Can we go on a journey together, and I’ve been training his staff or four years once a month. And it has taken four years to see cultural change within his school so much this teacher.

48:45 - So that one. The second is that that’s crucial, because the onus of change is not on Blackboard and let next girls in their parents, the only some changes on the education system in the teachers, the second is, I want black girls and my next girls to be able to show up and not be over sexualized not be looked at as grown women when they are not we don’t see our girls as grown women we see them as growing young people.

49:12 - And when people have those lands for our girls on. They then put on them things that they are not ready for or that is not theirs. Let our girls be girls, they will be women soon enough.

49:25 - And when they become transitional age youth, there is another level but I think when they walk into schools they put on armor, they strengthen up because they already know the tax that will come against them from the teachers from the kids who are reinforcing what teachers are saying, from what media is saying about their bodies and their image. And so I think when we address safety for black and my next girls, we have to look at the whole child.

49:51 - Right. And we have to say how do we not just address what’s going on, intellectually, but how do we address how the school is treating them. Girls are ready to lead and here’s what I want to say a soldier’s gonna be a soldier somewhere.

50:05 - And if you gotta leave if you got black and my next girls ready to lead. Either they’re going to lead in the way we support them and leading or they’re going to leave one way or another, and we usually think about that what are black and Latinx boys, but our girls are soldiers and warriors too, and they have spirits within them, that they are fearless from the ages of 12 to about 24, and they will say and do things that we are now afraid to say and do.

50:32 - And so invest in the warrior child the spirited girl. The girl who is all one of my friends are here on page 40. She said, Who, who is not afraid of Canada who has heart and who is authentically themselves.

50:45 - And so I think that’s when school will be safe when my niece’s can walk into school and they can be who they are at home, completely at school.

50:54 - Yes, I can bring their full selves. Yes. You will I have so appreciated this conversation and I know our audience members have to, and so Simone, would you like to bring us some questions from the audience.

51:11 - I know we have short amount of time but I’m seeing all of the chat It’s wonderful.

51:17 - Thank you so much. What an incredible, incredible conversation.

51:22 - Thank you for all of that we do have a ton of questions so let me jump right in. Um, one of them is, what are the recommendations from the panel to help our girls who desire to strive and perhaps also manage the stressors, of external non inclusive bias and balanced mental health, yes the micro aggressions or a good example.

51:44 - So focusing here on the girls. And this question.

51:49 - Can you ask that question one more time please Yeah, thank you.

51:52 - What are the recommendations from the panel to help our girls who desire to strive and perhaps also manage the stressors of external non inclusive bias, and balanced mental health.

52:05 - Yes, the micro aggressions are a good example.

52:11 - Just quickly find therapist I look like them.

52:14 - Find black and lead next women mental health is a big deal. I have a Caribbean lady in my life where she has a therapist, and I I don’t need to know what they talk about but she needs to talk to someone.

52:25 - So find a therapist. And the other part is there are mentors on campus, there are amazing Latinx black women Asian women abolitionists ally women and men.

52:39 - Fine, other young people who can help but this topic right here is actually one of the reasons why our girls are killing themselves are doing things they shouldn’t be doing and spinning out, because we expect black and let him, x, x girls to be strong on and Don’t cry, and we allow white girls to let them cry let them break hold them, put them back together and then let’s keep going. So thank you for that.

53:05 - All right. Does anyone want to add on or should I go to the next question. I think Olivia.

53:12 - Olivia. Yeah, no, I mean, similarly, you know, find a practice, whether it’s a walk through the park, whether it’s going for a swim sitting at the water’s edge, talking to a friend, find out what your rock is.

53:31 - so knowing that that’s something that you continuously have to revisit. I think it’s important. I was just gonna add a brief comment about as James you mentioned earlier mentors, as an example, the, the report mentioned that almost half of the girls surveyed have an adult mentor. That was encouraging to read. And that helps us to appreciate that we all can play a part. When we think about those that are in the audience today I saw some of the questions about what can I do to help if you don’t have a blog or line of throw in your household, what can you do well we can all be mentors in some way shape or form there wonderful organizations that create those opportunities.

54:09 - There’s three them involved with that were involved with and Morgan Stanley that that I know that supports high school age, black and line next, girls.

54:19 - So mentorship representation role modeling will help someone that’s been there before that understands that are looking to support these young girls, without any without asking for anything else, right, they’re there to support and nurture them that exists.

54:37 - Thank you. Alright, our next question is from Arizona.

54:46 - This dad writes my daughter in Scottsdale is one of the only in caps, the only teaching her that these things exist or hard for her to grasp and understand until she experiences it.

55:00 - How do I encourage my daughter in the midst of this when she hasn’t experienced these issues directly.

55:10 - That’s a great question. First of all, let’s meet our kids where they are right and so there are some kids who are more advanced and are ready to learn certain things and deal with it in different ways.

55:23 - As a parent, you have to trust that you know your child and and knowing your child find age appropriate things that can show them who they are. I want to start by saying, before you teach black and Latin next girls how broken the system says they are them who they come from. So show them movies and books around, black and Latinx strong women give them a strong foundation of their power and their heritage, so that when the day comes because it will win it would be called into question, they actually know that they come from greatness.

We don’t start supporting our girls when the system says they’re broken, we start supporting them so they can go against the system that says they’re broken.

56:13 - Alright, we have time for another question we asked my last question. Yes. You have one hand that says, what are the ways that organizations that are girl focus can leverage these insights.

56:28 - And this one, this part of the question applies to all parents do the same ideas, concepts apply for the adults and the lives of girls who aren’t teachers told me I’d say one more time.

56:40 - What are the ways that organizations that are girl focus can leverage these insights to the same ideas and concepts apply for adults in the lives of girls who are not yet teachers.

56:54 - Yeah, I’ll take I’ll take that one first. One it’s kind of a comment that I made earlier, these insights are data driven insights that help us to appreciate a foundation for how to support young black a lot of next girls, and how to create a development plan that will nurture and support them in their growth that’s that’s number one.

57:14 - But, more, more specifically, How I read this report, and really what struck struck me was the intersection of a number of different factors. We talked about the role of teachers.

57:26 - We talked about the role of biases we talked about the roles of families caretakers role models. Now if you put that all together, and you think about how can you create a system and environment, or how can you improve an existing environment, along those three points not in isolation, not just one of the three but together.

57:47 - You can accelerate progress where progress is needed. So, I would, you know, ask encourage organizations to look at our research like this and say how can you bring these three points together to support these young women.

58:02 - I think I would just underscore look at the systems. Look at the systems that are in place in the cultures that are replaced that are creating what you’re seeing in terms of girl leadership.

58:14 - Look at yourself as an adult before asking what’s wrong or what’s needed among girls, where their communities, and I think you’ll find a lot there.

58:26 - And I want to speak to the first part of the question around girl lead organizations. One girl in organization, this is our season. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.

58:37 - And so this report ticket to your funders, you’re about to go into a fund, take it to your funders, show your funders show them the numbers, take it to the school districts you serve right be the advocate in the system for young people and the reason I say take it to your funders, is because you do need more resources released to bring in mentors to bring in more staff members to figure out how not only to be client serving which is facing the young people, the girls, but also to figure out how to now use this to as advocacy and evidence.

I saw to chi Tyler and San Francisco do so well for years. The way she would approach the district the city the county.

59:22 - It was just warrior mode, and we cannot be afraid to go with evidence because so many people like herself and Dr. Kendra have gone with no evidence and gotten results and now we have evidence that this, this is our moment So, take the moment and just want to Sam Genji Olivia you have filled my cup and the cup of everyone here today. I thank you for your generous sharing for sharing the anecdotes from your personal lives and from your young people’s lives and for your work.

59:54 - And I hope that we stay connected. But just thank you for showing up for us and I would like to hand it over to two pi to close us out.

60:05 - And yeah like Kendra said I just feel so appreciative of you all. Thank you for coming for sharing your insights and your expertise with us I mean I’ve written down so many gems of what you said, I wish this conversation could just go on for such a long time because it’s such a necessary conversation but thank you, Sam Olivia Genji for showing up for our girls today.

60:30 - Again, I want to just appreciate Morgan Stanley for the sponsorship of the roundtables looking at this ready to lead research and the implications and so many sectors, for our audience and our participants who came out today if you want to know more about girls leadership and the work that we’re doing, please check us out, go to our website to see the programs that we’re offering. And I did want to share a little bit about our upcoming programs so we do provide professional development training what Genji Z talked about in terms of working with educators teachers district administrators nonprofit workers.

So we have an upcoming workshop on May 19. We hope that you’ll sign up and join us.

61:14 - If there is a girl in your life and you want to go with her to practice social emotional learning skills you want to support her leadership development, then sign up for one of our grow grown up workshops and those are starting May 25 and 26.

61:29 - And then this summer will be having online and in person day camps for girls in fourth through eighth grade. So again, we, if there’s a girl in your life, in your family and you want her to be able to have an opportunity this summer to come into community to come into a healing space with other girls to explore her leadership we invite you to join us there.

61:51 - So just thank you all so much. Our next round table related to our research will be on May 27 when we’ll be focusing on the educational system. We hope that you’ll come out and join us then.

62:04 - So in the meantime I hope you have a great afternoon. Thank you for being a part of our community. .