Chapter 10: Strategies for Centering Community Engagement in Anti-Racism Leadership Education

Partnerships that center voice and actively engage the community will always be the core of social change and liberation. It is imperative that we begin this chapter with this thought—whatever is done for me, without me, is done to me. We cannot begin a conversation on community engagement without first acknowledging this statement. This grounds our conversation, creating a shared understanding amongst us. To ground our understanding of anti-racist leadership education, developing anti-racist leaders cannot be done without diverse voices—ones that represent a multitude of thoughts, experiences, and are actively committed to deconstructing oppressive power.

Community engagement is the act of interacting, soliciting participation, and building relationship with members. Often, organizations erect programs and adopt policies under the guise of development but become a detriment, if done without actively engaging the community. As we strategize on how to center community, it is built on this premise—listening is the lifeblood of community engagement. It is upon that premise on which I provide strategies to engage the community in anti-racist leadership education. I draw from Ibram Kendi’s, How to Be an Anti-Racist (2019) to define “anti-racist” and “racist” to provide a starting point as you begin to read the resources recommended in this chapter.