“What if Narrative Inquiry could equip white school leaders with the confidence to effectively lead anti-racist schools?”
The Origin of the Question
Why am I asking this question? In January 2022, I embarked on my PhD journey, initially intending to explore the intersections of wholeness, whiteness, race, and school leadership. However, in August 2023, a cancer diagnosis unexpectedly interrupted my studies. This forced me to put my academic work on hold indefinitely as my health and recovery became my immediate priority.
A Journey of Transformation
A year later, after undergoing a hysterectomy and a course of radiotherapy, I am ready to return to my studies. But the Viv Grant who put down her pen in August 2023 is not the same Viv Grant who is now picking it back up in September 2024. My experience with cancer profoundly changed me, leading me on an introspective journey that I could never have anticipated. This journey prompted me to consider the narrative arc of my own life—the story embedded within my DNA, deeply rooted in the very structure of my being and the ancestral load I had not fully acknowledged before my diagnosis.
The Ancestral Load: A New Perspective
In the wake of this summer’s race riots, I’ve been pondering the ancestral load that white people carry as a result of this island’s history. We are perhaps more accustomed to considering this question in the context of Black and brown bodies, as data on our physical, mental, and emotional health often bear the most vivid testimony to the weight of the ancestral load we carry and the harm it has caused.
But rarely do we flip the inquiry to consider what this means for white people. Reflecting on the riots and my initial PhD research before my cancer diagnosis, I have come to believe that racism creates a psychological split in the white psyche. White people have wounds, too as a result of racism. This split can result in what some academics have termed “percepticide.” A killing of the senses that leads to inner dissonance and psychological vulnerability when race is discussed.
The Role of Narrative Inquiry
So, what does narrative inquiry have to do with this? As I’ve tried to make sense of my own cancer diagnosis and its impact on my life as a Black woman, it has partly been through story—through narrative inquiry—that I’ve found a deeper understanding of who I am, my sense of calling, and what healing needs to look like for me.
Stories and Storytelling have bypassed my inner critic, calmed the reactivity of my rational mind, and overridden my ego’s defences, leading me closer to a place I can call home within myself.
This realisation has led me to wonder: Could the right story, the right narrative, have the same impact on white school leaders as they seek to address the inner wounds of racism and undertake the inner work required to claim their agency as anti-racist educators and allies?
Addressing the Inner Work of Anti-Racism
The inner work necessary for white school leaders involves (amongst many other things) recognising and responding to:
- The deleterious impact that racism has on the inner world of those racialized as white.
- The sense of overwhelm and confusion that can arise when confronting the realities of racism.
With pen in hand and a renewed sense of purpose, I am donning my PhD research hat once again. It is my belief that ancient, archetypal stories can guide us through this particular dark wood. These stories speak to our deepest fears and worries in ways that data and statistics alone cannot. Whilst also providing wisdom, challenge, insight and inspiration. Furthermore, they reveal the depth of the inner work required to defeat the darkness and become the lights our world so desperately needs.
Looking Ahead: Sharing the Journey
As I delve deeper into my studies, I plan to share some of my research findings and reflections periodically. So, stay tuned. It is my hope that as I continue this journey, the eventual body of work will help transform the educational landscape and, in particular, aid white school leaders in reshaping their racial identities to become the anti-racist leaders our schools so urgently need.
