Inspiring All Youth Through Diverse Classroom Libraries

MY VIEW

Stories of great leaders of color shaped me as a young man. I was inspired and driven by reading stories of people who represented me, written by people who looked like me.

By sharing dimensions of my experience as an African American, these writers showed me that I could be my own protagonist — I could be a leader, I could be brave, and I could make a lasting impact on the world.

This is the philosophy I’ve been living my entire life as an education leader. As a founding principal of a network of public schools across the five boroughs of New York City and Newark, N.J., focused on educating young men of color, I’ve seen how students thrive when they have positive representations of people like them overcoming obstacles through dedication and bravery.