Embracing Dialogue: Learning from Montgomery's Legacy Museum

Spring is a busy time at the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED). Our schedules are brimming with opportunities for learning and growth to create inclusive learning environments in the communities we serve. We are constantly seeking experiences to fuel that work so we can lean into the issues our communities face. In that spirit, we gathered as many team members as possible for a Spring Break trip to the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.????

The Legacy Museum is a powerful testament to the enduring impact of racial injustice in America. It walks visitors through the painful history of slavery, lynching, and mass incarceration - confronting visitors with "the uncomfortable truths of our past while inspiring action towards a more equitable future."?????

At the museum, we encountered the reality of systemic racial oppression, newspaper headlines, and descriptions of public lynchings and other forms of racial terrorism from our not-so-distant past. The exhibits were a new narrative of our history for a few of us. For many of us, it was history we knew all too well, as we are personally affected by it daily. For all of us, it was a visceral and emotional experience.?One of the final exhibits is a soaring Reflection Room telling the stories of 400 people who stood up for racial justice. Some are familiar to us—Rosa Parks, WEB Du Bois, John Lewis—and others are less known but have lived heroic lives. It's a moment to sit with what you just experienced and witness the stories of those who fought back.????

Our hearts were filled with joy to see Mary Elizabeth Branch, our namesake, celebrated in that space for her pioneering work transforming higher education for African Americans. Born in 1881, Branch made history as the first woman of color to lead an accredited senior college in the United States, revitalizing Tillotson College in Austin, Texas, into a thriving undergraduate institution. Her trailblazing efforts paved the way for initiatives that propelled Minority-Serving Institutions to the forefront of educator preparation.? She also co-founded the United Negro College Fund.??

The Legacy Museum validates the urgency of BranchED's mission to diversify the teacher workforce. By reflecting on who was denied access to education throughout our history and who was excluded from teaching positions, we walked away with a deeper understanding of how generations of Black educators were denied the opportunity to teach. Black teachers and principals were fired illegally, demoted, and replaced by less qualified and experienced White counterparts.??

Our team left the museum with a fierce sense of urgency to right this historical wrong through our work. Supporting educator preparation programs at Minority Serving Institutions is crucial for dismantling long-standing obstacles that impede talented teachers of color from entering and remaining in the profession.?

We gathered as a team afterward and shared our lived experiences, discussed our perspectives, and embraced the discomfort of the experience. At BranchED, we recognize the power of authentic engagement as the catalyst for meaningful dialogue and understanding. We also know that our team's diversity is our strength.??

We met each other respectfully, embracing the diversity of our lived experience, recognizing our respective privilege, and valuing the human stories that underpin our teacher preparation work. Our willingness to navigate uncomfortable truths and engage in authentic dialogue strengthened our team bond and made us better travelers on the road to educational equity.??

We discussed how we'd incorporate our insights and emotions into our work. Open dialogue is crucial to our work with the communities we serve. Without it, our ability to understand diverse viewpoints diminishes. By having these conversations, we are even more prepared to listen, support, and meet the needs of the diverse educators we serve.?

As a team, we will remember the stories we encountered in Montgomery as we work to diversify the teaching profession. And after this impactful Spring Break, we are eager for our next opportunity to learn from and alongside each other.?