Running head: BLACK EMPOW(HER)MENT 1

Periana Wilson

Black Empow(HER)ment

Loyola University Chicago

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The leadership development program being proposed is titled Black Empow(HER)ment,

and its mission is to empower young Black women studying at the collegiate level to maximize

their leadership potential, and lead with authenticity, passion, and purpose through identity

exploration, service, and mentorship. The program is a joint effort between the Center for

Leadership and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at a midsized, private, predominantly

White, liberal arts institution. This program paper will briefly describe the need for this program

as well as the primary theoretical frameworks guiding it, which include: The Social Change

Model, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory. Then, the paper will outline the intended

outcomes for Black Empow(HER)ment. Following the program outcomes, I will describe the

various components of the program along with the pedagogical approaches and techniques that

will be utilized to ensure that the program outcomes are fulfilled. Afterwards, I will describe

how the program will be assessed.

In addition to being heavily grounded in theoretical frameworks, I believe that a dynamic

leadership development program geared towards a specific population of students based on racial

identity must also consider racial identity development when creating and implementing the

program. “Day, Harrison, and Haplin (2009) believe that there are numerous reasons why

identity development should be incorporated in leader development. As the authors noted,

“identity is important typically because it grounds individuals in understanding who they are,

what are their major goals and aspirations, and what are their personal strengths and challenges”

(cited in Shehane, Sturtevant, Moore, and Dooley, 2012, p. 143). It is imperative then that those

developing leadership programs for students, approach the program’s development from a

critical lens, accounting for the many social identities that students hold and the effect this may

have on students’ leadership development. Students from marginalized backgrounds often worry
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if they matter to anyone and need to know that they are cared about, that someone else will

celebrate their successes and empathize with their failures, and that others respect their effort

(Patton, Renn, Guido, and Quaye, 2016). Thus, intentionally implementing an inclusive

leadership program design “recognizes how social identity frames the ways in which students

perceive, interpret, engage with, and learn in the college context” (Dugan & Munin, 2011, p.

158). Since this program serves Black women, it is important to acknowledge how pervasive

racism and sexism are and have always been both in America and in institutions of higher

education (Davis, 2016). As a matter of diversity and social justice, and since institutions are a

microcosm of society, institutions must develop ways to support the needs of Black women to

provide them the same opportunities for success as their peers and promote this student

population’s holistic development (Davis, 2016).

The Black Empow(HER)ment program creates the space and opportunity for students to

engage in dialogue, self-assessment, experiential learning, reflection, and leadership

development related to their social identities, social justice, and inclusivity. As race is a crucial

part of the participants’ identity, Critical Race Theory will be used to aid in leadership

development as a part of the inclusive leadership design. Critical Race Theory challenges

systems of power, privilege, and oppression by focusing on individuals’ lived experiences as it

pertains to racism (Hernandez, 2016). Implementing a more critical lens into the various

conversations, activities, and other components of the program allows students to understand

social construction of identity and how they individually fit into society and the institution at

large. It is assumed that the participants’ most salient identities are their race and sex. As such,

the intersectionality of their most salient identities, in addition to the other identities they hold

must also be considered. “Intersectionality helps provide insight to the struggles faced by Black
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women and offers new ways of examining the female experience” (Robbins and McGowan,

2016 p. 76). Therefore, this program must be both gender based and culturally relevant.

The Social Change Model of Leadership Development approaches leadership as a

“purposeful, collaborative, value-based process that results in positive social change” (Komives,

Dugan, Owen, and Slack 2011, p. 45). The core values of the Social Change Model of

leadership are Consciousness of Self, Congruence, Commitment, Collaboration, Common

Purpose, Controversy with Civility, Citizenship, and Change, and this model encompasses

individual values, group values, and community values (Komives et al., 2011). The core values

will be further elaborated on as they are used to guide the leadership program. The following are

program outcomes for Black Empow(HER)ment:

1. Participants will be able to define leadership for themselves using examples from their

experiences in the program.

2. Participants will be able to work with other students across different social identities (i.e.

socioeconomic status, sexuality, gender, religion, ability status, etc.).

3. Participants will be able to articulate 3 goals and action steps that they want to achieve as

leaders in their community service initiatives. These will be assessed at the end of the

program and will be used in the mentor selection process.

4. Participants will be able to reflect on themselves and the leader traits they possess

towards the end of the program, utilizing what they learned from their initial self-

assessment (Strengths Quest, True Colors, etc.) and what they learned from doing

leadership in their community service projects.

5. Participants will be able to develop and execute a community service project.

Black Empow(HER)ment will include the following components:

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1. The first session will focus on developing self-awareness, identity development,

community building, and discussions on what a leader is, who are some prominent

leaders, etc. Examples of materials to be used include: Identity wheel, Strengths

Quest, Leadership Practice Inventory, etc.

2. The second session will dissect the question “What is leadership?” and discuss the

core components of leadership. Students will also discuss in depth how their specific

strengths and identities may influence their leadership style, how they show up in

certain spaces, etc.

The first two sessions correlates directly with the Consciousness of Self component of the

Social Change Model which accounts for students “being self-aware of their beliefs, values,

attitudes, and emotions” (Komives et al., 2011, p. 46). Contemplative practice, or reflection

helps students develop their leadership skills, cultivate self-awareness, and humility which in

turn allows for growth, change, and development (Komives et al., 2011, p. 327). Though the

Social Change Model does not explicitly address self-awareness as related to social identities, the

Black Empow(HER)ment program will account for the various intersecting social identities that

students hold by doing activities and having conversations related to identity. As

intersectionality highlights the complexities of lived experiences as it relates to power and

privilege (Patton et al., 2016), having identity at the forefront of everything we do will allow

students to deeply reflect on how their intersecting identities influence their being, and more

importantly, the way they lead. Completing the various assessments/activities (Strengths Quest,

Leadership Practice Inventory, and Identity Wheel) will help students develop a higher level of

self-awareness which is an integral part of leading, which is highlighted in multiple leadership

development models (Komives et al., 2011). It is my hope that in having these conversations
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about identity, they will show up honestly and authentically when conversing with their peers,

aligning with the Congruence value in the Social Change Model, in which students act in ways

that are consistent with their values and beliefs (Komives et al., 2011).

In addition to focusing on identity, the second session will begin the conversation on

leadership, how students understand leadership, and how they have come to see it as such.

Through talking about who the students see as leaders and leadership at large in the first and

second sessions, I hope to get a sense of whether they see themselves as leaders and what stage

they are in on the Leadership Identity Development Model (LID Model). Knowing the needs of

the group and where individuals are developmentally will help to better serve the group

collectively. Participants may be in the first stage, Awareness, in which they do not see

themselves as a leader, but recognize that leadership is happening around them; they could be in

the fourth stage, Leader Differentiated, in which they understand that one does not need to have a

title to be considered a leader (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen, 2005).

Students may also be in a place of not seeing themselves as leaders because of identities that they

hold. Thus, it is important to acknowledge that the LID Model may not be one hundred percent

applicable to the student population that the Black Empow(HER)ment group serves, because this

model was originally based on the experiences of White individuals (Komives et al., 2005).

Consideration is given to Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT), in which one has implicit bias in

who they think of as a leader (Dugan, 2017). If students are not seeing themselves as leaders or

not seeing anyone with similar identities as themselves as leaders, their self-efficacy, or

internalized belief system about their leadership capacity may be influenced by implicit bias

about leadership (Dugan, 2017). Wherever they are on the spectrum, this leadership program
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will help them develop further and help deconstruct any notions of power and privilege students

may hold as it relates to leaders.

3. In this session, the students will discuss their passion(s) in small groups and share out to

the larger group afterwards. They will discuss their capacity to affect change in the

world; they will also do several teambuilders.

4. In this session, students will work on vision boards representing their vision for the type

of leader they want to become (qualities, characteristics, examples, etc.) as well as their

passion(s).

The pedagogical approaches used in these two sessions are team based learning and more

contemplative practice, or reflection. My goal for sessions three and four is twofold; to foster

team based learning and to provide an educational experience where students can connect who

they are now with what they are learning and who they want to become. These sessions are

rooted in the three dimensions (cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal) of Marcia Baxter

Magolda’s self-authorship theory where students are exploring the following three questions:

how do I know, who am I, and how do I relate to others (Magolda, 1998). Sessions three and

four are a time for students to take part in and really think critically about their life journey thus

far, what they are passionate about, where they are going to go next in that journey, and how this

will affect change for others. These sessions will force students to consider the commitment

value of the Social Change Model, in which students have significant investment in an idea and

support one another’s passions (Komives et al., 2011). By talking with their peers about their

passions, students will hopefully get inspired by others and begin developing confidence in their

ability to affect change in the world.

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5. The fifth session, titled Empow(HER)ment will host various Black women who are game

changers and leaders in numerous ways in their communities as well as in various

industries. They will come and discuss how they have become a leader either in their

field or about something their passionate about, what they think a great leader is, what

leadership means to them, how their identity as a Black woman influences them as

leaders, challenges they face being leaders who are Black women, how they overcome

these challenges, and empower the young women so that they too can be great leaders

and have an impact on their communities. The young women will engage with the guests

in small groups, rotating so that they can talk to each guest about their take on leadership

and network with them in general. Then, they will gather with the Black women leaders

in different fields to share their visions and their perspectives and experiences on and

with leadership.

The intention of this session is to raise the visibility of Black women as leaders in various

capacities and address the constructs of race, gender, power and class in social justice and in

leadership. With the lens of Critical Race Theory, we assume critical conversations around

race, power, and privilege will lead to students disrupting the dominant narratives that they

are often taught (Hernández, 2016). Leaders who are speaking with students will be

encouraged to discuss intersectionality, and how it is so helpful in understanding why the

experiences of the different subgroups among Black women are so unique and should be

addressed differently. It will also allow students to see Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership

Challenge in action. The women coming to engage with the students will Model the way and

set a positive example for the program participants by aligning their actions with their values

and speaking on this, making the effort to inspire a shared vision for greatness among the
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program participants, challenging the process of leadership (including acknowledging that

informed risk taking is okay and learning from your mistakes is encouraged by sharing

examples), enabling others to act by building relationships with program participants and the

other women present, and encouraging the heart by showing appreciation to all of the good

leadership that everyone is doing, creating a space of love and community between the

leaders/speakers and program participant leaders in development (Dugan, 2017).

6. Based on themes from the young women’s passions and vision boards, they will be split

into groups. The group will be tasked with developing a community service initiative for

something aligned with their passion. Each group will present their individual vision

boards, the theme of their group member’s passions, and ideas that they have

brainstormed for their community service project to the larger group.

The intention of the small passion groups/vision board groups is to enhance the students’

group values as depicted in the Social Change Model. The students will work collaboratively,

utilizing one another’s strengths (Collaboration), working towards a common goal/purpose

because of their similar passions (Common Purpose), and learning how to navigate group

dynamics, which include differing opinions and viewpoints (Controversy with Civility)

(Komives et al. 2011). Thus, the pedagogical approach for this session is team-based learning.

This first experience of essentially doing a presentation together will allow students to learn

about one another’s skills, strengths, and overall how each of them works. From this experience,

groups will be encouraged to reflect on their first experience working together in this group, and

how to move forward (group expectations, giving and receiving feedback, acknowledging

everyone’s learning and working styles, etc.) since they will be working together on their

community service initiative (Komives et al., 2011).

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7. Participants will develop three goals and three action steps for each goal for their

community service initiative. They will continue working on bringing their idea to life

for the remainder of the semester; leadership trainings will be offered to them to enhance

the way they execute their projects and work together.

The community service initiative is intended to develop students’ community values,

Citizenship and Change of the Social Change Model (Komives et al., 2011). Through this

service project, students will become connected to the community and understand how important

it is to use their passion, skills, and leadership capacity to make the world a better place, not only

for themselves, but for others as well. “Three characteristics of quality leadership programs are

opportunities for service, experiential activities, and active learning through collaboration, such

as group projects. Students involved in these programs are more likely to learn the importance

of participating in their community and helping others, developing a sense of civic

responsibility” (Shehane et al., 2012. p. 142). This leadership program adheres to these three

characteristics by immersing students into community service, allowing them to develop a

service initiative which is an experiential activity, and having them to work in teams with one

another promoting active learning through collaboration. These three characteristics are

grounded in the team based learning, community service-learning, and experiential learning

pedagogies. Allowing students to develop their community service initiative based on their

passions will encourage authenticity in their service which will make it a more meaningful

experience. I would also argue that since the students are developing and implementing the

community service initiative and the bulk of their leadership development is essentially learning

leadership by doing it, that their community service is also rooted in the experiential learning

pedagogy. Experiential learning “is best conceived of from students testing their knowledge and
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adapting it to their environments…placing students in an environment where the application of

trust, teamwork, and integrity are necessary for leadership success…” (Komives et al., 2011, p.

317).

8. After community service projects are complete in the final week of the semester, students

will gather to celebrate one another’s successes and reflect on their projects, challenges

they faced, what they learned about themselves, what they learned about working in a

group, and what they learned about their leadership development over the course of the

semester. They will also reflect on how they can continue to be dynamic leaders both on

campus and in the world at large. They will see themselves as powerful young Black

women leaders.

The final aspect of the Black Empow(HER)ment program, debriefing the community

service initiative, utilizes the peer education and contemplative pedagogies to aid in leadership

development for participants. Reflection is not included in the Social Change Model, but it is

included in one of the five exemplary learnable leadership practices identified by Kouzes and

Posner, challenge the process; this practice encourages students to take informed risks and learn

from their mistakes (Komives et al., 2011). Students should always be encouraged to reflect on

their mistakes, both individually and as groups and learn from them. “The benefits of

contemplative practice for developing leaders is twofold: students engage in deep reflection to

learn more about themselves and how they interact with the world, they also develop the skill to

apply this process later in their lives…” (Komives et al., 2011, p. 329). Reflection, or

contemplative practice gives opportunities for change, growth, and holistic development. As

students have developed and completed an entire community service initiative and completed the

leadership development program, they will be validated by their peers and by the program
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facilitators. “Validation reflects a process rather than an end goal because the more students get

validated, the richer the academic experience” (Patton, et al., 2016, p. 41). Program facilitators

will acknowledge all of the students’ efforts and highlight the progress that they are making as

leaders, encouraging them to continue in the process, and challenge them to continue growing

and developing their leadership. Validation will continue to build self-efficacy.

Komives et al. (2011) highlight dimensions of the collegiate context which have the

greatest impact on student leadership development. These dimensions are: efficacy or the

student’s internalized belief system about their leadership capacity, sociocultural discussions in

which students engage in dialogue across differences in the context of leadership, faculty

mentoring, community service, involvement, formal leadership programs, and individual

leadership experiences (Komives et al., 2011). In developing my program, I decided to include

as many of these dimensions and characteristics as possible to have the greatest impact on the

students’ leadership development.

Given the outcomes for this program, students will be assessed in a few ways. The first

outcome will be assessed by comparing the participants’ written definition of leadership from the

beginning of the program to their definition at the end of the program; if their definition has

developed and is supported with concrete experiences from the program, it will be assumed that

they successfully met that outcome. The second outcome will be assessed by mere observation

of the program’s facilitators and from the student’s closing presentation which requires them to

give examples of what they learned from working with others (both their peers and the people

they worked with for their community service project). Outcome three will be assessed by

meeting with the students one on one to debrief the program and find out if they met their goals

and followed through on their action steps that they wrote out earlier in the program; this will
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also be evident in their closing presentations. Evidence of meeting one’s goals will be used in

the mentor selection process. The last two outcomes will also be demonstrated through the

participants’ closing presentations, but students will also complete individual self-reflections that

will be discussed in their last one on one meeting with the program facilitator.
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References

Davis, A. Musu. (2016). Emerging Research on High-Achieving Black Women.

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Jossey-Bass

Dugan, J. P., & Munin A. (2011). Inclusive design. In Komives, S. R., Dugan, J. P., Owen, J. E.,

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(pp.158). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Hernández, E. (2016). Utilizing critical race theory to examine race/ethnicity, racism, and power

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Komives, S. R., Dugan, J. P., Owen, J. E., Wagner, W., Slack, C., & Associates. (2011).

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Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye. (2016). Student Development in College:

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83). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Shehane, M., Sturtevant, K., Moore, L., Dooley, K. (2012). First-year student perceptions related

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