Dr. Aleesia Johnson
When the conversation with Bryan Stevenson concluded, I felt the same way I feel when I’m leaving church after hearing an incredible sermon—challenged and inspired.
I attended the event with two Black women who are trailblazers in the racial equity work happening in Indianapolis Public Schools—Dr. Patricia Payne and Ann Marie Byers. As Bryan talked about the ways we need to equip ourselves to continue to pursue justice—getting proximate; staying hopeful; being willing to be uncomfortable—I was struck again by the gift that I’ve received from my elders and those who’ve come before me. Because of women like Ann Marie and Dr. Payne, like my grandmothers, Alice and Dorothy, whose initials are tattooed on my wrist, women like Bryan’s grandmother, who he spoke of with such love and reverence, because of their willingness to hope in seemingly hopeless situations and to be uncomfortable in the pursuit of a future they had no guarantee of being a part of, I get to do my work each day. They’ve gifted me a blueprint of strength and resilience and, perhaps most of all, hope.
Therefore, while I can find myself overwhelmed by the challenges that exist, Bryan reminded us that it is hope that sustains us. And it is my witness of those Black women who’ve come before me and who continue to actively pursue a more just world for all of us that fuels my hope. May we all remain hopeful and diligent in our pursuit of justice.
Dr. Aleesia Johnson
Superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools
