Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:00]:
Welcome advocates to another episode of the Leading Equity podcast, a podcast that focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their schools. Today's special guest is Yurick Shannon. So without further ado, Jurek, thank you so much for joining us today.

Ulric Shannon [00:00:16]:
Thank you for having me.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:17]:
Pleasure is all mine. I'm excited about today's topic. It's probably a topic that is I would argue I'm back and forth with this these days as far as the timeliness of today's conversation. It's it's always been around, and I bring it I have this conversation every now and then, with folks, so I'm excited for it. But before we get into that, I'd love for you to share a little bit about yourself and what you currently do.

Ulric Shannon [00:00:40]:
I'll try to keep this short as I can. I may look young, but I got a long well, a lot of work history. But I think most important outside of my career is a third grade teacher here in Chicago, and that's kind of where I got the education bug and proceeded to work in a lot of different spaces from large nonprofit organizations, leading into the teacher pipeline, because we need teachers across this country, work for Chicago School Central Office, leading their family community engagement work. And prior to my current role, which I'll speak about in a minute, I launched an organization called Liberated Way where we supported schools and districts around the country and reimagining what school could look like alongside with their community. So it was a completely community driven approach, which came from my time here at Surg. And I'll say, my first connection with Surg was I'm an alum. I'm a proud alum. I've gone through the process.

Ulric Shannon [00:01:27]:
I've gone through arts and sessions. And I was called back maybe four years, four or five years after I did the program to come back and now currently serve as the executive deck director of the Surg Institute in Chicago.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:01:38]:
Alright. Love it. So tell us about you said you're the executive director. What does the SIRG Institute do?

Ulric Shannon [00:01:42]:
We are a national nonprofit organization that supports black and brown leaders, and I'll say energizing them around the work, elevating them, and how does this place for education as well? That can be through principals, teachers, school leaders, lawyers, folks in the education ecosystem who impact young people in whatever way that they can. But here specifically in Chicago, we are the flash flagship program of the organization as it all started here in Chicago by our founder, Carmita Saman. It is a ten month cohort based experience that connects, accelerates, and empowers these leaders of color. It's really what I like to say is a journey that they go on in a collective group where they do learn some executive skills and they also learn how to navigate complex systems, but it's really about the vast network that they get mission driven leaders of color who understand and support each other. And so we've seen that type of community really launch careers, launch change, really positive way in our schools, in our organizations, in our community. Yeah. So that's that's Serge.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:02:44]:
Alright. I love it. And just just so I'm clear, do you have to be in the Chicago area? And and you said that you have to identify as a person of color?

Ulric Shannon [00:02:52]:
Yes. And well, for our flagship in Chicago, you must live in the Chicagoland area, but we're also in DC. We're in Detroit. We're in Philadelphia. We have alums in Oakland, Indianapolis, Las Vegas. So we are all across the country taking a space with our 444, almost 500 after this class graduates of of alums across this country.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:03:14]:
Nice. Okay. Okay. Cool. Alright. Well, let's get into today's topic because, like I said, I I I have this conversation every so often. I just as the time goes by and we're in The United States, We are in a space where our our our presidential has has eradicated or there's a mission, there's this push to end DEI efforts. And so as a result, it you you know, folks I mean, DEI let me say it out because they got me just giving the letters.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:03:46]:
Hold on. Let me let me back this up. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is under attack. See, they got me. Anyway, so I kinda wanna start with your take as far as what you're seeing, especially in your area, things that you're doing, the work that you're doing, your organization is doing. What is your take on the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion these days?

Ulric Shannon [00:04:06]:
What we know is that systems don't change unless leadership changes. And so we're trying to get folks in a room to fight these fights that are not new. We could call it any acronym, any word. This this has always been happening since, you know, black folks has entered into this country. And so what we do know is that if we look at our ancestors, their resilience, their power, their truth has last through every single type of fire. And we know we'll we'll show up on the other side of this with a lot of learning. But for us, it's not politics. It's people.

Ulric Shannon [00:04:36]:
It's really about ensuring that those folks, those educational leaders, really reflect the students and the families that they serve because what we know is truth. It is fact. Where students improve academically, holistically is when they have a diverse set of leaders in front of them. We need them in this work, and we're looking at long term system change. And that doesn't happen to the individually. It happens as a collective. And we have to recognize some of our responsibility in that space to be able to dream of what actually the outcome of, you know, DEI it is. It could be our compass, but it's not the goal.

Ulric Shannon [00:05:11]:
The goal is liberation and justice. And so we can leverage that, but no no fight against the word. Alright.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:05:17]:
I like that. So I've said this before. I think sometimes it's it it boils down to a manner of semantics. You you change certain words. I've said this before. It's like, you know, you say diversity, they say differentiated instruction that seems to be acceptable. You say equity. So that that that causes people to go a certain direction.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:05:36]:
But you say belonging, and and that seems to be okay. So it's it's to me, it boils down to semantics. I I was just having a conversation with a colleague earlier the last week, and the conversation was centered around what's what are you doing? Right? Because diversity, equity, inclusion is a it's a challenge. Your company my company's leading equity center, and, you know, it's part of. And so I was just saying, like, I think at the end of the day, we can all agree that we want our students to be successful and that we recognize think whatever your political stance is, we we can all recognize that all kids some kids need more than others. The there there's different pacing and whatever it is. Why can't we all agree that let's just give the students what they need in order to be successful? So from what I'm hearing on your end is the letters have been around. These things have been out there.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:06:29]:
It's still there. We're gonna keep moving forward. How does this backlash from diversity, equity and inclusion impacts our black and brown educators out there?

Ulric Shannon [00:06:41]:
Well, maybe I'm not like everyone, but there's a fear. There's a nervousness. Change is hard for anybody. I think this happens with anytime you have an elect election and maybe it's not the person that you won't win or maybe it's different from your thinking. So there is some fear that exists across organizations as they're trying to navigate the new times. They're trying to navigate new demands and new structures that are coming super fast. But personally, for me, this is probably energizing for me. Like, it is a reminder of, like, why I do this work.

Ulric Shannon [00:07:13]:
Why do I why why do I need a community? Why do I do a lot of reading? Why do I wanna bring these type of folks together? Because I know I can't do this alone. It's gonna take time for the type of change that we wanna see in this country. I mean, we can look at organizations who backtracked on their missions and received backlash that are not even in the education space in corporate America. So I think folks, you know, everywhere are are feeling it, and it could change day to day. Like, there are times when I may look at the news and I'm just I hold my head, and then there are days I'm like, okay. I know some people who can, like, help us navigate this or fix this. It may not be today, but I'm already starting to think of, like, how do we continue to bring the jingus together because we can't be expert at everything. But to unravel some of the what we may feel is chaos or deconstruction or dismantling we have to do in order to protect our people and the work that we do.

Ulric Shannon [00:08:05]:
But it also should give a little bit of a fire to funders, to nonprofits, to education systems, to cities, mayors, to standing your courage. You sit you sit on the campaign trail. You sit it when you got the superintendent job. You you got it in this leadership role. Standing your truth. And and I promise altogether we'll make it through. So every day could be a little bit different for different folks.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:08:27]:
I got you. Alright. Now one of the things that stood out in your response was you you mentioned that you feel energized. That's probably something I haven't heard someone in a workplace say, but I think you did a good job explaining it. I think sometimes we get as an educator myself of color, you know, I get asked a lot of questions from folks who are not of color. And so they'll ask me certain things, and I find myself being a spokesperson. I have a question in regards to what kind of tools are you preparing our black and brown educators to maybe respond to, I don't know, microaggressions or when they feel tokenized, those kind of things? Like, what kind of tools, tips can you give in response to these type of areas?

Ulric Shannon [00:09:11]:
We have what we call spirit, heart, hand, and head work. And I think what you're speaking to is our heart work. One, it is the ability for us to manage our emotions in service to a greater good, a greater purpose. And so when we may feel that little, like, this microaggression or or this thing or, like, why do I have to explain this to you? It is really about one of us being able to just manage that field because maybe their intentions are pure and they do wanna help. They wanna be more than the ally. Right? They wanna be a co conspirator. And so our folks do a lot of training from negotiations, from some of the greatest professors in this country. We have change management.

Ulric Shannon [00:09:50]:
We have communication. We have branding. We have project and program management. And so they're getting a real holistic, like, learning opportunity. But then we also went to the space of what we consider spirit, which is the ability to see and articulate the benefits for our people for the long term. And so that comes out in freedom dreaming, which most programs may call a capstone. But ours is really about, like, how what where can you lean into your genius, your brilliance, your passion to whip your own brick, changing the system. So you don't have to have all the bricks, but what's that one? And I will say that is probably the most challenging simply because people do not have the space to get creative and innovate.

Ulric Shannon [00:10:32]:
And so being able to articulate that even in the space of, like, where it may feel like a tension or a challenge for our white counterpart to just have questions, then they're to articulate what does liberation and freedom actually mean for all people through their own lens, their own experiences. And then we have, you know, like I said, handwork, which is really about bringing our people together, enabling them to collaborate. And then head is about recognizing even in these systems that, we individually and collectively can play a part in that, but thinking about how they can affect the results that we want. I think when we get the chance to sit down with people where emotions are controlled, then we can actually learn a lot from folks if our hearts are open to do so.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:15]:
I got you. Alright. Can you share with us maybe some examples of some strategies that our folks of color can, you know, navigate some of these conversations? Like, one of the things you mentioned was, like, explaining what liberation means or like, I I wanna give some some some examples to the listeners out there as far as some strategies and talking points maybe that you can share.

Ulric Shannon [00:11:36]:
I think the easiest what we share with our fellows is, well, stand in your truth. Like, stand in your truth. Only you have your life experience. Only you live in the space in which you live and have some of those experiences. So, like, you need to just, at this time, stand in your own truth, stand in your reality, and share that with people. We might be shocked that people actually wanna hear your story, hear your journey, and hear your why. And we also just ask you, like, this is the time to run. This is not the time to stand still in fear.

Ulric Shannon [00:12:05]:
This is your calling to release that genius and that brilliance to run-in this space and think about how you can impact this space positively no matter where you live in this country. And sometimes you gotta hold other people to help them and be their healing space, but I think it is also healing for you to dive deeply into something that you're passionate about that can counter where you may or may not feel attacked. That's what I'm asking you to do right now. Like, you don't have to be in education to make a positive impact and change in your community, but this is the time to fight like hell too. And I think in the words of the great Kendrick Lamar, we're gonna be alright. Oh,

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:44]:
I love it. Alright. Alright. Alright. I like how you did that. Well, I

Ulric Shannon [00:12:48]:
like how you do that.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:50]:
That was good. That was good. Okay. Alright. I'm gonna shift gears a little bit, just a little bit, because I've I've I have as we mentioned before, before I even hit record, I was like, I lived in Idaho before I moved to Phoenix, and I have found myself, like, had to do my actual job duties. Right? And then I found myself being a mentor to other black students. I saw myself doing advocacy work to bring awareness because it seemed like I was the only one who's really noticing things. And I know a lot of educators of color are finding themselves doing additional work that they're not being paid for, but they just if they don't do it, who will? Right? So a lot of my multilingual folks are having to translate in Spanish and all these different things.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:33]:
And, again, it's not something that they're compensated for. So I wanna shift gears to burnout because it is something that can happen, you know, after a few years. Because, again, I gotta teach, gotta plan lessons, I gotta grade papers, and be an unofficial mentor, if you will. So what strategies can you give to keep our cups filled so that we're we still we're still in the in this, you know, fight, but we're also taking care of ourselves as well. What kind of strategies could you give to us? Wow.

Ulric Shannon [00:14:05]:
I think our previous surgeon surgeon general gave us the best prescription for the country during this time, and that is community. Finding your people, finding your space can totally be healing. That could be in your school building, like your colleagues, right, your families. They may be your own personal family or group of friends. Like, give some time with them. Spend some time with them not talking about the work. I mean, I know that it's extremely hard inside of schools, and I give it up to every principal, every teacher because, really no matter what you do inside of a school right now, it is it is hard. It is extremely hard and tiring.

Ulric Shannon [00:14:40]:
But I also think it is when you feel that calling, like really no matter what you do, you're always gonna be tired. There's never gonna be a perfect time for anything. As a millennial, I was sharing with my coworkers and the cohort, actually, that I think I've experienced everything. Well, I should just be tired because of living on Earth. I mean, I think about eighth grade. It was Columbine. My mother was terrified for me to go to school thinking anybody with a trench coat is gonna pull out a gun. Then we had nine eleven.

Ulric Shannon [00:15:06]:
Like, I'm sitting inside my classroom watching this. I graduated from college during the great recession. And, like, there were no jobs out there. Like, then there was a I graduated from grad school. I come back there as, you know, the housing market crashed. And so then we had COVID, and so, like, all of those things are gonna come, and, like, you gotta find your direct and right practice of healing and self care with this that vacation or playing Sudoku, like, if that takes your five minutes. Just doing something to take care of yourself. I've recently got it to running.

Ulric Shannon [00:15:35]:
I'm supposed to run a marathon this year, so we'll we'll see.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:15:37]:
You're supposed alright. I I wanna hear, like, this is being recorded. Right? Yeah. I know. It's gotta happen. So when is your when is your marathon?

Ulric Shannon [00:15:46]:
It's in October. October eighteenth, Chicago marathon. And so I just found that running one has given me another community. There are a surge of alums that I run with regularly, and that's a hill of space because it's just you kinda zone out. When I run along, I feel accomplished when I get home, and then I can start my day. So whether it's the Peloton, running outside, we just maybe need to touch some grass to feel that way. If it's a sound bath, a massage, Do your big one to take care of you because you know how you need to be taken care of. So community and and your own path to self care.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:16:20]:
Alright. Yeah. I was gonna ask you, what what is your self care? I had a a guest, a good friend of mine, that that talks about self care plan and the importance of having a self care plan, not in reaction, but just as like, you don't wanna wait till the last minute, right, when you're, like, done and just the world is coming down on on your shoulders. But you wanna be doing things to maintain your yourself. And I think that's that's something I've I've took that advice. And so now, you know, I like to hit the gym. I like to go roller skate and those kind of things. Or or I'm not gonna run a marathon.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:16:53]:
That's that's okay.

Ulric Shannon [00:16:55]:
I'm a

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:16:56]:
feel safe then. That's I almost said something like

Ulric Shannon [00:16:59]:
that stuff.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:17:00]:
That stuff is not for me. Okay? So I respect

Ulric Shannon [00:17:03]:
It is not for everybody. But, you know, you actually got me thinking in in our sessions. We actually have a session of capacity. And oftentimes, people think that you have a capacity for work and a capacity for your personal life, and they go together.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:17:16]:
Yeah.

Ulric Shannon [00:17:16]:
And I think it's a simple practice for you or for anyone, maybe not running, but sitting down and kinda writing down, like, what's pulling on me right now? Right? Like, I'm if I if I'm a %, there may be times when my partner or my family is just getting on my nerves. Right? And that's, like, a lot of extra burden that capacity that I may not have for work during that time. And then there may be, like, a board meeting or a big report or a project that you're finishing up. Like, that's gonna pull away from capacity at home. And so maybe, like, a good practice that our fellows also do is, like, at the beginning of the week, take a moment to write down and see all the things that you're holding. And where do you wanna put that other 25? Can you reduce some of that capacity in one area that's not, like, giving you life during that time important to something else? And so just taking that moment to not jump into the week and jump into and run throughout the week, but but just taking a moment for yourself to really think and and create a Venn diagram or whatever you need to to say, like, where is my capacity? Where do I want it to be? And what shifts can I make to get me back to a more balanced space? So you don't gotta run. Just take out a pencil and some paper, and that's a much simpler activity.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:22]:
I gotcha. Alright. So I heard community, and then also I'm hearing journaling as well. And it got me thinking because I I'm a very people don't believe me, but I'm very introverted. And so, like, me gonna go find community is not always thrilling for me. However, being in my thoughts, just kinda having that one or two small group interactions has been help is always helpful for me. I'm I'm not gonna necessarily run to a big group space. Okay.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:48]:
It's just not necessarily my thing. However, however, I do find it important to have these kind of conversations with with colleagues. Just one on one is is is is about where I'm at. What is more for you, York? What is kinda like your go to? Are you more on the journaling side? What's your go to?

Ulric Shannon [00:19:06]:
I'm certainly on the community side, and my top five is woo. So I'm not a fan of yours. I I love to be in yes. I love being in a room with people and talking and learning about them and what they do and what gets them excited. I get energy in that space. Communication is in my top five. So I I love to be in spaces with people, learning about people, building together, thinking together. It is certainly a a healing space because it's I also will sit in my head.

Ulric Shannon [00:19:35]:
And, like, actually hearing other people maybe voice their frustration or voice their win is like, okay. I'm not crazy. Like, other people are feeling the same thing that I'm feeling today. They're going through the same thing I'm going through. I will also say, it's funny that communication and woo are my top five, because those are things that I actually shelled early in my career because I would always get checks on my report card as a kid because they said I talk too much. And then I actually had an interview where they said I got the job, but they later told me that, like, you almost didn't get the job because you talk too much. And so I would shell myself even though I was fighting against my own innate and natural gifts and talents. And that's actually one of the things that I got from Serge.

Ulric Shannon [00:20:11]:
It's like, actually lean into your natural gifts and talents. And for me, just wooing and working rooms, advanced community with people is is healing. It's natural. It doesn't feel like a lift. And then I go home and I can sleep well. It it it's fine when I get home. Like, maybe a little overextended my my will, but, but, yeah, it is I'm certainly a a a community person.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:20:34]:
I think harmony is my number one.

Ulric Shannon [00:20:36]:
Okay.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:20:37]:
I'm big on teamwork and let's let's come together kinda thing. That's that's my thing. So I'd I'd that's probably why sense of belonging is so important to me these days. It's just I didn't have a name behind it. It was just but but once I did my strength finders, I was like, oh, shoot. Harmony just kept popping up, and it made a lot of sense with a lot of, like, my ideologies, my mindset when it comes to leadership. But I'm glad you're in a place where you feel like you can be yourself. I'll tell you this, Yurick.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:21:03]:
I I have learned a lot with this conversation in regards to where we're at with the diversity, equity, and inclusion, and also just some support for our our folks of color. I mean, what is it? It's like 3% of colors. I don't know. The stats are just really low when it comes to our our representation out there.

Ulric Shannon [00:21:23]:
Yes. Absolutely. I mean, men are only 2%. Black men are only 2% of the entire teaching population and and could be quickly fading. I mean, I know, like, organizations like us struggle to get more black men. It's just simply because, one, there's not that many. And two, folks of color are often more afraid to ask their employer to support them financially through a fellowship or extended edu continuous education. A lot of organizations may not provide that or have the ability to.

Ulric Shannon [00:21:50]:
Some are actually cutting back right now simply because they are watching their budgets because of the market, because of, you know, political challenges. And so, one, I would always welcome people to any surge event to come to our website to learn about what we do at Surg. So check out searchinstitute.org. There's lots of information. Lots of our programs have open applications currently. But, also, to, like, join this movement. And, like, if you don't have the time, you may have the treasure or or you may have the talent. And so whether that's you becoming a speaker or hosting a surge event at your business or whatever, you can also join our impact community where you can give as little as $5 a month and up to as much as you got per month to really help folks who wanna do fellowships and programs, who who may not have the financial means to do so.

Ulric Shannon [00:22:40]:
And I'm really all always proud to share that 75% of any dollars raised at CERT goes 75 percent of that always goes directly to program. And so a very small of that goes to, you know, administrative things, back of house stuff, but we wanna pour directly, strongly, heavily into our people too. Because like you said, this work is hard. They're exhausted. And I don't want to create this a burden when they come to any of our sessions. They should feel comfortable. They should feel loved. They and and feel like they could just be with our presenters and facilitators.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:10]:
As we wrap up, why don't you give us any final words of advice to our listeners out there?

Ulric Shannon [00:23:14]:
I know that times right now may just feel very tense and split, but what I want you to understand is that we given that we all want our children to succeed, if we feel that currently, like, education is political, like, we need to reevaluate our values. It's the work of diverse leadership rooted in community for the greatest impact of all young people.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:36]:
Thank you. And we'll definitely links in the show notes, folks, as well. York, it has truly been a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time.

Ulric Shannon [00:23:44]:
Thank you.

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