Being a Black educator in the American system of schooling will test the faith of the strongest. In this powerful episode, Doctoral candidate Donna Druery (who has her defense the day after this episode!) shares the long journey through education that ultimately ended with her departure. She shares upsetting experiences, ranging from the hostile to the absurd. An excellent educator once highly recruited and touted as exceptional in her context, she experienced what so many Black educators experience. Her professionalism was not simply questioned, but outright attacked. She was the subject of gossip among White teachers. For over a decade she found herself in a textbook abusive relationship with her job. At times, she felt that “we were turning a corner” only to find herself attacked again.

Listeners will find resonance with Donna’s story. The “constant strategizing” simply to be heard in her community the physical manifestations of her racial battle trauma.

Through it all Donna’s faith carried her to a degree that is jarring and powerful. Don’t miss this episode of the Exit Interview!

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