A Leadership Matters Roundtable

The connective tissue that connects the work of Kellogg Fellows across the world is a commitment to just, inclusive and equitable communities.

This month I [and a packed chat room of Fellows from around the world] sat down with Dr. Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California Professor, and James Bell, Founder and President of the Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice, Fairness and Equity who shared their perspectives as a part of our ongoing exploration of one of our Leadership Matters themes — Race, Equity, Healing and Justice.  

Our point of entry into our discussion was the following framing question: 

What insights are you gleaning through your work in the race-healing-equity-justice space about “the work of our time” as it relates to moving the needle in the right direction for children, families and communities?

Manuel offered an insightful narrative rooted in his work as a scholar committed to research, scholarship and supporting social movements in the work of reframing the big questions and changing the world.

“California is America fast forward.” — Dr. Manuel Pastor

Manuel lifted up the link between demographic changes well underway in the United States and the politics of the day and honed in on some real world insights from the California experience as “America Fast Forward.”

James rooted his comments at the intersection of the interpersonal and the structural to reflect how the historical and structural legacies of racism affect the administration of justice and the realities and perceptions of power, equity and accountability.

Their insightful remarks provided lots of grist for an exchange with the Fellows that incorporated healing, restorative justice, mass incarceration, migration, sustainability and then some.