Dr. Pratt learned how to follow the whisper of the spirit, work within and without the system, address racism and sexism head on, and promote impactful diversity initiatives.
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TIMESTAMP OF TODAY’S VLOG
Jean interviews Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke, educator at Virginia Tech [VT], innovator, and author
0:12
Jean asks how Menah feels about the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.
2:32
Menah describes Virginia Tech’s institutional commitment to “Inclusive VT,” which involves structures, strategies, policies, procedures, and processes to ensure the sustainability of diversity. This commitment is based on its motto “That I May serve,” or Ut Prosim.
The Supreme Court didn't close the door; there was a window in the decision that said applicants can talk about race in terms of their background, experiences, skills, and expertise in their essay questions.
9:06
How did Menah come to this work?
Her father is from Sierra Leone; her mother’s great-grandmother was enslaved. Both parents earned PhDs in the ‘60s.
10:07
Her mother was successful. In her academic career, she became a full professor at a time when Black women were less than 1% of all full professors.
Father's career was sabotaged by racism three years into his teaching career. He raised his children to be independent of the system. Brother is a musician, Menah had a tennis career.
14:09
Menah quotes Audre Lorde: will the oppressor's tools dismantle the master's house? Can someone use the oppressor’s tools to dismantle unjust processes?
“You’ve got to know what it means to be an insider. I'm the vice president of a major research institution so I'm an insider, but I'm also the only Black woman in leadership position there so I'm also an outsider.”
16:56
Menah talks about listening to the spirit. “I have been obedient to the whisper of the spirit. The whisper said ‘Virginia Tech.’ And then I was obedient. I have been at Virginia Tech seven years.”
20:42
“The whisper is a restlessness of the spirit. It's a tension, you start to feel a tension, a push and a pull, should I? Questioning, it's like a questioning energy. It's a type of energy.
“I'm going to try to live my life in a way that I don't have any regrets.”
22:31
Jean asks: How do you rise?
24:08
Understand the people in an organization. Where does power sit? Where does influence sit? And it's not always the person with the most senior title.
Build relationships at all levels of an organization and understand the culture of an organization.
Show achievements and accomplishments. And try to be liked, for lack of a better word.
29:47
How does Menah respond to racist or sexist comments?
“Did you say that? Just, did you say that? Okay, and that made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. Can we talk about that?" Gently try to have a conversation about it.
Calling the colleague out or calling the colleague in.
34:47
What makes Inclusive VT successful? The commitment of the President from day one.
The second thing is resources. It's money for programs. It's money for salaries. It's money to change the culture of an institution.
41:20
How transferable is this to corporations or nonprofits? You need the commitment of leadership: the CEO, COO, the board. The investment of resources in a corporation. Clarity of vision.
45:26
“My new book – Blackwildgirl: A Writer's Journey to Take Back Her Superpower – is based on 45 years of journals. It’s about my life journey as a Black girl becoming a Black woman in America. I spent my life trying to recapture that sort of feisty energy that I think a lot of little Black girls have, that sometimes our little superpower gets shut down.”
51:00
Menah describes her mother having had a particular determination. People who rise above their circumstances have a certain mindset, a persistence of fierce commitment to themselves, that allows them no matter what the obstacle to continue to persist.
52:09
Jean: No matter what, just keep going.
53:09
Menah’s website is www.menahpratt.com, or go to Facebook, Menah Pratt on Facebook and Instagram.
 Menah Pratt Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity Professor of Education at Virginia Tech
Menah has a PhD and JD from Vanderbilt, and bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Iowa, she has almost 25 years of leadership experience in higher education. Nationally recognized and an award-winning author of four books on issues of race, class, gender, culture, diversity, women’s leadership, education, and critical race feminism, she regularly blogs at www.menahpratt.com. Her forthcoming book in April 2024, Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back her Superpower, is an autobiography of her life journey from Black girlhood to Black womanhood in America, based on 45 years of journals. |
Questions to ask yourself
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#ConsciousChange #PowerofOne #Blackwildgirl
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