\u201cPublic education saves lives,\u201d said activist, author and civil rights leader Stacey Abrams. \u201cI come from a story of miracles because my parents were saved \u2014 their lives were saved by public education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before Abrams set foot in the jam-packed ballroom at the 2019 StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network Convening in Washington, D.C., the crowd was already cheering for her arrival and ready to learn from her experiences.<\/p>\n

As she shared stories of her own childhood in Mississippi and how her parents grew up, Abrams underlined the importance of public education and the ecosystem of supports that are necessary to lift people to their full potential \u2014 from strong, supportive mentors and family members to food security, housing, health care and basic needs like clean clothes.<\/p>\n

Her lessons on leadership were not just inspiring, but they resonated with the work of network members in communities across the nation. Here are a few of her motivating insights:<\/p>\n

Find places of common cause to get things done<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lesson #1: \u201cIdeology is not the same as intention.\u201d Abrams shared stories of not settling for just fighting back against a bad bill but working with legislators across the aisle to find solutions, because she wasn\u2019t going to be blinded by ideology but instead stayed focused on results. The difference between ideology and intention is an important message for anyone working across sectors to achieve better, more equitable results.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe in conversion,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t try to make them agree with me. I try to find places of common cause where you can make advances. I believe in incrementalism. You\u2019re not going to get everything you want at once, but you can get more of what you need the longer you\u2019re willing to work at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As our cradle-to-career partnerships work to transform systems, a focus on changing mindsets, beliefs and mental models can yield long-lasting impact, but it can\u2019t happen overnight. Instead of focusing solely on changing hearts and minds, our communities can \u2014 and are \u2014 changing systems: changing policies, shifting funding and disrupting power structures.<\/p>\n

Speak the whole truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lesson #2: \u201cTransparency is essential to transformation.\u201d Abrams encouraged us to be willing to admit our mistakes, own our responsibility in our successes and our failures, and hold ourselves accountable by measuring ourselves against real numbers.<\/p>\n

Public accountability is no stranger to the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network. As Abrams said, \u201cCollective impact partnerships have at their core the notion we are in this together and the work that has to be done has to make certain that everyone has a stake.\u201d To help everyone to truly own their role, our cradle-to-career partnerships use data as a flashlight to illuminate gaps and mobilize people into action to create opportunities for kids of color and kids from low-income families.<\/p>\n

Her push to be vulnerable and admit our failures and mistakes is critical. We have to be more willing to admit our shortcomings and invite others in to help find solutions. StriveTogether\u2019s own racial equity journey is a powerful example of learning from failure and not allowing that failure to be fatal, but rather to use stumbles as lessons for improvement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lift up unexpected voices and show up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lesson #3: \u201cLead from the outside.\u201d Abrams has written a whole book about this, and her invitation to leaders to bring unexpected voices to the table was met with loud applause. \u201cIf you want to know how to help a struggling child, talk to a struggling child,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we\u2019re willing to work not with community, but in community, that\u2019s when transformation is real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her wisdom on how to influence policymakers is timely as our Network is seeing more policy wins and as we enter yet another election cycle. \u201cPoliticians respond to three things: money, peer pressure and attention,\u201d Abrams said. As advocates, we have a responsibility to show up in the places where politicians are in public and explain the problems we\u2019re facing through data and stories, explaining why these challenges are problems and being clear about the solutions.<\/p>\n

As communities work to change power dynamics in communities and empower youth and families to determine their own destinies, take stock of what Abrams shared: \u201cPeople do not cede power. You take it. You can\u2019t wait for people to cede power. Power is seductive and attractive. … It\u2019s not about getting them to cede power; it\u2019s making sure they understand it\u2019s not their power to hold.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abrams describes herself as a meliorist \u2014 not an optimist or a pessimist, but someone who believes that the world can be made better by human effort. Our job, she says, is to believe in possibilities and find antidotes. As unstoppable changemakers, all of us have an obligation to find common cause to get things done, speak the whole truth and lift up unexpected voices. We have to take bolder swings at policy change and learn in public.<\/p>\n

And some of us \u2014 I\u2019m looking at you, fellow women and people of color \u2014 need to run for something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPublic education saves lives,\u201d said activist, author and civil rights leader Stacey Abrams. \u201cI come from a story of miracles because my parents were saved \u2014 their lives were saved by public education.\u201d Even before Abrams set foot in the jam-packed ballroom at the 2019 StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network Convening in Washington, D.C., the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":11745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-11743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-systems-change","tag-blog","category-90","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\n