Although I felt called to teach in communities serving greater populations of students of color, it did not seem fair to contribute to those statistics before I had the tools and experience to be truly effective. I sought out a place where I could be supported while building the skills I needed. Although the school provided strong mentorship, I always knew my heart belonged elsewhere.
My path has not been linear, but each step revealed more of the truth and urgency behind the injustices students face. Once I became aware, I could not stay silent. But inside the classroom, my advocacy was not always welcomed. I often found myself in conflict with people who said they wanted what was best for students. My path has not been linear, but each step revealed more of the truth and urgency behind the injustices students face.
That helped me see that it was not my message that needed to change. I needed a different space. Together, those experiences pushed me to pursue a master’s degree in Education Policy and Leadership at Vanderbilt University. My graduate school journey led me to the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI), and ultimately the Southern Education Foundation (SEF),
Before SELI, advocating from inside the classroom often felt isolating. I knew the issues students were facing— such as unskilled or inexperienced teachers, outdated curriculum and ineffective instructional philosophies, lack of accountability in charter schools, and the compounding effects of persistent opportunity gaps—but I did not always feel supported in naming them. I was passionate about education justice, but it often felt like I was fighting alone. SELI introduced me to a broader network of people who not only understood the challenges but were actively working to change them.”
—Jariel Davis
I wanted to teach children who looked like me and who were too often underserved. So, I decided to spend a year learning as much as I could before moving to a community where I felt truly called to serve. After that year, I moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where I became a founding teacher at a charter school serving students zoned for one of the lowest-performing districts in the state. The contrast between my previous school and this new setting was immediate and overwhelming. The needs were greater, the resources fewer, and the barriers more complex —but this was exactly where I felt called to be.
Once I became aware, I could not stay silent. But inside the classroom, my advocacy was not always welcomed. I often found myself in conflict with people who said they wanted what was best for students. That tension was mentally exhausting and forced me to face a difficult truth: the change I wanted to see could not happen from inside the classroom alone. Someone once told me, “Imagine playing the most beautiful music on a guitar, but you have plugged it into an amplifier in a tiny room. The sound might be powerful, but the space is not built to handle it.”
when I was actively seeking opportunities to explore what advocacy and systems-level change could look like beyond the classroom. I was deeply connected to SEF’s mission. SEF has been fighting for high-quality education for Black students in the South for over 150 years. From its founding during Reconstruction to surviving Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and now the ongoing attacks on equity and public education, SEF has remained committed to its mission.
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ECHOES OF EXCELLENCE |
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