January 30, 2025

By Dr. Tawheedah Abdullah

When asked why I chose to dedicate my life to social justice and educational equity, I often say it was a spiritual calling. For as long as I can remember, I have viewed the world through a socio political lens. During middle and high school, I often walked through halls and sat in classes, lostin deep, existential questions about life, fairness, and equity: Why are some kids rich and other kids poor? Why aren’t any of the Black or Latinx kids in AP classes? Why do kids make fun of each other for their differences? Why are all my teachers White? Why don’t I learn about anyone who looks like me in my History class? Questions like these became the foundation of my drive to challenge the systems that perpetuate inequality and to work toward meaningful change in education.

Tuck and Yang (2018) refer to the “impulse to dream and work toward justice” as being “born under the rising sign of social justice” (p. 2).They characterize it as an intrinsic calling that is “whispered by ancestors” or felt as an intense, impenetrable force that permeates through one’s career, relationships, and decisions. I don’t remember a time before feeling this calling. It has always been part of me— this desire to advocate for unity—to grow as a human being connected to other human beings who were all part of some grand design… some energy or force much bigger than us, but to which we all contribute.

This drive to connect, grow, and fight for justice has been further shaped by my own spiritual journey, which has unfolded alongside my academic and career paths. In the pursuit of nurturing my calling, I found my place in K-12 education. My first few years of teaching were not easy. I was young, and my students could smell my nervousness. My ego was attached to my work, so I often got into power struggles with students. It became a daily fight, and I found myself entangled in such deep unhappiness that I turned tomy spirituality for answers.

One day, while praying, it dawned on me: my students were placed into my life to teach me something about myself. As such, I began to reflect onmy interactions with students and teaching as a way of learning more about myself and to fuel the fire of my calling. I began to ask myself questions:

Why did it bother me so much when student x said that?
Why did I react that way when student y left the classroom?
What triggers are being unveiled?
What biases am I carrying into my practice?

I began to wonder: How can I use my inner work to strengthen and model my sense of calm, promote unity, and honor my students as human beings? I found myself increasingly attuned to the ways I could unlock my fullest potential as a social justice-oriented educator, while simultaneously helping my students unlock theirs. As I continued to grow in this space, I learned more about advocates and communities whose impulse for justice was born through or fueled by spiritual or ancestral connections — Malcolm X, Steve Biko, Martin Luther King, The Zapatistas, Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, and many others. As such, I continued to sit still, pray, reflect, meditate, engross myself in nature, and allow messages from my ancestors to come to me. I found these practices to be powerful acts of resistance and essential tools for my own healing and self-care in the face of challenging, emotionally draining work.

Spiritual and meditative practices continue to ground me in my purpose and have shaped pivotal moments in my career. During the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, I relied on these practices, in conjunction with energy exchanges from elders in my community, to write and deliver a speech called “We are Breathing” during a justice rally in Atlanta, GA.

Through exchanges with powerful social justice leaders in my workwith the Intercambio program at the Stanford Center for Latin American Studies, I created a tool to help educators who are “born under the rising sign of social justice” connect with the Seven Sacred Directions, a practice used by Indigenous communities to foster connection with nature, self, ancestors, and community. To use the tool, educators sit outdoors, immersed in nature, and align their physical and mental presence with the seven sacred directions: East, South, West, North, Above, Below, and Inward. They then meditate and reflect in each direction, drawing upon its energy and wisdom.

In the words of Audre Lorde, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” As I continue to engage in the complex, meaningful work required to live out my calling, I will always prioritize stillness and reflection, turning inward to find strength and wisdom, even in the most uncertain times. Chaos and confusion are mere distractions. Inner peace and calm are radical acts of self-care.

What higher purpose are you connecting to through your work?

How do you hold space for yourself as you act out your calling?

References:

Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2018). Toward what justice?: Describing diverse dreams of justice in education. Routledge.

This article was crafted by Dr. Tawheedah Abdullah, an independent contributor engaged by CheckIT Labs, Inc. to provide insights onthis topic.

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