Cornell Perspectives: Black students hone leadership skills

Cornell student leaders Siddiq Iddrisu ’16, Darron Irving ’17 and Kyonne Rowe ’18 were chosen by the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives to participate in LeaderShape Institute’s African American Male National Session in Champaign, Illinois, Aug. 2-7. Here, they report on their experiences, which included developing vision statements.

Siddiq Iddrisu, Darron Irving and Kyonne Rowe
Chris Kitchen
Siddiq Iddrisu '16, Darron Irving '17 and Kyonne Rowe '18 attended the LeaderShape Institute’s African American Male National Session in August in Illinois.

According to Irving, “My vision entails the use of YouTube videos and other social media to inspire the masses and share the life stories of those in the global community.

“Each vision statement was written in the form of a news article headline. Once we were given the opportunity to provide support, encouragement and approbation for one another’s vision statements. One by one, I read each article written by my brothers, fellow LeaderShape participants. I posted my votes of encouragement, but I was also sure to request points of clarification so that each brother would know which pieces of his vision required a greater degree of clarity.

“To my surprise, my vision had been met with unbridled support. In fact, one of my brothers, Richard Peevy, volunteered to be a part of the movement, and before the end of our LeaderShape session, we brought this portion of my vision into fruition. This experience indicated to me that my ideas and my voice have a place – that they need to be heard. Not only is it an indication that my presence is essential, but also that there are brothers out there who are committed to the realization of my vision.”

Said Iddrisu: “My vision entails the creation of a mentorship program for middle school students amongst underserved populations.

“From a sociopolitical standpoint, privilege is the sum of arbitrarily selected, socially accepted characteristics which constitute an individual’s social identity. Privilege is almost always unearned – often gained through heredity but otherwise granted by circumstance. At LeaderShape, it became more evident to me that as people, once we are granted privilege, our mindsets and personalities often change – sometimes at the expense of our core values.

“We engaged in a simulation called StarPower, an exercise which represents the use/abuse of power and leadership throughout stratified societies. Using geometric shapes as status symbols, and arbitrarily selecting the square to represent superiority over the circle and triangle, the simulation invited members of the group to utilize deceptive tactics in the hopes of reaching square-status. Toward the end of the simulation, there was an opportunity for those with square-status to make the rules. It really opened my eyes when we found out the rules the squares made. They had the opportunity to put everyone on the same playing field and yet they didn’t. Instead they made the lives of circle- and triangle-status individuals that much more difficult.

“This experience was most impactful for me because it indicated to me that once we obtain privilege, we tend to become oppressive forces for those around us. Our stratified social context doesn’t bode well for equality, because it is easy for us to become so fixated upon exclusivity and superiority.”

“My vision entails the infusion of black and brown scholars and leaders into the spaces of power which govern public schools across this country,” says Rowe.

Rowe continued, “After fostering a community where each member felt as though his input would be appreciated and validated, we engaged in dynamic conversations with young men at varying stages in their professional careers, representing an array of colleges and locations. For me, the most impactful element of my LeaderShape experience has been the realization that we do a disservice to variety when we assume that there’s homogeneity within racial and ethnic groups.

“In a room of self-identified ‘black’ men, we represented an overwhelming degree of multiplicity. ‘Blackness’ is all-encompassing because it includes the fluid identities which exist in the realm of ‘blackness.’ As Cornellians, this point resonated with us. Too often do we see racially and ethnically focused organizations/programs as impediments to ‘diversity.’ This was an invitation for us to debunk the myth that participation in a racially/ethnically focused organization is more limiting than participation in a majority ‘race-less’ or ‘color-less’ organization. For individuals from underrepresented minority backgrounds, it is especially important for us to explore the variety which exists amongst our brothers and sisters who self-identify with us in one realm, because those same individuals differ from us in countless other realms.”

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John Carberry