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Transforming white supremacy culture in education requires reimagining how we define and cultivate school culture. At the heart of this work is the commitment to build authentic, trust-based relationships—where openness and vulnerability are seen not as risks, but as strengths. Many liberatory and regenerative practices are rooted in these relational dynamics, emphasizing collaboration over control and shared ownership over top-down mandates. Change efforts that are rushed or imposed without meaningful engagement often fail to take hold.

White supremacy culture is not just a relic of the past—it remains embedded in the norms, values, and practices that shape many of our institutions today, including schools. In her updated work, White Supremacy Culture: Still Here, Tema Okun explores how this culture operates through characteristics like perfectionism, defensiveness, fear, urgency, paternalism, and the worship of written knowledge. These traits are often seen as neutral or even positive, but in reality, they reinforce disconnection, inequity, and power imbalances. Okun emphasizes that white supremacy culture intersects with other forms of oppression—classism, sexism, ableism, and more—and conditions all of us to conform to harmful standards, often unconsciously. However, she reminds us that these patterns are not fixed. By naming and understanding them, we can begin the collective work of decolonizing our schools, creating cultures rooted in trust, shared power, and belonging.

Building on this foundational analysis, Okun also offers a powerful framework for moving toward regenerative and liberatory culture. This shift is grounded in qualities such as healing consciousness, spaciousness, relational knowledge, and communal wealth—each centered on equity, connection, and sustainability. In contrast to urgency and control, Okun emphasizes the importance of inclusive decision-making, time for reflection, and honoring multiple ways of knowing. Conflict becomes an opportunity for deeper trust and mutual growth, and leadership is seen as a shared ecosystem rather than a singular role. These values invite schools to create cultures where everyone is empowered to lead, belong, and thrive.

In contrast to the disconnection and control embedded in white supremacy culture, regenerative and liberatory cultures are rooted in wholeness, belonging, and interdependence. Drawing from the work of Daniel Lim, these cultures prioritize healing over harm, collaboration over competition, and transformation over punishment. They embrace conflict as an opportunity for growth, honor multiple ways of knowing, and center relationships as foundational to learning and leadership. In schools, this looks like slowing down to listen deeply, redistributing power through shared decision-making, and creating space for joy, creativity, and rest. Shifting toward these values requires not only policy change, but a profound cultural shift—one that begins with courageous reflection and a shared commitment to doing things differently.

To deepen your understanding and explore practical applications of this cultural shift, consider two powerful resources. This podcast conversation with Mike Washburn invites school leaders to reflect on how leadership, values, and systems influence the everyday experiences of educators and students. Additionally, the article “Liberate Your Curriculum” from Unboxed: High Tech High provides inspiration and guidance for designing curriculum that aligns with equity, student voice, and liberation—offering a roadmap for educators looking to shift not only culture, but also classroom practice.

A meaningful place to begin this shift is by engaging your leadership team in a conversation about the conditions that may be fueling a culture of fear in your school. What factors—explicit or unspoken—are contributing to fear, disconnection, or resistance? How can you come together as a community to acknowledge, understand, and begin to address them with care? One reflective practice schools can adopt is inviting staff and students to consider the culture they currently experience versus the culture they want to create. When paired with patience and persistence, this kind of intentional dialogue can help cultivate a more equitable and liberatory school environment. This work is not easy, but it is necessary—and deeply hopeful. Intentional choices that disrupt fear and foster belonging—even when small—carry the power to move us closer to liberation.

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