Movements are never complete; they must be re-contested in every generation, according to Alexis McGill Johnson P’27, ’30. Laments of “I thought this was settled,” she asserted, should be exchanged for “Not on my watch.”

 

Johnson, executive director and co-founder of the Perception Institute, led The Spence School’s 2017 Head’s Forum program, which explored what it means for young women to be engaged citizens today.

 

The event offered a chance for seniors, juniors, their parents and faculty and staff members to come together to listen, participate and ask questions about contemporary identity, protest and power. Five students—senior Aruna P. and juniors Regina F., Eliza G., Kaela H. and Madeline W.— opened the evening’s program with their personal perspectives on activism. The students covered a broad range of topics: how to navigate a tech world with few female role models, how our world can give power to people with feminine qualities such as empathy, how to best help our community battle sexism and why it is important to consider intersectionality and inclusivity in movements such as the Women’s March. Eliza, while examining her own self-agency in issues that have an impact on women, also engaged the women in the audience with questions about their sense of self and their place in the world.

 

“Get out there,” Madeline said to her classmates. “You’re upset? Protest. It doesn’t even have to be on a large scale—it can happen right within the walls of this school. Use protest as your weapon. It is a civil right in dire need of practice.”

 

Johnson complimented the students’ speeches, borrowing the line, “Your future is so bright—it hurts my eyes,” and applauded their confidence, courage and convictions.

 

Then, Johnson delved into some of her personal history. She first talked about her grandmother, “Grandma Covington,” born in 1908. Her father (Johnson’s great-grandfather) was a slave-turned-sharecropper and wanted his children to stay at home and work. Grandma Covington had other plans in mind; she wanted to move north to New Jersey and marry a man named Alex. Her father forbade her, but nonetheless, she moved, cut off her long braids and mailed them back to father.   

 

“That was her voice,” Johnson said. “That was her making a choice that she was going to do something different in life.”

 

While life in New Jersey was still difficult, Johnson’s grandmother worked to provide new opportunities for her children, including Johnson’s mother.

 

Johnson’s mother excelled in academics and graduated among the top 10 students in her high school. In her professional life, she was one of the only women of color in her office. Being light-skinned, she was often encouraged not to tell people she was black in order to advance as a secretary.

 

Johnson said her mother came of age in the second wave of the feminist movement and the civil rights movement; it was an intersection of various identities, and she found her voice in the concept of womanism. However, she still found herself codeswitching. Johnson could always tell by her mother’s voice and language on the phone if she were talking to a friend or family member or someone from the office.

 

Johnson grew up in the 1970s, “black and proud,” learning the words to “We Shall Overcome” before the Pledge of Allegiance. Her parents wanted her to focus on the opportunities that they had fought for her, which she did, but she also continued in their vein of activism with her co-founding the Perception Institute and her work with Planned Parenthood, among other organizations.

 

“I believe we find leadership in everyday experiences,” Johnson posited.

 

Beyond her own personal experiences, Johnson spoke about broader issues like bias, discrimination and intersectionality. She provided an intersectional lens on the gender wage gap, noting that while the conversation is largely focused on salary differences between men and women, there are startling differences in the wage gap among white, black and Hispanic female workers.

 

A researcher at heart, Johnson shared examples and studies exploring the impact of bias and double standards. One study she highlighted showed that when identical resumes are submitted with signifiers of class for a male and female applicant, upper class status hurt the woman’s chances of being hired but boosted the man’s.

 

Johnson ended her talk by showing a picture of her daughters, who are in the Class of 2027 and 2030 at Spence. She talked about their incredible sense of spirit and hope, and she wondered what their voice would be like in years to come. She also referenced the poet Sekou Sundiata, who said that freedom was about the will to dream and the struggle to create the space to dream. In one of his poems, Sundiata wrote that when slaves “got a little space to climb into their heads and be free… they saw you…they saw me.”  

 

Since then, individuals such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells and Maya Angelou have continued to fight for equality for a variety of identities.

 

“They are no longer here to see what we will become, what you all will become, but in some way, they’re imagining you right now,” Johnson said.

 

The Head’s Forum concluded with a Q&A, moderated by Grade 12 dean Kelleher Jewett. Johnson said she was blown away by the passion, insights and intelligence of the students who engaged as speakers and in the Q&A.

 

One student referenced the detail in Johnson’s speech about how the speaker’s mother was asked at times not to tell anyone she was black. She asked for Johnson’s advice in how to be successful without having to minimize her identity.

 

“Something I’ve been grappling with is how I can be successful and not have to downplay my race and my gender, especially in terms of colorism,” she said.

 

“We should never have to separate our identities and downplay any point of who you are,” Johnson said. “What we know is that, from the brain science perspective, diversity actually breeds innovation. It breeds innovation because when you are conscious of your identity, you have to stop and think about how what you’re saying is landing with other people in the room. So, you take a step back, and you’re less inclined to group-think. It breeds diversity, and people are more productive. … My hope for you is that you will always bring your whole self to everything you do.”