The Firsts: The Interiority of Black South African Principals Inside White-Majority Schools

In this essay, Jonathan D. Jansen and Samantha Kriger make visible the inner lives of the first Black prin ci pals in white-major ity schools in South Africa. Through in-depth, on-site, nar ra tive inter views with thir teen prin ci pals, and using the lens of interior ity, they report on the anx i eties, inse cu rity, and uncertainties expe ri enced by these pio neers in the after math of apart heid, as well as their aspi ra tions, com mit-ments, and determination to transform predominately white institutions. Respon-dents spoke openly and can didly about their vulner a bility as Black lead ers in white schools, discussing the toll of school-based rac ism and resent ment on their emo tional lives, explaining the struggle between advanc ing and yet hold ing back change to avoid alienating white parents and teach ers, and reveal ing how the racialized con-texts in which they work awak ened a reassessment of their own iden ti ties and of those they lead.