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Decoteau J. Irby, Ph.D.
I create teaching and learning experiences, music and stories, and opportunities for people to be in community. Be it through music, encouraging the use of urban green spaces, or creating opportunities for Black people to generate wealth and wellness, my priorities are grounded in “going at it” together and creating space for people to shine.
Throughout my life, I’ve created all sorts of things, spaces, and experiences. These include businesses, such Derute Consulting Cooperative, a firm I co-founded in 2013; Visioning Black Spaces LLC, a collective of families that pool and invest our resources to improve Chicago’s Black neighborhoods; and Deaky Bug Creative Works LLC, a firm I use to curate and finance my personal creative endeavors and collaborations.
I’m a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago and author or co-editor of several books, including Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership (Harvard Education Press) and a children’s book Magical Black Tears: A Protest Story (Derute Consulting Cooperative).
Through all of my work, I’m committed to creating spaces that bring people together in community. I am active in my neighborhood community garden and I serve as treasurer for my local park advisory council. Finally, I am a self-taught guitarist, songwriter, performer, and recording artist; I’ve released two albums that are available on my website at www.decoteauirby.com.
Show Highlights
- The foundations of Dr. Irby’s passion for researching racial equity
- Racial resources in organizations
- The principal’s role in racial equity work
- Confrontational Culture
- Racial Equity Keepers
Connect with Decoteau
Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership
Additional Resources
Watch The Art of Advocacy Show
Learn more about the Advocacy Room
20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities
Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course
FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies
Hosted by Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins
A Weekly Livestream
Follow us every Thursday at 6:30 PM Eastern to learn ways that you can develop your advocacy skills in your school/community from experts in education.
This show is built on three principles
- The Power of Preparation- Discover ways to develop a plan to address inequities in schools.
- The Power of Persuasion- Gain an understanding of the art of influence and create a sense of urgency towards change.
- The Power of Persistence- Recognize how to endure challenges as they may arise.
Free Course
Enroll in this free course to learn about your biases and how to address them.
This course includes:
- 11 video lessons
- 5 downloadable resources
- 1.0 Hour Professional Development Certificate
An Affinity Space for Student Voices
Are you ready to transform the culture inside your district or school for the better? Enroll in the Advocacy Room today!
Learn More
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Now if you enjoy listening to the show, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other advocates find the podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Transform your school and your classroom with these best practices in equity
Leading Equity delivers an eye-opening and actionable discussion of how to transform a classroom or school into a more equitable place. Through explorations of ten concrete steps that you can take right now, Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins offers you the skills, resources, and concepts youā€™ll need to address common equity deficiencies in education.
