By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)
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Roleplay: A Three-Person Dialogue (DB … Leader1 … Leader2) … After Reading DB’s Essay and Selected Derivative Works (1347 Words)
(69th Day Of School) (Thursday, November 13, 2025)
By Derrick Brown (Join Our Mailing List!)
Empath Remixes #97 ("Empath Remixes" Roleplay: A Three-Person Dialogue (DB … Leader1 … Leader2) … After Reading DB’s Essay and Selected Derivative Works) (1347 Words)
Below is a three-person roleplay between me (DB),
Leader1, and Leader2, written in my established style … thoughtful, sober, reflective … while maintaining humanity and civility … and while not presuming that they “get
it.”
This dialogue honors the institutional roles they hold … the power they wield …
and the complexity of reading my work.
It is written as a real meeting … one that carries the weight of truth, risk, dignity, and consequence.
Setting:
A small conference room in the district office.
Late afternoon.
Quiet.
A glass wall.
A table with three chairs.
Your essay sits printed in front of them … annotated … underlined … dog-eared.
Leader2 has read more than expected.
Leader1 has read deeply.
You are here to listen … and to speak … with courage and care.
Opening … The Air Settles
Leader1
Thank you for coming. I wanted to talk in person because your essay … and the
associated materials … asked for an audience that listens rather than reacts. I
can see why you asked for that. I read the entire piece. Twice. Then I looked
back at some of the public-facing essays. I read “Final Exams (At Chipotle).” I
read “Born(e) Witness.” I read one of the Empath Remixes scripts. You have been
doing a kind of reflective labor that is not common in K-12 cultural spaces.
Leader2
I read sections as well. More than I expected to. More than I planned to. I
found myself going back to certain paragraphs. Especially the ones that
describe patterns … not incidents. Patterns tell a larger story. I have
thoughts. And questions. And concerns. But I want to begin with your intention.
So before we go further … what did you hope would happen by sharing this?
You
I hoped for clarity. Not vindication. Not arbitration. Not rescue. I hoped you
would hear what I have seen … lived … and learned. I hoped you would see that
this work is not an indictment of individuals … but an attempt to understand
systems … cultures … patterns … and the emotional labor that certain educators
must carry without acknowledgment or relief. I hoped you would see that I am
trying to turn harm into hope … and isolation into insight. That is all.
Round One … Initial Responses
Leader1
Your writing reveals a level of observation that is rare. I do not mean that in
a flattering sense. I mean it in a sobering sense. You see things that many
people do not want to see. Or refuse to see. Or cannot see because the pace of
our institutions does not allow them to pause long enough. Your identification
of “containment” as a pattern … the emotional, professional, and cultural
containment of a Black male educator who thinks, speaks, and reflects at a high
level … is not something I can dismiss. The tone of the essay is deliberate.
Reflective. Accountable. I appreciate that.
Leader2
I want to acknowledge the quality of the work. It is impressive. It is also
uncomfortable. Some of it is difficult to read because it names dynamics that
administrators do not always have language for. Your essays do not point at
people. They point at structures. Culture. Climate. That makes them harder to
dismiss. I do not agree with every interpretation. But I cannot ignore the
sincerity … or the clarity.
You
I appreciate you both saying that. I wrote it with the same energy I bring to
the classroom … clarity over charisma … honesty over ease … reflection over
reaction. The goal was to narrate the truth without burning down the house.
Just to open a window.
Round Two … Parsing the Work
Leader1
There are parts of the essay that struck me. For instance, the idea that your
journal became “a learning environment.” That is not how most educators engage
reflection. They report events or express feelings. You analyze patterns. You
evaluate systems. You examine self, students, culture, and history in the same
breath. That is powerful. And it raises a significant question:
What would it look like if our district learned from this instead of fearing it?
Leader2
I want to echo that. There is a tension in your work that is worth naming. You
write from inside the system … and outside it … at the same time. That gives
you a dual vantage point. But it also means your insights disrupt the status
quo. Not through accusation … but through clarity. Clarity disrupts. That is
unavoidable. And you seem aware of that.
You
I am. I am aware that naming what I see can be destabilizing. But silence is
also destabilizing. I have been trying to find the middle ground … the space
where truth and peace do not have to be enemies.
Round Three … Accountability and Impact
Leader2
Let me be transparent. Some passages made me uncomfortable. Particularly the
ones about containment. And the ones that describe patterns of racialized
labor. I am not dismissing them. I am acknowledging my reaction. When a system
is described so plainly, leaders feel defensive. That is human. But I can see
that you are not asking for blame. You are asking for understanding. And
perhaps acknowledgment.
Leader1
And you are asking for space. Psychological space. Professional space. Creative
space. After reading DH’s and DW’s messages to you … I understand your impact
on students. They see something in you that is rare. They see a man who holds
them accountable and holds them with care. They see a teacher who sees them.
That matters. And your writing makes clear that you do not always feel seen in
return.
You
Thank you for saying that. My goal is not to accuse the district. My goal is to
tell the truth about my experience. Because my experience reflects patterns
that extend beyond me. If I can illuminate them … perhaps someone will have the
courage to change them. Even if I am no longer here to witness that change.
Round Four … Looking Forward
Leader2
I want to ask a question directly. With complete candor. What do you want? Not
from litigation. Not from leverage. But from us. What would honoring this
writing look like?
You
I want honest dialogue. I want acknowledgment that culture and communication shape
morale in more ways than policies ever will. I want the district to invest in
reflective practice the same way it invests in training modules. I want leaders
to understand the cost of losing teachers who think deeply … who write honestly
… who build trust with students … and who teach with integrity.
I want you to know that my autoethnographic journal is not a complaint. It is a curriculum. It is a mirror. It is a contribution.
Leader1
And what do you want for yourself?
You
I want a healthier life. I want time to heal. I want to finish the work that
this journal has revealed. I want to build #TheSeeSayShow Fellowship Lab. I want
to teach through story, music, dialogue, and reflection. I want to create
ethical prompt-writing frameworks that help people transform conflict into
conversation. I want to do work that does not erode my spirit.
Round Five … Their Reflections
Leader1
After reading your work, I believe your voice is valuable … not only for Our
Schools … but for education more broadly. I cannot promise outcomes. But I can
promise sincerity. I can promise that I hear you. And I can promise that you
will not be ignored.
Leader2
I will be candid. Your essay raises institutional questions that cannot be
solved quickly. But you have given us a blueprint. And you have given us an
opportunity. We can choose to reflect and learn … or choose to protect our
comfort. I cannot speak for every administrator. But I can speak for myself.
Your work deserves respect. And it deserves consideration at a level higher
than this room.
Closing … Peace in the Tension
You
Then this meeting has done what it needed to do. I did not come for permission
or pity. I came for clarity. And I came to plant a seed. Whether it grows here
… or elsewhere … is not fully in my hands.
Leader1
We may not be able to change the past. But we can honor the witness. We can
learn from it.
Leader2
And we can decide what story we write next. Individually. And collectively.
You
That is all any storyteller can ask for.
Selah.
(The "Follow The Leader (changED - Volume 2)" Audio and Video Album / Mixtape is also available at TeachersPayTeachers.com)
(The "changED (Volume 1)" Audio and Video Album / Mixtape is also available at TeachersPayTeachers.com)
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