Entrepreneurial Identity: Black, Gifted, and Dyslexic

 

Shawn Anthony Robinson PhD

In the words of Shawn Corey Carter AKA Jay Z "Every day a star is born!!!!” (2009). My entrepreneurial identity has been shaped by various social cultural interactions, personal failures, professional rejections, and intrinsic factors, which all have allowed me to become innovative and creative in my own scholarly activities. My motivation and creative thinking have been the foundation of not only my entrepreneurial identity and activity, but also moved me from defining a problem to achieving systematic change. I recently read “Our Dyslexia Heroes Are Too White: Addressing Representation in Business with Marcia Brissett-Bailey” on Forbes.com by Nancy Doyle (2020). Doyle focuses on raising awareness on intersectionality and how necessary it is to look at dyslexia through a sociocultural lens. It was refreshing to read such a relevant and intelligent discussion of critical themes for the business and education communities and entrepreneurs. The themes were finding community, our dyslexia heroes, and disrupting the norm, and all these themes are all central to my entrepreneurial identity as a gifted Black male with dyslexia.    

Finding Community is a central theme of the news article, and one that is not always inclusive of those from underserved and underrepresented communities. Brissett-Bailey stated “…they did not relate to me and my experiences, or the barriers to learning and support I was experiencing” (para. 4) and that “…the conversation is being dominated by a singular perspective” (para. 5). For me, those two statements are 100% true based on my experiences. I searched for a sense of being welcome among an academy of learners that was not very diverse. I longed for the experience of inclusivity, reaching out to include the perspective of others in relation to dyslexia, despite not having my perspective included by others. I continue to encourage collegial relationships based on the inclusivity of the intersection of race, dyslexia, and giftedness. Despite the challenges, it is important to me to continue to lay the foundation of strong, insightful, collegial relationships. There are so many Black dyslexic students that need to be seen, heard, and understood. I choose to help broaden the professional perspective among fellow academics through increasing understanding and decreasing marginalization of those who are Black, gifted, and/or dyslexic. Within the contexts of this dyslexia community and academy, a White perspective has prevailed to date. Brissett-Bailey goes on to state that the “…the neurodiversity community as a whole could do with reflecting honestly on why we have allowed the conversation to be so White and male dominated for so long?” (para. 7). As a result of this white-leaning tendency, finding a place and having a voice in this dyslexia community is very difficult for people of color and diverse backgrounds whose experiences should and must be honored. 

Our Dyslexia Heroes come predominately in White. Brissett-Bailey stated, “the lack of representation [in the dyslexia community] is erasing the successes of Black dyslexics thereby narrowing the chances of success even further” (para. 8). As an advocate and scholar, I know that textbooks representing characters as culturally responsive, authentic, and realistic are necessary so all students with dyslexia, especially Blacks, can see themselves as heroes and have something to connect with. We live in a world that is a melting pot of creative students, and we need to expand the cultural perspectives on dyslexia so it is not only written from a White, elitist perspective, or from a western ideology, but can include a wide range of social, ethnic, and gender perspectives. 

Brissett-Bailey goes on to say, “Overlooking Black dyslexic talent, in my view, has the potential to create a great disservice to progress and innovation” (para. 12). Within contexts of the academic system, students with dyslexia, especially from underserved and underrepresented communities, are constantly being overlooked and not identified properly. In fact, Black boys are three to five more times likely to be identified as having an emotional behavioral disorder than their peers, which overlooks their learning needs as well as their talents, creativity, and innovative ideas.  

Disrupting the Norm is needed under these circumstances. Again, Brissett-Baily has a needed perspective as “the narrative and the storytellers need to change so that we can create a collaborative, supportive, and transparent approach to working together” (para. 18). I wanted to experience collaboration in my daily work, I aimed to be supportive of my colleagues, and I was learning that communication built the foundation for transparency. While these experiences were my personal growth factors, I wanted to find ways of expressing my individualized experience with others. I noticed that merely wanting to open a dialogue with my colleagues about the role of Blacks in the dyslexic community caused ‘disruption to the norm’. Throughout the process of completing my Ph.D., I had a difficult time locating literature that included the voices and first-person narratives about how Blacks with dyslexia have understood their positions within the special education system. In addition, within the contexts of the dyslexia community, disrupting the norm can be an uncomfortable process, but one that is necessary to take. To allow others from underserved and underrepresented communities to feel welcomed, the business and education communities must approach the conversation about teaching all learners to read from a sociocultural perspective that is not framed solely from a White perspective, make bold changes, implement innovative programs, become an ally that creates safe places for people to engage in critical and curial conversations about race and literacy and ask disruptive questions!