It’s early. Your inbox is already buzzing. The hallway’s about to fill with young people carrying more than their backpacks.
And then you hear this in your earbuds:
“We won’t overcome these systems by competing with each other. We rise by amplifying each other.”
That’s Kwame Sarfo-Mensah—educator, father, global citizen—offering not just insight, but an invitation.
So here’s your #CupOfCourage today:
When was the last time you put your platform to work for someone else’s voice?
In this deeply resonant episode of Brave Voices in Education, I sit with my brother and friend Kwame Sarfo-Mensah to explore what it means to be an identity-affirming educator, a truth-teller, and a Black father raising sons abroad.
Kwame takes us through his journey—from a special education classroom in Boston to founding Identity Talk Consulting and raising global Black boys as an American expat in Africa. We unpack:
Your #CupOfCourage: Takeaways to Reflect On
What’s the “teacher identity” you’ve over-prioritized—and what have you left behind?
Kwame reflects on pouring everything into being a great teacher, and then realizing he was marginalizing the rest of who he was: father, son, husband, human.
Are you centering your students, or just their performance?
Identity-affirming classrooms start with honoring full humanity, not test scores.
Do you know how power shows up in your life globally and locally?
From Boston to Ghana, Kwame unpacks the shifting dynamics of privilege, positionality, and perception — and how parenting with integrity means acknowledging them all.
Amplifying others is resistance.
Kwame reminds us: real leadership isn’t spotlight-hoarding—it’s handing someone else the mic.
My Reflection: What This Episode Taught Me
This one hit different. It reminded me that bravery doesn’t always look like being the loudest in the room. Sometimes, it’s pulling back and choosing alignment over applause.
My #CupOfCourage today?
To look around and ask: Who do I need to amplify this week?
Whose story, whose genius, whose truth needs space—and how can I make room for it?
Because sometimes leadership looks like letting go of the mic.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Louder Together with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah – Brave Voices in Education
Take It With You:
On your walk into school, during your lunch break, or winding down tonight, ask yourself:
What’s one small act of identity-affirming bravery I can commit to this week?
It might be pausing to listen. It might be unlearning. It might be reposting someone else’s brilliance instead of your own.
Whatever it is, sip on that #CupOfCourage.
Tag #bravevoicespod and let’s show the world that brave looks like us.