I Had No Idea You Were Black: Navigating Race on the Road to Leadership
Description
During this time of intense polarization, Ronald Crutcher's life as a Black leader successfully bridging America's cultural divides offers a compelling story with important lessons for today's thinkers. Born to two parents who never graduated high school, Dr. Crutcher grew up to become a leader at the highest levels of academia and the arts. As a child musician, he met with Coretta Scott King. As an adult educator, he sat at Maya Angelou's holiday table.
But it is Dr. Crutcher's success as a Black intellectual navigating highly charged social issues that makes his story both unforgettable and urgently important. Whether negotiating cancel culture at the University of Richmond, where he serves as President in the heart of the former Confederacy, or teaching Northeast liberals the true meaning of functional diversity, Dr. Crutcher offers an education on life and leadership that none of us can afford to ignore.
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About the Author
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT is an Emmy-winning journalist. She began her career at the New Yorker, becoming the first Black reporter for the Talk of the Town section, then joined the New York Times, where she established the Harlem Bureau, the first of its kind. She eventually joined PBS NewsHour as its first substitute anchor and national correspondent. The author of five books, Hunter-Gault lives in Florida and on Martha's Vineyard.
Reviews
"In this compelling and courageous book, Ron Crutcher describes his remarkable journey as a musician, educator, and human being. The details of this journey make for an inspiring story, and they also reveal key lessons that allowed him to become one of the most admired leaders in American higher education. Readers will appreciate his engaging approach and also the enlightening insights he provides into the complexities of race and racism in our society." --Freeman Hrabowski, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of Holding Fast to Dreams
"In this important book, Ron Crutcher takes us along on his journey of personal and professional discovery, and what a journey it is. Crutcher is clear-eyed about his own struggles as both an artist and an educator to overcome the blindness and cruelty of racism, and about the ways we must build colleges and universities as places where learning starts with listening and where courage and character matter. We will do well to learn from his example." --Ted Mitchell, former U.S. undersecretary of education and president of the American Council on Education
"Powerfully and authentically, Ron Crutcher draws from his life experiences to share a leadership philosophy for today's polarized world. His extraordinary journey - from humble roots in Ohio to concert halls, board rooms and the presidency of the University of Richmond - illuminates the important lessons he urges us to learn: the necessary relationship between body, mind and soul; the gift that is self-awareness; the importance of kindness. The leitmotif in this honest and deeply compelling book is a message to us all." --Melody C. Barnes, Co-director, Democracy Initiative, University of Virginia and former White House domestic policy advisor to President Barack Obama
"A uniquely American story, as well as an informed and passionate interrogation of the delicate balance between the necessity for diversity and the need to preserve intellectual dialogue around opposing perspectives - both of which are required for a vibrant civil society." -- Aaron P. Dworkin, founder of The Sphinx Organization, host of Arts Engines and Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
