Our Faces, Our Voices, Part One: Where Belonging Begins

Introduction to Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC)

Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC) is a research and storytelling organization that helps schools, companies, and communities build systems of belonging through narrative, data, and design. Founded by educator Jonathan Lee, BLAC combines human storytelling with evidence-based analysis to turn lived experience into institutional learning.

BLAC’s work began with a simple premise: belonging begins with listening. What started as a podcast documenting the stories of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, alumni, and professionals has evolved into a full framework for cultural transformation. Each conversation is both research and relationship, revealing how visibility, mentorship, and access shape leadership and learning.

Today, BLAC partners with schools, universities, and organizations to translate stories into strategy. Using its Narrative Intelligence Model, BLAC identifies patterns within lived experiences and transforms them into actionable Belonging Blueprints, design frameworks that help leaders embed equity, accountability, and care into their everyday systems.

This work is not about programs or slogans. It is about design: how institutions listen, how they respond, and how they ensure that every person has the space to be seen, supported, and sustained. Through storytelling, technology, and reflection, BLAC equips communities to turn empathy into structure and legacy into leadership.

Belonging begins with listening.

The framework guiding Our Faces, Our Voices was developed by BLAC as both structure and invitation. Each conversation centers on five guiding questions that form the heart of every episode:

1.     Who are you? What do you do?

2.     What was or is your educational journey?

3.     When did you first learn you were a person of color in that journey?

4.     Knowing what you know as an adult and person of color, what would you tell your younger self?

5.     What is next for you?

These questions do not simply guide conversation; they create an atmosphere of care, trust, and reflection that allows participants to share their stories in full.

When participants answer Who are you? What do you do? They are not simply introducing themselves. They are locating identity in relation to purpose, naming both personal history and professional path. This act of naming establishes visibility within systems that have not always acknowledged it.

When asked What was or is your educational journey? guests trace their paths through schools, colleges, and careers. Their stories reveal moments of access and exclusion, of mentorship and independence. These reflections uncover how belonging is shaped through classrooms, teachers, and peers who saw them or failed to.

The question When did you first learn you were a person of color in that journey? marks a turning point in nearly every episode. Guests describe when awareness met institution, when identity was reflected back through the eyes of others, and when they began to understand both the limitations and strength of difference.

The reflection Knowing what you know as an adult and person of color, what would you tell your younger self? invites wisdom and grace. It transforms each conversation into a bridge between generations. Guests speak with honesty about confidence, resilience, and forgiveness, offering messages that would have guided them during their most formative years.

Finally, What is next for you? closes each dialogue not with conclusion but with continuation. It reminds every speaker and listener that the work of identity and belonging never stops. There is always another chapter of growth, purpose, and contribution ahead.

Research from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) indicates that many institutions excel in academic rigor but still struggle with cultural fluency and inclusion (National Association of Independent Schools). By centering BIPOC narratives, Our Faces, Our Voices responds to this need, transforming what is often invisible into evidence that can guide equitable practice.

As participants describe their educational journeys, consistent patterns emerge. One alumnus shared, “I wasn’t bad at school. I just needed school to see me differently.” That sentiment echoes the NAIS Educational Equity in Independent Schools report, which emphasizes that meaningful equity requires leadership commitment and community dialogue (NAIS 6).

Community, participants often note, is where belonging takes root. When schools or organizations fail to nurture inclusion, people create it themselves. Inside Higher Ed’s “13 Ways to Improve Higher Ed for BIPOC Students” highlights this truth: community-based relationships are among the strongest predictors of persistence (McMurtrie). One participant summarized it simply: “We made community ourselves. No one handed it to us.”

Transitions often mark defining moments. Whether moving between schools, finding mentorship, or confronting bias, guests describe turning points that tested their sense of belonging. Research from Vanderbilt University confirms that institutional cultures often resist change during such transitions, placing the burden of adaptation on individuals (Bergeron et al. 9). BLAC’s work reframes these moments as evidence of agency and resilience.

Each interview concludes with reflection. When asked what advice they would offer their younger selves, participants often speak of legacy and responsibility, of holding the door open for others. The University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID) reinforces this, noting that true belonging is sustained through visible mentorship and leadership that models inclusion (National Center for Institutional Diversity 9).

Across more than forty interviews, themes of visibility, mentorship, access, and legacy appear again and again. The University of Washington Libraries Showcasing BIPOC Graduate Student Work project found that representation directly enhances confidence and engagement (University of Washington Libraries). BLAC’s findings echo this truth: being seen changes how people learn and how they lead.

BLAC reflects that Our Faces, Our Voices is not a performance but a practice. These stories are not abstractions; they are living evidence of what people have endured, learned, and built. Listening is not passive; it is participatory, a form of care and accountability that builds belonging in real time.

BLAC expresses deep gratitude to every participant who has shared their story. Each conversation contributes to a collective legacy that grows stronger with every voice.

Belonging begins here, in the act of listening.

Reader Reflection

Where do you see yourself in this conversation? Consider the moments that shaped how you see yourself and others. How would you answer these same questions? Who are you, and what do you do? What was your educational journey? When did you first realize how identity shaped your experience? Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self? And what is next for you?

Works Cited (MLA)

Bergeron, J., et al. Independent School Leadership and Cultural Norms: Equity and Resistance. Vanderbilt University, 2023.McMurtrie, Beth. “13 Ways to Improve Higher Ed for BIPOC Students.” Inside Higher Ed, 31 Oct. 2024, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/college-experience/2024/10/31/13-ways-improve-higher-ed-bipoc-students.National Association of Independent Schools. Educational Equity in Independent Schools: Summary of Findings. NAIS, 2023, https://www.nais.org/resource-center/resources/research/nais-research-summary-of-findings-from-educational-equity-in-independent-schools/.National Center for Institutional Diversity. Thriving Staff of Color: Building Culture through Cascade Mentorship. University of Michigan, 2024, https://ncid.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/report-thriving-staff-of-color-cascade-ncid.pdf.University of Washington Libraries. “Showcasing BIPOC Graduate Student Work.” UW Libraries Strategic Communications Blog, 29 Aug. 2024, https://sites.uw.edu/libstrat/2024/08/29/showcasing-bipoc-graduate-student-work/.