The Black Principals Network, powered by Surge Institute, is dedicated to the restoration, professional development, and liberation of Black principals and education leaders across the country. This year marked BPN’s fourth anniversary since relaunching under Surge, continuing its commitment to building community and strengthening the careers of Black education leaders nationwide.

And when it came time to launch a new initiative, BPN turned to where so much of the African American story is grounded: the South.

The inaugural Southern Regional Leadership Summit took place February 27–28 in downtown Atlanta, with 50 school leaders representing more than a dozen cities across the country. It was fitting that this first summit would be held in a city where the roots of Black history run deep and the legacy of cultivating resilient, purpose-driven leadership continues to shape the path forward.

TaraShaun R. Gipson, BPN executive director, connected the dots eloquently during her welcome speech.

“From classrooms to courtrooms, from pulpits to policy tables, the South has produced educators who understood that schools are incubators of possibility and anchors of community. Now you stand in that lineage.”

TaraShaun’s opening remarks set the foundation for the summit’s theme: Rooted in Resilience, Rising in Purpose.

Next, Dalonte Burns, BPN program director, led an interactive session titled “Roots & Routes,” inviting leaders to reflect on the people, experiences, and convictions that have shaped their leadership. Using Post-It notes and collaborative reflection, participants identified the roots that ground them and the values that hold them steady, before building collective “leadership trees” at their tables—visual reminders that no leader grows alone and that resilience is sustained through shared roots.

The room then turned its attention to a fireside chat on “Leadership Through Legacy” with TaraShaun and F. Christopher Goins, a Surge alum and President & CEO of Philadelphia Academies. The conversation was thoughtful, honest, and reflective.

“Sometimes, tradition is just another word for oppression,” Christopher said, as the room let out an audible sound of approval. “I think you should ask yourself questions – and I know it’s hard… But when you center yourself on those questions, it’s ‘Who created this system? Why was it created, and who is it really serving?’ ” He said this process helps him decide when he has to make difficult decisions as a leader.

Day two of the summit was filled with thought-provoking panel discussions, breakout sessions, and Q&As that deepened both reflection and practice. JuDonne Hemingway, longtime school leader who recently joined Braven, a nonprofit organization that prepares college students for a strong first job opportunity after graduation, as its Head of People, delivered the morning keynote titled “Mission Without Martyrdom.”

“Martyrdom is not a flaw,” JuDonne said. “It is adaptation in a system that requires it.”

The session named something many leaders carry but rarely have language for: the tension between the brilliance and the burden of leadership—the ways leaders stretch themselves to hold communities, navigate broken systems, and still show up every single day.

Other impactful programming included breakout sessions led by Dr. Brandi Chin (“Hope Is Not a Strategy”), Dr. David McGuire (“Sending the Elevator Back Down”), Dr. Marva Tutt (“Sustaining Wellness and Leadership Longevity”), Dr. Mike Brown (“Principals As a Key Lever for Improving Student Outcomes”), Dr. Folasade Adekunle (“When the Paperwork Is Enuf”), and Dr. Kristle Hodges and Camile Melton Brown (“Reframing in the Eye of the Storm”).

The impact of the summit was clear in the feedback from attendees. The experience earned a +89 Net Promoter Score, with 94% of participants rating the summit a perfect 5 out of 5. Program quality indicators were equally strong, with speakers earning an average rating of 4.89 out of 5, reinforcing the value of creating spaces where Black school leaders can recharge, reflect, and sharpen their practice together.

BPN also presented its first Liberatory Leadership Award to Nikki Grier, founder and school leader at D.E.L.T.A. Steam Academy near Atlanta, and an alum of BPN’s The Leadership Collaborative (TLC25).

Angia Kincey, BPN program manager, was instrumental in organizing this successful summit. And after its conclusion, she set her sights on the next one.

Planning is now underway for the Eastern Regional Leadership Summit this fall. For the latest updates on this event and other programming, follow BPN on LinkedIn and subscribe to its newsletter.