Xaiver Williams
James Madison University
Xaiver Williams, a third-year student at James Madison University, is an active student leader in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the Fall of 2021, Xaiver was selected as the Student Representative to the Board of Visitors. As the representative, Xaiver provides a student perspective rooted in equity and ensures underrepresented student voices are heard. Xaiver is also the working group recommendation champion for the task force on racial equality and aided in passing a motion to recommend a Diversity and Inclusivity statement for faculty members' syllabi. For his capstone project, titled “The Role of Black Male Educators in the Lives of Black Male Students: Identifying Best Strategies for Decreasing the K-12 School-to-Prison Pipeline in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Xaiver will conduct interviews with educators to provide the opportunity to discuss their experience as learners and their journeys to becoming educators and role models.
Personal Statement
Living in a community where gun violence quickly became a normal occurrence, my high school band director, Mr. Ronzel Bell, was a positive role model in me discovering my call to leadership, working in education, helped keep me focus to succeed in school. As my first and only Black male educator, Mr. Bell inspired me to study music education and be a role model for other Black male students in our K-12 education system as he was to me. For my undergraduate studies, I am researching the school-to-prison pipeline and the possible solutions Black male educators are able to contribute to decreasing the number of Black male students winding up in the pipeline within the public education system. This project will form the centerpiece of his honors thesis. Through a podcast series in which I will interview Black male teachers from around the commonwealth, I plan to identify different strategies Black male educators are using to empower Black male students and slowing down the pipeline in their communities. Long term, I plan to use this experience as a leader in public education in Virginia, first in the classroom and then as a leader in our state legislature as a senator.
