Still Committed

Still Committed: How Educators and Teams Cultivate Just Schools in Unjust Times

By Terrance L. Green

Book Details

Product Code: 125014

ISBN: 9781416634560

Release Date: July 2026

Length: 166 pages

Practical, research-backed guidance for K–12 educators who are still committed to racial justice and equity work in schools.

In unjust times, it’s tempting to shrink your vision to fit the moment, but that would mean giving students less than they deserve. A commitment to racially just schools is about persistence in principle and creativity in practice. In Still Committed, Terrance L. Green offers guidance for educators working together to advance equity in schools, whether they are part of formally recognized equity teams, groups with a different name, or informal gatherings around a table.

The approach Green lays out goes beyond shallow professional development and actionless conversations. He explains how to use his 5D Framework for Equity Action—short for discern, dream, design, do, diagnose—to figure out where your school is now, imagine something better, and make it a reality. School and district leaders and teacher teams will learn how to do the following:

• Uncover root causes and move beyond surface fixes.
• Keep equity language both courageous and actionable in politically charged times.
• Identify toxic elements and turn setbacks into opportunities.
• Envision and design equity efforts.
• Maintain accountability during implementation.

You’ll also get a collection of practical tools that you can adapt to your setting and reflective questions for both individuals and teams to help you apply what you are learning to everyday practice.

When educators work together, even in small groups, they can withstand opposition, generate innovative solutions, and push schools and districts to transform in ways that no single person could achieve. Still Committed offers the way forward for those who refuse to give up the fight for what’s right. 

Table of contents

Introduction: The Crossroads We Face

Section I. Discern

1. Why Committed Educators Need to Rebake the Cake

2. The Status Quo Recipe: How Schools Keep Reproducing Racial Injustice and Inequities

3. When the Kitchen Gets Hot: Recognizing and Responding to Resistance in Unjust Times

4. Framing the Work Without Losing the Work: The Battle for Equity Language in Unjust Times

5. What’s Been Baking? How Committed Educators and Teams Can Discern Their District or School’s Work

Section II. Dream

6. Ingredients That Threaten Equity Dreams

7. When Possibility Meets Action: Moving from Dreaming to Action

Section III. Design, Do, Diagnose

8. Implementation as Liberation: Taking Faithful Action Steps Forward

9. Measuring the Right Things: Designing Equity-Centered Indicators for Systemic Change

10. Still Rising

Acknowledgments

References

Index

About the Author

About the author

Terrance L. Green, PhD, is a tenured associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he co-directs the Texas Principal Leadership Academy. He is the author of Still Committed. Green has worked with school districts nationwide to equip leaders with strategies to build more equitable education systems together with families and communities. He also hosts the Racially Just Schools podcast, which is listened to in more than 2,400 cities in more than 80 countries. Green holds a BS from Kentucky State University (a Historically Black College) and a PhD in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a former high school science teacher.

Praise for Still Committed

“As a principal who has engaged in this work with my own team and seen meaningful growth because of it, this book felt both honest and practical. The writing is approachable, the structure is thoughtful, and the historical and cultural connections throughout make it especially impactful for teams committed to advancing equity and disrupting systems that continue to marginalize students and communities. Thank you, Dr. Green!”

—O’Kiyyah L. Lyons, Principal, DC Public Schools

“Terrance Green’s Still Committed is honest but encouraging, raw but beautifully crafted, a push and a prod, a vision and an invitation for deepening our commitments and actions despite, or because of, the anti-justice pushback and noise. This is the book we need, at precisely the moment we need it.”

—Paul Gorski, coauthor with Katy Swalwell of Fix Injustice, Not Kids and Other Principles for Transformative Equity Leadership

“Still Committed is such a breath of fresh air. In a time when words such as diversity, equity, inclusion, access, culturally responsive, social justice, and even social and emotional learning are completely banned from countless districts and schools across North America, Terrance Green is essentially saying, stop . . . we must be still committed! I am so proud of this young man for not only writing this book but also having the audacity to write it in today’s political climate. I look forward to the day when we have ceased to run and hide from these important words and what they stand for in our schools.”

—Principal Baruti Kafele, retired principal, educational consultant, and author of The Equity and Social Justice Education 50

“An inspirational book that shows leaders through useful tools and strategies how they can and why they should still be committed to fighting for racial justice. As such, Green invites leaders to boldly imagine and create a world that they and their students cannot live without. Amazingly, the contents of this volume are research-based and practitioner-focused to illuminate the clearest path to equity for individuals and teams even during these unjust times.” 

—Mark Anthony Gooden, PhD, Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Professor in Education Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University

“Terrance Green’s Still Committed is a timely and courageous call for educators to remain steadfast in the pursuit of equity, even amid political backlash, fear, and institutional retreat. Green powerfully challenges the growing pressures toward compliance and silence, reminding us that equity work was never meant to be convenient or temporary. This book is both a necessary critique and an inspiring call to lead with courage, integrity, and enduring commitment.”

—Muhammad Khalifa, PhD, Professor of Educational Administration and Executive Director of Urban and Rural Initiatives, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, and President of CRSLI