We had the good fortune of connecting with David Emmanuelle Castillo (Cualliyolteotl) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David Emmanuelle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting my business is rooted in the mission and vision. The mission of Equitable Systems Consultants, LLC., is to create the next generation of systems thinkers through servant leadership and The Five C’s of Critical Care (Rolón-Dow, 2005), Critical Faith (Lee & Givens, 2015), Critical Hope (Andrade, 2009), Critical Love (Sealey-Ruiz, 2020), and Critical Reflection (Howard, 2003). Intentionality is the best word to use when it comes to the mission. I worked in a public school district that served predominantly Black and Brown children, as well as other children of color, prior to starting my consulting business. Working in the public school system confirmed what I already believed to be true yet hoped wouldn’t be. Being a product of the public school system myself, I always felt the educational system could have done better by my peers and I, and felt that problematic mindsets due to unchecked bias were a significant barrier to receiving a quality education. I realized how true that was being a professional within that system, and it took me aback since I take the role of public servant so seriously, especially when it comes to servicing demographics that are often considered afterthoughts opposed to priorities. Since I consider myself an anti-racist who strives towards becoming an abolitionist, I was intentional in ensuring that servant leadership was part of my mission and operationally defining The Five C’s, which required reading a great amount of scholarship to craft those sentence statements (see below).

Critical Care (Rolón-Dow, 2005): Humanizing the people we serve by treating them with full-inherent human dignity (Irby & Liston, 2017) while also recognizing the ways whiteness and patriarchy make this standard of care an anomaly.

Critical Faith (Lee & Givens, 2015): Embodying Christ-like behavior (Hirsch, 2010) through compassion by centering dialogue, competence by centering contextualization, and commitment by centering praxis (Freire, 1970; Lee, 2007).

Critical Hope (Andrade, 2009): Centering dialogue, contextualization and praxis based in authentic (Valenzuela, 1999) and critical care, while acknowledging the ways the cocoon of whiteness and patriarchy prevents the caterpillar from actualizing its transformation into a butterfly (Lamar, 2015).

Critical Love (Sealey-Ruiz, 2020): Strong, moral disposition of authentic and critical care by humanizing and overriding erasure (Brooks, 2017) to implement the demands of justice (King, 1967).

Critical Reflection (Howard, 2003): The ability to engage in cognitive dissonance of one’s beliefs and socialization processes while demonstrating critical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 1995) of the ways cultural hegemony (Gramsci, 1992) leads to color-blindness, deficit-thinking and poverty disciplining (Fergus, 2017).

This ties into the vision statement as well, which seeks to develop systems thinkers across all social determinants of health, making possible the ability to create healthy, thriving ecosystems using evidence-based practices and informed-decision making. I noticed within the public school system that a lot of decision making was based on politics and who had either direct power and resources or access to it to maintain a dynamic that had adverse impacts on the quality of education for young people. The interesting thing about politics is that it is informed by white supremacy and patriarchal culture, which is very anti-intellectual. Intentionality with the vision is my strong belief that combatting the insidiousness of the cultural beliefs and behaviors attached to the ideologies that inform these politics is by cultivating intellectual cultures. This explains why I believe to develop systems thinkers, effective ones at that, there must be an element of evidence-based practices and informed decision making.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It definitely was not easy to get to where I am today. My carnal shared with me that gold has to go through the fire so it can shine, and so I am thankful for all the challenges I’ve had to overcome and will face in the future. I can honestly say I’ve been able to overcome all of my challenges because of interdependence. As much as I would like to take credit, the truth is God has placed so many people in my life to get me where I am today. The folks I shouted out have all played a significant role in helping me live according to my purpose. Being in relation with these Godsent individuals has also been crucial for me recognizing my worth.

An important lesson I’ve learned is the greatest gift we can offer the world is our authentic self and our presence. Being our authentic self is not easy by any means. We have all this social doctrine and isms in the world that directly or indirectly communicates, “You being you is a problem,” especially when being you goes against what is considered the societal standard of being. It is important that we unpack the things that foster this type of thinking because human existence is not meant to be standardized. We have the right to show up as we are, not as we ought to be. I believe creating a better world starts with healing from the things that have contributed to us believing that us being ourselves is a problem.

In total transparency, healing is not easy. I know how messy it can be, but when we chose to heal, we move closer towards the act of love – for ourselves and for others. When I think of my business and what I want people to take away from it, aside from the mission, vision, and The Five C’s, I want them to say that this business is intentional about cultivating space for people to heal and show up as they are.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends were visiting Milwaukee, our itinerary would be as follows:

  • Day 1 – Brewery Run: We’d try and visit at least 10 breweries. A tour at Lakefront is a must since it is a super cool experience, and we would have to close our day at Eagle Park Brewery. Love that place.
  • Day 2 – Nature Trail Walk: This day would be spent doing a combination of biking and walking the Oakleaf Trail. This is a fun trail that has such beautiful sites.
  • Days 3-5 – Trip to Chicago: We’d hit up “The Bean” and take some pictures, stop at a few bars, for sure have some deep-dish pizza, and possibly catch a Bulls game.
  • Day 6 – Bucks Game: Fiserv Forum is just wow. Such a beautiful piece of architecture plus you get the opportunity to see Giannis hoop plus the panorama floor.
  • Day 7 – Packer Game: I’ve been to Lambeau Field once and the culture of winning and being a champion is so apparent everywhere in that stadium.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, I’d like to thank God. Through “The Most High,” all things are possible, and I am beyond grateful for the various people they’ve placed in my life to ensure my daily walk is in alignment with my purpose.

These people include my immediate family. My mother instilled in me an amazing work ethic and through her actions, taught me the beauty of having a giving heart and looking out for the “little people,” as she would say. My father whose parting words of, “Stick to your convictions. No matter what, stick to your convictions” serves as a beautiful reminder to move in alignment with God’s calling for my life. My older carnal who instilled always setting the bar high for myself and the importance of discipline. My carnalita whose presence in my life has truly been a blessing and inspired me to be a better man for myself and my family. I also want to acknowledge my primo Alex and prima’s Adriana and Crystal. They know they are always fam and mean a lot to me, and I appreciate the effort we put towards our relationship.

To the members of my extended family. My boy Julio for always reminding me I had a set of skills that was meant for something more than just the streets. I am not going to lie. I couldn’t stand hearing this when we were teens, but I have come to appreciate that message so much more as an adult. Thanks for always being a real homie. Palabra. My UER brothers David, Freddy, Mario, and Michael for always having my back and being great support systems.

To my amazing educational justice colleagues and pedagogues that are real life embodiments of “iron sharpens iron”: The Black and Latino Male Achievement (BLMA) Family for the work we did and y’all continue to do to cultivate a space of love for Black and Brown boys. The Coalition of Anti-Racist and Restorative Educators (CARE) family for the ways we hold space and encourage one another to grow. The homie Sergio whose example was an inspiration to step out on faith and start my consulting business. I can’t wait to see the fruition of your vision for your family because I know it will be actualized and so do you. The Happily Harris fam, Aisha, Bevin, Darnell, Darrin, Clintel, Catina, Naomi and Jon for y’all friend and mentorship. Special thanks to Barbara and Valeria Cerda for the recommendation. You’ve no idea how much I appreciate that and how much it means to me. Continue curating diverse literature.

Website: https://esconsultants.weeblysite.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equitable_systems_consultants/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalkey

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