The Wabash Center's Dialogue On Teaching

Lakisha R. Lockhart: Silhouette Interview

• The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion • Season 5 • Episode 27

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Lakisha R. Lockhart, PhD is Associate Professor of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary. 

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Hello, I am Nancy Lynn Westfield, Director of the Wabash Center. Welcome to Dialogue on Teaching, a Silhouette Interview. The Silhouette Conversations are sparked from a list of standardized questions. We have the good fortune to hear firsthand from teaching exemplars about their teaching and teaching life. Today, our Silhouette guest is Dr. Lakeisha R. Lockhart. Dr. Lockhart is Associate Professor of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Notice I said Associate Professor because she was just tenured on April 24, 2025, and we are so proud and so excited and eager for you to become in the ranks of tenured faculty. So welcome, Lakeisha. Thank you. Hello.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Hello. Thank you so much. I am So excited. And it's still sinking in. So thank you. Thank you. Let

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

it sink in and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, right? So there should be multiple celebrations.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Just like been mass celebrations since April. So it's great. That's right. No,

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

it's well-earned, well-achieved, not to be taken lightly, right? So congratulations.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Thank you. But they don't tell you what to do once you get it. You're like, what? What? Oh, okay.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

There is that. You both feel the same and different. It's like, what just happened? I just crossed the street. I'm on the same street. I'm on the other side of the street. What's different? Yeah, I do know that. Exactly. Exactly. But you will grow into it. Be not dismayed. You will grow into it.

Lakisha Lockhart:

I look forward to it. I look forward to the growth and all the new spaces I can expand. So I'm excited.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

That's right. That's right. And take on that authority, right? So there's new authority, new responsibility.

Lakisha Lockhart:

I'm trying to figure out what that new authority voice looks like now. I don't have to do the yes all the time just because I'm junior and I need to prove. Now I feel like I can just kind of say no a little more. And so I'm excited about that.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Say yes to what you want to say yes to and no to what you, and then create whatever you want to create, right? You can put your energies by your agenda, not by somebody else's agenda.

Lakisha Lockhart:

See, that is exciting and scary all at the same time, but I'm looking forward to that kind of energy. I'm really looking forward to curating, right? Yes!

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

I have confidencince in you. I have confidence.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Thank you.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

So let's get started on our profile. Our 14 questions are at the ready. Here we go. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Lakisha Lockhart:

I wanted to be a physical therapist. I was always into sports and helping people. And so like I was the one that would like wrap bandages. My older sister was also into sports. So she would come home with like ankles messed up, knees messed up. And so I would always like wrap them and I would ice them. And so I really thought I wanted to help people and help people get better. And so I thought I was going to go into physical therapy.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

So why did you know what a physical therapist was? Like not a nurse, not a doctor, not a surgeon, a physical

Lakisha Lockhart:

Cause my, I thought my sister was getting banged up every two seconds. A physical therapist. Well, so because they were also in sports, so she did like basketball and volleyball and she's like seven years older than me. So I saw

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

her. Yeah. They literally saw those people in that profession.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Yeah. It's like the team had a physical therapist and like she had to go to physical therapy because she like pulled something in her knee. I think it was like, I'm not sure if it was ACL. I have to remember correctly, but then she had to have surgery And so I just remember her saying like her physical therapist helped her so much and like regained something. So it's like I knew from a very early age, like I wanted to be in something that was going to help people and impact lives. But it was that journey of the physical therapy piece I really liked of helping people get back somewhere, not just the surgery. It was just the helping people get back to a good place.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

I have a friend who says mobility is life.

Lakisha Lockhart:

I mean, hey, I'm working on that now.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

He might be right.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Absolutely.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Who was proud of you when you became a teacher?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, my goodness. Oh, let's see. So many people. But I would probably say the most proud, probably in order is my spouse, who I feel like he's just been amazing. This amazing human who is like always known. I love for teaching. I've known him since high school. We want names. Name these people. I call him Husbae. That's the nickname. But his name is Edward. Edward Rush. He is the Husbae. And he... Yeah, he knew me when I was very young. And he always kind of said, oh, you're just teaching this, you're teaching that. But I never, in my mind, I never put that together. So even like when I got my letter to Boston College to go for the PhD, he was so excited. And just my sister, again, even though she was getting beat up, she's a writer. So she was super excited for me.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Names, we want names. want names.

Lakisha Lockhart:

n Sorry, it's right. Denisha Little was so excited for me. My mother, Barbara Hanna. She was over the moon, as well as my dad, Dwight Hanna. I mean, they were both just... Tears of joy, all the tears. So excited. My sister, Everleen, Everleen Rutherford was also excited. She was just like, I'm glad you're at a school girl. Cause it's, you've been in there for a long time. And I was like, true sis, true. So I've just, I've had a beautiful community that's supported me and we're always so happy. They didn't understand it in the beginning, but once I got there, they were like, we got you.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

y What's the best thing your mother taught you?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh my goodness. She taught me so many things. I'm trying to think what was the best. Okay. So the best thing is how to make beef jerky.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

That is hysterical.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Literally. I mean, like it's me, like you have to soak it in teriyaki and brown sugar. You had to put it on the hydrator. It brings lots of happiness to lots of people. So that makes me very happy. But I feel like more than just the jerky, I feel like she taught me how to sustain life, right? Like with food, with nourishment, like just these like processes, like it's not an easy process to make jerky. She taught me patience. She taught me like the lessons in the lessons. So I'm saying jerky, but when I say that, I really mean just patience and process. And like, I feel like, you know, nowadays they would say like, let it cook. Just like, let it cook, right? Like, how to let yourself marinate when you need to and to sit and be patient in the waiting. Because it's-

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Why does mama know how to make beef jerky?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Look, I don't know. I don't know if grandma made me jerky or not, but it was banging growing up. And I have now, like all of us had to get dishes that they have passed down to us. And so now I know how to make it too. And yeah.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

I love it, right? I love it. Who has influenced your teaching for the better?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh my goodness. I would say, of course I'm thinking of, you know, people that are scholars, right? Like Palo Frere and Bell Hooks, like their scholarship, I think has made me a better educator. But if I had to say like people that I'm super, that I'm close to, I would say my, my kids and my students have made me a better educator. I feel like, My kids remind me, you know, because I feel like I do a lot around play and aesthetics, but even in days that are hard, like they are constant, beautiful reminders of finding these beautiful nuggets of teaching moments through play and through all of these means. So they're constant reminders of that and how I can show up in different spaces and bring these tools to the classroom. And my students, just because I've had so many students from various backgrounds and walks of life, they keep me accountable. They keep me on my toes. They keep me guessing because if there's something that I don't know, I will find out for them. And so I feel like they've made me better and I've grown because I want all of them to succeed. I want all of them to have what they need to go be successful in ministry or whatever endeavor they're reaching. And more than anything, I want us to be free. And so I'm like, the more they push me, the more I will show up. So, yeah.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

What has surprised you about teaching or the teaching life?

Lakisha Lockhart:

What has surprised me about the teaching life or teaching life? I would probably say the exhaustion. I just, the teaching part itself is what I'm so deeply passionate about, right? I actually love planning a syllabi. I love getting it. I love going in there. I love making these beautiful moments. But all of the other things that come with that like all the faculty committees, all of the, you know, department meetings, all of the behind the scenes things, all of that can be really exhausting sometimes when you're just like, I just want to show up. And so sometimes that can be more exhausting. I think that was a surprise with something that I feel so passionate and that I love so deeply is that it's also so draining at the same time. And so just as much as I'm giving, I just, ends of semesters now are just much harder than I think they used to be. And so, yeah, I think that was probably my biggest surprise at how exhausted I am.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

There is an element of grind that you can't anticipate, particularly now, right, in this season. Yes. And the grind is to be avoided if possible.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Right. I'm trying. I'm trying to make moments of rest, but I'm like, where, where, when?

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

What's a favorite nickname by which you are called by a loved one?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. So I'm actually going to say this because I feel like it's a beautiful memory. And I feel like I used to not say this at all because I was so embarrassed. But I had a nickname, Cootie, like Cootabug, because I used to scoot around. And that my dad, who died many years ago now, may he continue to rest well. He named me Cootie. And my brothers and my cousins, my grandma, everybody caught on. Like to this day, my family in Lake Providence, Louisiana, on my dad's side, Willie Earl, Willie Earl Lockhart, and my family on my dad's side in Louisiana, to this day, if they call tech, it's still cootie. No matter how many degrees, you still cootie. And it's the most loving, beautiful thing that I was ashamed of in high school. But now I'm like, oh, I love it. I love it.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

The joy of family, right? The joy of family. Y What profession other than teaching would you like to attempt?

Lakisha Lockhart:

You know, I think I would be an amazing event planner. I feel like in another world, like I actually have been the secret plan in my mind for my entire family. My entire family are like gifted in so many ways. My mother does like these, Barbara Hanna does these flower arrangements. My father, Dwight Hanna does he he does he used to work in like um insurance so he could hook you up my other sister does like resin art my other sister's a writer so literally i'm like yo we could plan we just get like a location plan all these events it could be amazing because i'm ridiculously organized so i am very much the color-coded you know write it in the planner i mean even when i was planning our wedding color-coded the my spouse he had a a whole folder like his boys were like oh Oh, this is real. It was like, yes, you need to know what you're getting into. Any trip that we plan itinerary, even with the family, they all know where's the itinerary. Like, no. So I think I could be a planner.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

There's an LLC in your family's future. I

Lakisha Lockhart:

think so. I feel like we could, we could do some things. I'm thinking of cute names. So we'll see.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Do you enjoy writing in longhand? And if so, what's your preference of ink pen or writing utensil?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh my goodness. That is a great question. I do prefer writing in longhand. It's something about the tactileness of writing that I love. And I have a pencil. It's like a gel. It's like a gel pilot, I think. It writes so crisp and beautifully. And I love to do colors. I don't like to do just black. I like the purples and the greens and the blues and the reds. So depending on what I'm writing, it depends on the color. And every now and then, I also just like to write with crayon. I like to just... I just, I love the feel of the crayon on the paper and like the scratch of it. Just, yeah, the waxiness of it. It just, it feels good. Cause I also like to doodle. So it's like, depending on that to get the ideas out until it finishes, like I'll just like doodle things too. So the pen or the crayon is usually my, my go-to when I, when I longhand. And I really do love to, before I put anything on the computer.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

I love the smell of crayons when I'm writing a crayon.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, right.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Yeah.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, it's just like this instant nostalgia.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

What's your superpower? Or in your case, plural, what are your superpowers? Because I know you a little bit, so.

Lakisha Lockhart:

What are my, oh my goodness. What are my superpowers? My superpower is that I am like multiple, multiple, I don't know if it's multiple people or what do you call like multiple places at one time or doing many things, whatever that superpower would be. Because I like when I'm, when I'm going and I'm productive, man, I get a lot of things done. I am, Shape shifter,

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

multidimensional traveler.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Let's go with that because I promise you the amount of things I can get done in like a two hour span is ridiculous, especially compared to, you know, other people are like, um, what happened here? Like, oh no, I just did this, this, this, this, and this. I'm good.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

That makes sense to me. That makes

Lakisha Lockhart:

sense. So yeah. So I would say that I love that shape shifter. Yeah, there we go. Let's go with that.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

So now number 10 is either our notorious question or infamous question. It is our question. You might want to take a beat before you answer, but it might be the most important question that we ask any of our guests. The question is, what's your favorite cuss word?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, that's not, that's easy. It's shit. I just, it's such a good one. I mean, it just rolls off so beautifully. It can be good or bad. Like, oh, you did shit. Or like, or, oh, that's some shit. Like you can just use it in multiple ways and it always works. fits. Yeah.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

I love that, right? It's all about the tone, right?

Lakisha Lockhart:

The inflection, the inflection, just how you use it, you know, it's beautiful.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

How have you survived certain violences in teaching?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, oh, that's good. First and foremost, shout out to therapy. That's a beautiful thing. I'll just say that. And I'll also say having having space to come in like and talk about it. My spouse is actually Edward. I mentioned Edward Rush. I mentioned earlier is not at all in anything theological at all. He's I.T. He's as far away from theology, which is a beautiful thing. And so just genuinely being able to talk about things to very like walk them through what happened. How did this hurt? How does it show up? But talking through so much of that has, has helped just so I'm not carrying it into our partnership or into this house with our children. And so I can really name some of that. So being able to talk that through, whether it's with him or some of my girlfriends or my therapist has been wonderful. And just like, taking a beat to realize when it is a violence and being okay to name it as that was what happened. I feel like for the better part of my career, they would happen, but I would dismiss it as, oh, this is just the beginning part. This is just what junior faculty have to go through. This is just what happens. But I realized, no, it doesn't have to happen. And it's okay to name that this was violent and it didn't need to be and that it was hurtful and And that it's okay for me to give myself time. It's okay for me to name it as violence. And it took me a while to get there. And so I think space to name it, space to digest it and to breathe through it is helpful. I'm also a dancer. So I love to do Zumba in my living room. I literally just put on a song, make up some choreography and that helps. I cry and dance often, which is wonderful and beautiful just because it gets in my body. It gets in my bones and my marrow and it has to get out. So that's been... wonderful and helpful. And I recently got into kickboxing and that's been glorious. So yeah, of course I just need to kick it and punch something sometimes. And it's been wonderful.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Yeah. Successful tenure, right? Kickboxing helps that process. Exactly. So you, you started talking about it a little bit, but the next question is what healings have you witnessed or received in teaching or the teaching life?

Unknown:

Hmm.

Lakisha Lockhart:

This is a really good question. So I feel like I know I have been called as an educator to be a bit disruptive, right? I know kind of how I do what I do and what I've called to do is not the norm, right? I know I do ungrading. I do lots of practices that are unusual and that especially students, sometimes if they're coming back second career or different things are not as open to. And so... I just think about the moments where I hear back from students that have experience and maybe the experience in the classroom was not great for them or great for me. And they come back and I get these emails or one person actually wrote me a handwritten letter. And just these beautiful moments where folks are like, I didn't get it then, but it has changed my life now. Like it has impacted the way I do ministry. It has helped me understand my children, right? Like, cause I do a lot around play and, you know, just, you know, I've become a more playful person, right? Like them telling me this and how it's impacted their ministry and their home life and them, like, those are the healings. Those are the, When all of the things are happening, like this is how I know I'm still called to this. This is how I know. And it just helps hearing that, seeing that. And the moments I invite students now to do self-evaluations at the end of every class. You're going to evaluate me. You're going to evaluate yourself too. So let's do this. So they do a self-evaluation. And part of that is also them seeing themselves reflected in their own work has been, that has been healing. Like now that I'm adding that to classes, that has been, okay. I mean, more so than I ever thought it was. It's just beautiful to see them heal. So it's just so many beautiful moments, I feel like, that I've just been holding on to. I keep a little folder on my computer where I just keep everything in it. And so when the days get hard, I visit that folder.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

It's a good folder, right? It's a good folder. What have you enjoyed most about the teaching life? I

Lakisha Lockhart:

think I have enjoyed... I mean, I enjoy the teaching. I enjoy the students, but colleagues, I, I was always worried that like, I would end up with like just horrible colleagues that just didn't like me or I didn't like, you know, you just never know who your colleagues are going to be. And realizing that yes, I have colleagues at my institution who are wonderful. Literally we send like, I have a couple of colleagues, we send voice, hilarious, ridiculous voice memos and emojis and gifts and, and not just at the institution I'm at now, but like just over time, as you go to conferences, as you go to things, just finding out that you're not alone in this and being able to have these times where you can plan together, where you can just cackle together, you get to show up together. When you have rough days in the classroom, you can be like, Hey, this is what happened. And they're like, Girl, me too. Right. And just, oh, that has been such a gift. And I think, yeah, it definitely makes this teaching thing wonderful. And I, yeah, it's probably one of my favorite parts is having beautiful, wonderful colleagues to both commiserate with and celebrate with and to just be has been such, such a gift to this teaching.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Last question. It is not a question about now. It's a question about the future. At the conclusion of your teaching career, so in 50 or 60 years, I'm going to give you 50

Lakisha Lockhart:

years. Sorry.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Okay, maybe 40. There

Lakisha Lockhart:

we go. We'll go with that.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

What miracles will you have performed?

Lakisha Lockhart:

Oh, my goodness. That's such a heavy question. What miracles? What miracles will I have performed? Oh, goodness. I will miraculously have gotten the entire theological education to stop using grades and use ungrading because we realize that at this point, why are we grading? Because we just want to show up and be present. So that's one miracle.

Unknown:

Yeah.

Lakisha Lockhart:

is that we've shifted theological education, that we have, oh my goodness, oh my gosh, brought more play and fun back into classroom spaces, to ministry, to life, to remember that we've been created by a creative creator. So why aren't we creating? Why aren't we having fun? And I mean, just cackling and just having a good time, I would hope. But I guess probably the biggest thing, right, is I just, I hope the biggest miracle is that I will have raise two amazing little humans that see themselves deeply and utterly loved by God and in the image of the divine and that just want to make the world better and that show up that way every day. So that's always the best miracle, right? Yeah.

Nancy Lynne Westfield:

Associate Professor Lakeisha Lockhart, thank you so much for stopping by.

Lakisha Lockhart:

Thank you for having me. This has been amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.