Claiming Fire
Leadership, Identity, and Becoming as a Black Lesbian
The Book
“You were born to lead. Not in spite of your identities — but because of them.”
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Claiming Fire is part memoir, part manifesto, part leadership framework — a groundbreaking exploration of what it means to lead as a Black Lesbian in a world that rewards silence and punishes truth. Emerging from Dr. Brandynicole Brooks’ doctoral research and lived experience, the book blends fierce storytelling, scholarship, and testimony to reclaim leadership as a liberatory act rather than a title.
Drawing from her critical autoethnographic dissertation — The Intersection of Multiple Identity Formation and Leadership Development as a Black Lesbian Leader — Dr. Brooks exposes how race, gender, sexuality, and leadership collide in ways rarely named in mainstream leadership discourse.
Across ten powerful chapters, she chronicles her journey from invisibility to wholeness, from toxic humility to unapologetic presence, from surviving systems to reshaping them. Each chapter weaves narrative, theory, and “The Academy” sections that ground personal truth in empirical evidence. Reflection prompts, affirmations, and notes pages invite readers to write themselves back into their own power.
Praise for Claiming Fire
A transformative blueprint for every Black lesbian who has ever questioned her power.
Claiming Fire is the kind of book you don’t just read — you feel it, you wrestle with it, and then you rise because of it. Dr. Brooks names truths we’ve carried in silence for years and turns them into a roadmap for liberated leadership. This book is fierce, affirming, and deeply necessary. I’ve never felt so seen, so validated, and so called forward at the same time.
Finally — a leadership book that tells the truth about identity, resilience, and becoming.
Dr. Brandynicole Brooks has given us a masterpiece. Claiming Fire speaks to the heart of what it means to lead while Black, woman, and queer in systems not built for us. The storytelling is powerful, the research is solid, and the reflections are life-changing. I walked away with new language, new courage, and a new commitment to show up whole. This book is an awakening.
About the Author
Dr. Brandynicole Brooks, LCSW is a visionary leader, scholar, and truth-teller whose work challenges the very foundation of mainstream leadership discourse. Her pioneering perspective emerges from her critical autoethnographic dissertation—The Intersection of Multiple Identity Formation and Leadership Development as a Black Lesbian Leader—which serves as the intellectual and emotional foundation of Claiming Fire.
She is not just an academic; she is a revolutionary, blending rigorous scholarship, fierce storytelling, and testimony to expose the unspoken burdens placed on Black women and Black Lesbian Leaders. Her research is a commitment to reclaiming leadership as a deeply personal and liberatory act—not a title bestowed by systems designed for exclusion.
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News & Events
Upcoming Workshops
Overcoming Toxic Humility
Toxic humility convinces us that shrinking is safety, that silence is virtue, and that erasure is protection. But the cost is confidence, joy, and leadership. In this workshop, participants will unpack the roots of toxic humility, explore how it shows up in leadership and daily life, and learn strategies to reclaim pride, voice, and presence as tools of liberation. Through storytelling, group dialogue, and practical reflection, this session will empower leaders to stand tall, speak boldly, and lead whole.
Claiming Fire:
6-Week Leader Development Program
A six-week leader development program based on Claiming Fire, that is a structured journey into identity, voice, and liberated leadership for Black Lesbian Leaders designed to be powerful, reflective, culturally grounded, and transformational.
Inquiries
Independent Bookstore Sells
Workshops & Interviews
Dr. Brandynicole is available for speaking engagements, workshops, and media interviews focusing on liberated leadership, identity and power dynamics, and healing-centered practices in leadership.
In keeping with the spirit of community and economic empowerment, Dr. Brandynicole, is intentionally partnering with independent and Black-owned bookstores to make the book available via consignment partnership or direct bulk purchase. If you are interested, please reach out below.