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Georg Simmel described how a person can be a stranger, a member of two cultures but belong to neither (1950). Being a stranger though, goes beyond belonging. Strangeness goes to the soul of who we truly are: it defines our beliefs, delimits our practices, and gives depth to our everyday lives. Strangeness allows and sometimes forces us to cross the borders from the safe confines of our normal lives into the murkiness of the unknown social reality beyond it.

Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to initiate change. We utilize such a setting to examine what support mechanisms, both individual and contextual, have been utilized when attempting change in rigid environments. We examine the case of successful and unsuccessful attempts to make golf more inclusive to women. Our research supports the claim that rigid environments require more complex combinations of support mechanisms than other settings, illustrating the importance of institutions in both enabling and constraining change in such settings.

Similar to other parts of the United States, its southern region is still wrestling with the implications of the resegregation of America’s schools. Unlike other parts of the country, however, the Deep South demons are rooted in a vastly different historical context. This chapter offers an historical analysis of the educational problems in the Deep South, with strong emphasis on gifted programming. Further, in this chapter, we present and describe a framework that could guide educators as they strive to identify giftedness among children of color and implement programming in a culturally responsive manner.