School leaders, who subscribe to social justice leadership (SJL), are situated to combat inequitable outcomes inherently produced by educational contexts. For school leaders to transform inequitable systems, they must develop a broad and deep understanding of social justice in their leadership preparation programmes and beyond. Through qualitative interview data, we uncover the needs of graduates of an SJL doctoral preparation programme, who work in affluent school contexts in the USA. Affluent schools are defined as economically elite contexts, which ultimately can engender an 'economic elite domination' (Gilens and Page 2014, p. 566). SJL is needed in these contexts in order to dismantle the status quo and educate affluent students to work for and with others. Findings suggest that while graduates improved their "own" sense of leading for change, they often experienced tension attempting to overturn the status quo due to social and political pressures. Graduates often had different views than their colleagues, leading to alienation and burn-out. Insights from graduates about the implications for professional learning to lead socially just schools that touch upon the complex factors that impede aspirations for social justice, are highlighted in this manuscript.