Oppression and Its Effect on Black British Girls' Well-Being in Education

• In Event: 53.069 - Shifting Socioeconomic and Educational International Challenges: Models to Foster Equity in Colleges and Universities

Abstract

“Racism is not the only oppression a black woman faces. She is also oppressed in class terms, as part of the working class and in gender terms because she is a woman. ”Douglas, J. (2013).
The experiences of African American Black women in White colleges have been documented since as far back as the early 1900s. W.E.B. DuBois (1903, 2003; cited in Winkle–Wagner, 2009) coined the term “double consciousness” to describe a sense of the multiple identities experienced by Black women in White colleges in relation to the way they negotiate White norms as well as being Black. This sense of multiple identities puts pressure on Black women in general and challenges the notion of self, creating dissonance.
The identity of Black young women is also intertwined with the discussion of intelligence which arises from the work of Jensen in Britain and Eysenck in America. Although this unfortunate episode in academic research happened a long time ago, and its findings have been widely rejected, it has left a lasting impression on the debate on race and education. As a result the success of Black girls is not openly celebrated; instead, it is seen as perpetuating the matriarchy which has banished Black males from active participation in the family, and which is seen as the main problem of today’s Black families which are led by single mothers (Winkle-Wagner, 2009).
Dei et al. (1997) speak of race, class and gender as a set of multiple identities that Black students bring into the classroom. These multiple identities intersect and influence how Black students perceive and respond to the education system and can determine the success and failure of the individual. The authors observe that race, class and gender influence how teachers respond to Black students. Black students, for example, are more likely to be singled out, stereotyped and labelled as troublemakers than their White counterparts, and are also more likely to be excluded from school.
Purpose of research
The purpose of the research is to find out whether Black young women who are confident on the surface are suffering in silence with mental health issues. However, as the writing of this particular article progressed a personal reason emerged for wanting to know more about young Black women and their well-being. A family member suddenly developed major issues that led to a diagnosis of mental illness. It was unexpected, and, initially, we did not know how to handle such an illness, as finding answers to all the questions we wanted to ask got in the way of obtaining the correct support so that the person concerned could move on with their life. Unlike a broken bone or other kinds of illness, when it is the person’s mind that is affected, no one understands, or if they do their response is to walk away, find someone to blame and look for a quick solution. Of course this does not help the situation.

Author

• Victoria Showunmi, UCL Institute of Education,London