Know Thyself: Reflections of Emerging Black Female Scholars Through Critical Race Theory

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

To “know thyself” as the ancient dictum suggests, is to learn and understand the many aspects of one’s identity. For five Black women attending a predominately white institution, knowing thyself goes beyond race and gender to include the intersectionality of other features salient to their personal and scholarly identity. Although it is often believed that persons of the same oppressed groups share unified goals and experiences, this panel counters this monolithic notion by offering CRT-inspired ethnographies and narratives (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012). In doing so, they illustrate how various elements of identity operate and exist in multiple contexts and across various social settings, emphasizing that “no one has a single, easily stated, unitary identity” (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012, p. 10).

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Education

Chair

• Venus E. Evans-Winters, Illinois State University

Papers

• Afro-Latina in the Academy: A Critical Self-Study of Racist Nativism, Meritocracy, and Microaggressions in Education - Eliana Castro, Michigan State University

• Looking to the Bottom to Rise to the Top: My Journey to Criticality - Missy D. Cosby, Michigan State University

• From the Pulpit to the Prayer Room: Examining the Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Religion - Effat Id-Deen, Michigan State University

• On Becoming Black: Narratives From a Black Caribbean Immigrant - Kayon A. Hall, Michigan State University

• Dear Mama: A Counternarrative of Single Black Motherhood - Cierra Presberry, Michigan State University

Discussant

• Dorinda Carter Andrews, Michigan State University