Shedding the Mask: Black Women Teachers Discussing Race, Oppression, and Intersectionality in the Workplace

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Transformational Resistance: Stories of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Educators and the Struggle for Justice

Abstract

Black women are a significant group of educational stakeholders whose voices, historically, have been erased/silenced from narratives of education (Dixson, 2003). This study seeks to center the narratives of Black women educators as they negotiate privilege and oppression in school settings. To meet the goal of increasing visibility of Black women educators in professional literature, we ground this paper in concepts of Black Feminist Thought and Intersectionality. We used narrative inquiry to design interviews and focus groups and analyzed data using the tenets of Black Feminist Thought. This research addresses a need to illuminate the voices of Black women teachers because of their experiences of privilege and marginalization that are unique from those who do not share their social locations.

Authors

• Francheska Starks, University of Tennesee Knoxville

• Adrian Dunmeyer, Georgia State University