What About Black Female Athletes? Honoring Their Lived Experiences Through Literacy Development

• In Event: Researchers Building: Advancing the Literate Identities of Black Students Across Multiple Sites and Spaces

Abstract

The exponential-growth literacy model emphasized the vital importance of literacy instruction for elementary Black boys. The notion of advancing Black boys led me to reflect on my own positionality as a Black female scholar; I asked the question, ‘what about Black girls?’ There were multiple occasions I would go to pick up my Black boys for the study, and the girls would ask, “When are you starting a program for girls?” Or, “Can I come next time?”
Black females experience exclusion far too often in our efforts to academically advance Black males (Morris, 2007). It was through my experience teaching Black boys that I realized the importance of creating spaces for Black females to share with Black males when it came to academic development and growth (Morris, 2007). These girls’ questions empowered me to center the importance of my own identity as a Black female scholar, researcher, and former athlete--the latter of which I did not find present in the literature. Reflecting on my collegiate athletic experience, I did not realize the significance of my literacy development until my gymnastics career ended. Upon entering my doctorate degree, it became clear that I needed to focus on my own identity as a scholar and take the model into the athletic realm by recognizing Black females’ lived experiences and giving them a space to be a scholar and athlete. Scholarship that centers Black female athletes’ experiences are missing from the field (Sellers, Kuperminc & Damas, 1997). Studies that have included Black female athletes are grouped in categories of women, or African Americans. Rarely do our identities stand alone.

Expanding upon the model, I propose this question: how can literacy practices capture the lived experiences of Black female athletes? Building on this project will provide a more holistic view of collegiate Black female athletes’ experiences. I studied my experiences as a former NCAA Division I Black female athlete—who is pursuing a doctoral degree. Utilizing autoethnography, intersectionality theory (Collins & Blige, 2016), and thematic analysis, this presentation will provide a rich counternarrative of my (1) complex and diverse backgrounds, (2) personal and pedagogical shifts, and (3) critical reflections offering additional ways instructors can educate, empower, and affirm Black female athletes of all ages with their educational, personal, and literacy development.

Author

• Tamara Moten, University of Georgia