Intersectionality. “I Basically Just Walked Out”: Race Talk and the Experiences of Black Women Educators in U.S. Educational Settings

• In Event: AERA Teachers of Color Handbook Session 2

Abstract

In this chapter, we—four Black women educators from different parts of the world—explore how the concept of “race talk” (Howard, 2004; Sue, 2013; Williams, Woodson & Wallace, 2016) can be used to build relationships with students across differences and create humanizing encounters for both students and teachers through storying (San Pedro & Kinloch, 2017). Although we share certain identity markers and experiences as Black women, we come to this work with different encounters of living and working inside and outside of the United States. This enables us to consider how our racial and gendered categories are neither monolithic nor homogeneous, therefore requiring us to critically engage the concept of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2010; Garcia, 2016). Our inquiry, then, is guided by the following questions: “In what ways do the educational spaces we navigate impact our identities as Black women educators? How can “race talk” serve as a pedagogical tool and method to explore the experiences of Black women educators?” From our findings, we conclude that: (1) the racialized experiences of Black women teachers are marked by a variety of factors, such as place, context, and country of origin; and (2) while race talk is a crucial means to building relationships with students within and across communities, the ability to engage in race talk is governed by school culture, leadership, and parental desires.

Authors

• Tanja Burkhard, Washington State University

• Valerie Kinloch, University of Pittsburgh

• DaVonna Graham, University of Pittsburgh

• Kaye-Ann Yarborough, Walden University