Black Girl–Led Research: Centering Black Girls in Transforming Schools

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Eleven
  In Roundtable Session: Centering Black Families and Black Youth in Inquiry and Transformative Education (Table 13)

Abstract

This youth participatory action research project centered Black girls as youth researchers and project participants. Two Black girls in high school led the project. Grounded in intersectionality, we focused on the school experiences, perspectives, and voices of Black girls in high school, with an emphasis on those in the foster care system, to learn about how they reimagine schools. Seventy-nine Black girls in 9th-12th grade were our participants. The analysis concentrates on a subset of data: 11 group discussions (1 focus group and 10 Black Girl Care Sessions). Black girls discussed the complexities of their school experiences and multiple group conversations afforded iterative opportunities for youth to speak truth to power. Implications for pedagogy, policy, and research will be discussed.

Authors

• Ajya Wilson
  Presenting Author

• Heaven Bradley
  Presenting Author

• Amanda L. Miller, Wayne State University
  Presenting Author

• Aja Reynolds, Wayne State University
  Presenting Author

• Erica B. Edwards, Wayne State University
  Presenting Author