"We Are Very Underrated": Black Girls' Schooling Experiences and Their Negotiations of Black Girlhood

• In Event: "I'm Trying to Get Free": Black Girls' Resistance and Reclamation in Educational Spaces

Abstract

Purpose

Research has highlighted the ways in which Black girls experience discrimination in their school and classroom contexts (Morris, 2007; Morris and Perry, 2017; Nunn, 2018; Carter Andrews et al., 2019). Further, scholars have underscored the negative impact of discriminatory experiences on Black youth’s psychosocial and academic adjustment (Cooper et al., 2013; Neblett et al., 2006; Seaton et al., 2010; Tynes et al., 2020). As Black girls’ schooling experiences are both gendered and racialized, scholarship that examines how Black girls process these experiences and seek adaptive ways to cope and navigate school settings as Black girls is needed.

Guided by the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (Spencer, 1995), the current investigation explored Black girls' meaning making of their schooling experiences and how these experiences shaped their perceptions of Black girlhood. Fourteen adolescent Black girls (Mage=13.43) that resided in the Southeastern region of the United States participated in semi-structured interviews on Zoom.

Perspective

Three themes emerged from the current investigation: 1) Experiences of Racism and/or Sexism in Schools, 2) Stereotypes and its Influence on their Education, and 3) Gendered Racial Pride and Feelings of Empowerment.

Experiences of Racism and/or Sexism in Schools: Participants shared their experience with school conflicts that were based in broader anti-Black sentiments (e.g.. classmates making racist remarks, being bullied because of their natural hair; teachers singling out and reprimanding Black students). Participants often discussed expectations that they would encounter hardships at the intersection of racism and sexism and connected these expectations for hardship to their knowledge of lower educational expectations for Black girls and women.

Stereotypes and its Influence on their Education: Participants expressed knowledge of stereotypes specific to Black girls commonly noting vocality and loudness of Black girls, policing of their bodies or suggestions about promiscuity, and Black girls’ intelligence or academic potential. Participants were also able to make direct connections between the negative portrayals of Black girls through stereotypes and their own negative school experiences (e.g., not being recommended for advanced courses by teachers).

Gendered Racial Pride and Feelings of Empowerment: Participants shared positive perceptions when asked what being a Black girl meant to them. Girls often described feeling a sense of pride in being a Black girl, highlighted their beauty, and emphasized the strength of Black girls and women.

Discussion

Black girls in our investigation reported experiencing microaggressions, racism and discrimination throughout their K-12 education, noting that both peers and teachers were perpetrators of this violence. Findings also revealed the numerous ways Black girls negotiate their multiple marginalized identities (race, gender, and class) as well as how their identities were shaped by their school environments. Despite unjust and negative school experiences, Black girls expressed adaptive responses to these racialized events and maintained positive gendered racial identities. This work has implications for future research and practice that seeks to make schools an inclusive and safe space for Black girls to learn and thrive while promoting positive youth development.

Authors

• Marketa Burnett, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Margarett McBride, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• McKenzie N Green, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shauna M. Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author