Embodying Storm: Empowering Resistance Through Black Women Principal Othermothering in Suburban Schools

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: #WeBeenKnowin: Learning From Black Women (Table 20)

Abstract

Suburban schooling contexts have largely been constructed as white, discursively creating an environment where Black school leadership is isolated and tokenized. Despite their marginalization, the use of “tempered radicalism” allows Black women leaders to disrupt white spaces in covert ways that support and nurture the needs of Black students, while improving the overall outcomes of students under their care. This paper explores how two suburban principals embody practices of othermothering to empower Black students to utilize their voice for resistance and institutional change. This qualitative narrative inquiry calls attention to the history of this practice and identifies key strategies for principals to empower Black children in suburban schooling contexts while improving their overall outcomes.

Author

• Racquel L. Armstrong, Arizona State University