Black Women Need Black Women to Thrive: New Visions for Intergenerational Mentoring, Leadership, and We-Search

• In Event: Me-Search: Pursuing Race, Culture, and Gender in the Heart and Healing Work of Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

Meaningful mentoring relationships among Black women are critical to navigating and persisting in higher education. These relationships honor the intersectional identities of Black women, provide vital supports, and have the power to restore and sustain Black women leaders (Turner Kelly & Fries-Britt, 2005; Author, XXXX; Turner Kelly & Fries-Britt, 2022). Thus, research as Black women often embodies we-search, a collective vision of inquiry that is dependent on the collective. We-search is focused on leading and mentoring that speaks backward and forward, building new material conditions, contexts and realities for Black people and those who love us. We-search speaks across generations, from Africa to the diaspora, asking different questions that matter to healing our communities and education (Love, 2019).
In this paper, we highlight we-search and mentorship that prioritizes intentionally building connections between Black women. Black feminist scholars describe Black women’s resistance and survival as inherently connected to the lives of other Black women (Cooper et al., 2017). They speak of the vital nature of authentic connections between Black women and the importance of building community and showing up for ourselves and each other. They provide critical rationale for building intentional communities of support for Black women academics, a compelling model for what inquiry, mentoring and leadership might become.
Thus, the objective of this paper is to highlight the process and purposes of intergenerational we-search and mentoring among three Black women scholar-leaders at different levels of leadership in a higher education institution. We draw on Black/endarkened feminist theories (Cooper et al., 2017; Author, XXXX; Hill-Collins, 1990; hooks, 2015) to articulate and reframe traditional notions of research, mentoring and leadership. In this study, we critically examined how our collective journeys as scholar-leaders shifted from individualistic notions of leadership as scholar-leaders (re-search), to being grounded in the spirit of Ubuntu or “I am because we are” (we-search). This collective scholar-leadership process and purpose centers Black feminist knowledge that holds communal destiny and legacy as criteria by which leadership and mentorship effectiveness and success are measured: We intentionally worked to “lift as we climb.” We utilized Black/endarkened feminist methodologies, foregrounding the hybrid methodology of Black Feminist Action Research (BFAR) in this we-search (Author, XXXX). We purposely disrupted individualism in research, mentoring and leadership, analyzing narrative data from our collective interviews and examining our processes of mentoring and leading one another in three major we-search projects that we collectively planned, lead, and executed: 1) a large foundation grant proposal focused on beloved community; 2) a community event centered on mental health and racial healing, and; 3) a scholarly paper authored by our collective.
The findings of our we-search is significant, providing education with 1) (re)imagined definitions and meanings of “research,” mentoring and leadership; 2) a blueprint for creating necessary culturally relevant spaces of healing and sanctuary for Black women scholar-leaders to thrive, and; 3) valuable insights and needed supports for Black women scholar-leaders that are tailored to needs across generational spaces and academic ranks.

Authors

• Cynthia B. Dillard, Seattle University

• Charisse Cowan Pitre, Seattle University

• Paige Gardner, Seattle University