MOVE! Sisterhood in the Virtual as a Balm for Black Women (Re)searchers

• In Event: A (Re)membering Renaissance: Black Sisterhood, Academia, and Possibilities

Abstract

“Move out the way! I’m with my girls, and we all need space.” (Knowles-Carter, 2022)
Beyonce’s 2022 song “Move” posits the artist as an influential voice demanding justice, liberation, and space for herself and all other Black women. During our 2022 Fulbright trip to Ghana, I experienced the uncanny power of Black women imagining and creating educational spaces free of racial injustice, spaces where we were unafraid to encounter our tears and celebrate the triumphs of one another. Some were in doctoral programs nearing the end of their educational journey, while others were just starting their programs. Despite our differences, we were able to match one another’s frequencies, almost rhythmically, and like Beyonce, authentically demand space where we could be our genuine selves, devoid, instead of in opposition to the white gaze. Living with one another for over 30 days allowed us to tap into the wells of each other’s feelings. At the catch of another's eyes and we would know a sister was near her breaking point and make space for the sister who couldn’t claim it for herself. This freeing experience and the opportunity to live, work, and struggle with ourselves on the continent gave us the determination and tenacity to continue building and maintaining our foundation as we ventured into the messiness of (re)turning home to the U.S. I struggled with the (re)memories (Morrison, 1987) I carried from Africa and the artifacts from our walks in spaces where our ancestors departed. I asked myself, what do I do with the dungeons we visited while reckoning with the rippling effects of our presence as Black women with advanced degrees teaching and learning beside young Ghanaian students? Move! My sisters would answer.

Womanist theory centers the everyday experience of the Black woman in her plight against oppression because her freedom alleviates the cycle of oppression across all facets of human suffering (Hudson-Weems,1993; Maparyan, 2012; Taylor, 2017). “Its a home run when the team touch base” (2022). Academia has commonly been a space of harm for Black women, Lorde (1984) maintains that we should transmute our anger and pain into action. Through group texts, phone calls, and virtual meetings my co-authors and I crafted a Black space where we could show up with our bonnets and discuss ways to push back against the silencing and institutional neglect which is rampant at our academic institutions. When I wanted to quit working on my dissertation I would receive a random text from my co-authors, reminding me that my work is timely and needed and that I can't give up because millions of Black girls need my words and (re)search. They bring me joy. I remind them that to fight the ills of life’s pandemics we have to be well, in every sense of the word. “Move! Stampede coming through” (2022) when we are together we are our ancestor’s freedom dream (Kelley, 2004). Our Black digital spaces allow us to (re)imagine a world where safe havens are no longer necessary for our survival.

Author

• Danie Marshall, Georgia State University