When Mentoring That Should Heal Hurts: Novice Black Women Teachers’ Experiences With Failed Affinity Mentorship

• In Event: Mental Health and Teacher Preparation Demands Our Attention: What We Don't Talk About Will Hurt Us

Abstract

This research seeks to disrupt the narrative that the success of affinity mentoring is inherent. Without regard to context, implementation and criticality, affinity mentoring spaces can be places of harm and injustice leaving beginning teachers feeling marginalized in the very places they should feel centered and supported. The findings of the study provoke questions related to reimagining affinity mentorship with more intentionality and attention to factors beyond shared race and gender that can facilitate an ethos of communal, authentic care and belonging to strengthen the quality of mentorship for new Black women teachers.

Author

• Moza Coote, New York City Public Schools