Empowering Black Girls: Digital Stories (Re) Frame STEM Narratives

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Abstract

Purpose
Early recognition as STEM learners and engagement in informal STEM could potentially lead to more Black girls pursuing degrees and careers in STEM. This research study examined Black girls’ lived experiences through their stories in an informal STEM space. For example, there is no one way of engaging in STEM, and their experiences are valid and valued in informal STEM counterspaces. Counterspaces are formed beyond Black girls’ schools and the dominant norms of society (Author, 2023). Given this understanding, my research study potentially can empower Black girls to disrupt society’s perceptions of who Black girls are in STEM by sharing their experiences of how Black girls engage in STEM. The following research question guided my study. To what extent do Digital Stories help Black girls reflect on their experiences and multiple identities in informal STEM spaces?

Theoretical Framework & Methods
As a theoretical framework, Afrofuturism can integrate the past and critique the present while offering the space to dream about future utopian possibilities for Black girls in society and STEM. Hence, Afrofuturism as a framework oscillates between ancient histories and present-day society to illuminate and understand Black people’s lived experiences both historically and in society today (Strait & Conwill, 2023). As the Afrofuturism pendulum swings back, it offers the space to (re) frame narratives where Black people and Black girls are seen, valued, and thrive in the future.
Digital Storytelling (DST) is a first-person account of experiences with voice-over narration, a script, music or soundtrack, digital photographs, text, and drawings produced by the storyteller. Individuals used digital tools such as cameras, computers, and Canva software to produce their DST. DST was employed in this research study because it allowed participants to orally and visually express their experiences and identities in their voices, which institutions in society have historically marginalized (Gladstone & Stasiulis, 2019).
Findings & Discussion
Two themes emerged from the following data sources: photographs, focus group transcriptions, and digital stories, which were collected and analyzed to answer the research question. The first theme that occurred was the perception of self. The participants in the study vocalized that they were more than just Black Girl in the STEM setting. The second theme that arose in the data was the experience of liberation. In this theme, participants’ self-expression and creativity are seen in the production of their digital stories. The Black girls in the study visually expressed ideas of feeling free to show up as their true and authentic selves.
In theory, Afrofuturism has the potential to help explain Black girls’ experiences as they relate to their historical and present identities in STEM. In practice, DST and Afrofuturism can creatively empower Black girls to use media and technology to disrupt societal perspectives by (re) framing the narrative of who Black girls are in STEM.

Authors

• Michele Williams, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Natalie S. King, Georgia State University