School, Work, Love, and Impossible Belonging: The Educational Biography of a Black Librarian/Educator in British Columbia

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Research on Women and Girls Roundtable Sessions (Table 7)

Abstract

This paper explores the oral history of an American-born Black woman educator who grew up and worked in Canada. The study examines her sense of racial ‘unbelonging’ in Canada. The theoretical frames are diaspora theories and critical Black feminisms. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted and triangulated with interviews with Black women educators conducted between 2012 and 2024. The study reveals the ways in which she navigated her education, identities, relationships and workplace. The findings contribute to emerging studies of Black girls and schooling, to Black women in education, and research on identities and belonging. The analysis challenges the ideals of promulgated in a multi-ethnic Canada, and contributes to a region with a paucity of research about Black people.

Author

• Annette M. Henry, University of British Columbia