Beyond Identification: Rethinking Giftedness Through the Lived Experiences of Black Girls

• In Event: Supporting Diverse Gifted Learner Needs

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the academic experiences of ten gifted Black adolescent girls attending predominantly White schools in the Southeastern United States. Using narrative inquiry and Critical Race Theory, the study interrogates how institutional definitions of giftedness marginalize Black girls by ignoring cultural identity, racialized surveillance, and the emotional cost of achievement. Through interviews, artistic reflections, and a student-centered documentary film trailer, the research reveals how students resist erasure and redefine brilliance through familial support, creativity, and youth narrative as counter-storytelling. Findings contribute to the reimagining of gifted education as a culturally situated, equity-driven practice that must evolve to recognize and nurture diverse forms of talent.

Author

• Oriana T. Leach, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago