Afrofuturism as a Radical Praxis for Black Educator Wellness

• In Event: Wellness, Healing, Joy, and Resistance at the Intersections of Racial, Gender, and Sexual Identities

Abstract

Afrofuturism offers a visionary framework for reimagining Black educator wellness as a collective, justice-oriented practice rather than an individualistic pursuit. Grounded in Black feminist thought and narrative inquiry, this paper explores how Afrofuturist principles can transform schooling into spaces of joy, rest, and resistance for Black female educators. Drawing on lived experience, participatory storytelling, and speculative imaginaries, it examines systemic barriers—racial battle fatigue, institutional neglect, and exploitative care labour—and highlights community-rooted strategies such as sister circles and radical rest as acts of world-making. By centring collective care and speculative futurity, this work advances new paradigms for educator well-being that refuse reformist models and instead enact abolitionist futures in education.

Author

• Nadia A. Clarke-Cordick, Lakehead University