Becoming the Capital: Black Women’s Identity and the Dual Work of Community Cultural Wealth

• In Event: Women Sustaining Each Other

Abstract

This study explores how Black college and professional women build and leverage community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) in educational and professional environments. Research questions examine: (1) How do Black women build and leverage CCW? (2) How does gendered racial identity inform CCW utilization? (3) What are CCW's consequences? Using grounded theory, this study examined experiences of 11 undergraduate and 9 professional Black women participating in a leadership retreat. Analysis revealed three themes: living cultural capital wealth (survival, strategy, shared power), performing power (building capital through identity work), and CCW as gift and weight (dual reality). Findings support previous CCW research while revealing burdens of being "the example," invisible labor, and pressure for success.

Authors

• Ashley Houston, Missouri State University

• Zakiyah Willis, Missouri State University

• Jordan Allen, Missouri State University

• Kathryn Plautz, Missouri State University