Unbraiding the Past, Weaving the Future: Hair, Heritage, and Educational Belonging

• In Event: Stories That Shape Us: Educators Weaving Culture, Identity, and Belonging

Abstract

This paper innovatively uses hair as both metaphor and analytic tool to examine Black women educators’ experiences, cultural memory, and resistance in education. Through three interwoven strands—historical legacies, institutional policies, and acts of resistance—it “unbraids” past mistakes and “weaves” new recommendations. Narrative inquiry grounded in Black feminist research centers the voices of Black women across three eras, challenging Eurocentric paradigms and exposing both institutional constraints and agency in identity assertion. This framework reveals how intergenerational knowledge and cultural memory are preserved, identifies “hair do’s” and “don’ts” for educational growth, and envisions empowering, Afrocentric futures. The study advances scholarship in education, Black studies, feminist theory, and cultural studies.

Authors

• Beverly Teer, Retired Educator

• Tameko Wilson, Educator

• Quinci Bone't Teer, Cleveland State University