Braided Brilliance: Ethnomathematics, Identity, and Mathematical Practices in a Black Hair Braiding Camp

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Centering Culture, Identity, and Equity in Mathematics Learning and Teaching

Abstract

This mini-ethnographic case study explores the cultural mathematical behaviors of Black girls during a two-day braiding camp centered on traditional Black hairstyles. This study draws on Bishop’s (1988) six universal mathematical activities, the Common Core’s Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs), and Varelas and colleagues’ ClIC framework (Varelas et al., 2012) to examine how Black girls engage in mathematical reasoning in informal, culturally rich spaces. Data from field notes, participant observation, journals, and interviews reveal that the camp was a site of tacit mathematical knowledge. The findings introduce Braided Brilliance, a framework that highlights Black girls as competent mathematical thinkers and challenges deficit framings by centering culture as a resource for learning.

Authors

• Jessica Showell, Georgia State University

• Nickolaus A. Ortiz, Georgia State University