Unforgetting Our Legacy: Examining the Enduring Impact of Black Women Educators

• In Event: Purpose and Power: Black Women Educators' Legacies, Resistance, and Futures

Abstract

This theoretical literature review examines the historical and contemporary contributions of Black women educators (BWEs) in the United States, highlighting their resistance to systemic oppression and engagement in abolitionist practices. Utilizing Intersectionality Methodology to synthesize historical research, qualitative studies, and critical policy analyses, findings reveal four thematic features of BWEs’ legacy in education: Pioneering Practices, Teaching as a Revolutionary Act, Navigating Systems of Power, and Sustaining Pedagogical Traditions. Each feature situates BWEs as fundamental figures in education and outlines how their intersectional identities often shape their expertise and activism. In doing so, this paper offers significant theoretical and practical implications, emphasizing the importance of reclaiming suppressed histories to inform teacher education and policy aimed at collective liberation.

Author

• Shanique Lee, Rutgers University