From Vulnerability to Voice: The Transformative Radicalism of Counternarrative Methodology

• In Event: The Value of Our Words: Sustaining Radical Women of Color Epistemologies in Qualitative Educational Research

Abstract

As an Afro-Boricua women educator that identifies as Black, I aim to be progressive, as I live by Lerone Bennet’s (n.d.) statement, “an educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor”. Other descriptors of my identity that influence my personal, professional, and community life that often intersect (Crenshaw, 1991) with my race and gender identity is my role as wife, mother, and my spirituality. Over the last couple of years, I have written over a half dozen manuscripts that use counter-narratives as the mode of inquiry. The context of each manuscript is divaricate, spanning the multiple roles I hold in a variety of schooling spaces. From collection to analysis, counter-narrative methodology served as the vehicle to capture my voice as the primary source and the analytical process that I use to make meaning of my experiences.

Given that counter-narratives often serve as bold acts of resistance (Tafari & Simpkins, 2019) and that WoC are often seen as strong, fearless, and even magical (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2007), it is no surprise that the emotional susceptibility of the counter-narrative writing process is overlooked and under examined. Indeed, storytelling often involves feelings of trepidation and vulnerability (Burke & Brown, 2021), especially when writing about educational experiences that are traumatic, oppressive, and violent, which is too often the case for WoC in the academy. This research centers on the following research question: How does the process of composing counter-narratives transform vulnerability to voice?

Using Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) as the theoretical framework, I specifically draw upon the tenets of racial realism (Bell, 1992a; Bell 1992b), that institutionalized racism is an American reality, and counter-storytelling, that there is power in the stories of marginalized people and these voices should be centered (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). Inasmuch, this project also relies heavily upon cultural intuition because I acknowledge and allow space for meaning-making through my cultural foreknowledge, visceral inclinations, and guttural reactions (Delgado Bernal, 1998; Rocha et al., 2016; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).

By discussing the process of writing counter-narratives, I explicate what compels WoC to share their experiences and the emotional toll that is a natural part of the process, thus revealing themes of fear, white rage, vulnerability, and backlash. Examples from the manuscripts further lay plain the cathartic, therapeutic, and ultimately, empowering process of producing counter-narratives that contribute to positive health and well-being and highlight the ability to write without preoccupation of the ‘white gaze’ (Morrison, n.d.). By sharing how vulnerability becomes voice, this work contributes to the body of literature that explores the process of counter-narrative writing. Additionally, I hope to inspire other WoC to participate in this methodology, no longer remain silent, and find their voice too. Ultimately, by better understanding the experiences of WoC through counter-narratives, this paper illuminates ways to move towards a more equitable and just education system that is inclusive of all voices, specifically those that have been historically minoritized.

Author

• Larissa Malone, University of Southern Maine