Haunting "Dee" Freemans: The Invisible Monsters Shaping School Inequality and Experiences for Black Girls

• In Event: A Black Girl Like Me: Unpacking Complexities and Counternarratives

Abstract

Black girls’ learning conditions are shaped by systemic inequities that perpetuate racialized, gendered school interactions and climates (Butler-Barnes & Inniss-Thompson, 2020; Evans-Winters et al., 2018; Iruka et al., 2020; Smith-Purviance, 2021). School-level racial and gender differences are important to examine as they influence children’s academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes (Driessen & Langen, 2013; Leath et al., 2019; Robinson & Lubienski, 2011; Williams & Graham, 2020). This conceptual paper applies Intersectionality Theory (Crenshaw., 1997) and Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (Spencer, 1984, 2006) to contextualize Black girls’ development at key junctures, reimagine school practices and family engagement to bolster school equity, and discuss directions for future policy and research to create more promotive school environments for Black girls.

Authors

• Amber Brenae Sansbury, George Mason University

• LaRen Brie Morton, University of Georgia - Athens