Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invisiblized Challenges of Black Girlhood in Elite Independent Schools

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

Abstract

This study investigates Black girlhood in elite independent schools via the accounts of Black woman alumni of such institutions. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 graduates of 10 Mid-Atlantic and New England boarding and day schools, this study uses a Black-feminist framework to understand their excess challenges, navigational tools, and management of Black girl identities within the exceedingly white and wealthy context controlled by cultural elites. Significant themes emerged from the data: feelings of rootlessness from Black and white communities, difficulty navigating a racialized and gendered social hierarchy, and heightened levels of anxiety about physical and ideological selves. This exploration is about meaning making and provides school leaders a framework for how to better support their students.

Author

• Chinyere Odim, Brown University