(Re)Membering Schoolhouse Activists: Analyses of the Black Women's Oral History Project, 1976–1981

• In Event: The Evidence of Experience: Situating African American Women Educators in Oral Histories

Abstract

This study explores the lives of early 20th century, influential Black women teachers. Narratives from the Black Women’s Oral History Project provided a unique opportunity to examine the pathways to the profession, pedagogies, and philosophies of Black women teachers who made significant contributions to the field of education, specifically during the 1940s and 1950s. An in-depth analysis of their oral histories reveal that these teachers embodied a visionary politic, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and defiant social imaginary to improve the lives of Black people. The narratives of these revolutionary teachers can help bolster our understanding of how sociopolitical and intellectual activism informed their work in the classroom, and paints a powerful picture of educators as activists, inside and outside of schools.

Author

• Amber Neal, University of Georgia - Athens