Book contents
- We’re Not OK
- We’re Not OK
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Breaking Our Silence
- Part I Experiences – The Journey from Student to Faculty
- Part II Promoting Mental Wellness
- Part III Strategies for Inclusion and Retention
- Chapter 9 Testimonials of Exodus: Self-Emancipation in Higher Education through the Power of Womanism
- Chapter 10 Defying Odds and Certainty: Challenges and Approaches to the Retention, Inclusion and Resilience of African-American Women in Higher Education
- Chapter 11 Black Talent: Practical Retention Strategies
- Chapter 12 Bearing a Black Woman’s Burden: Autoethnography for Provoking Perspective-Taking and Action in Predominantly White Academic Spaces
- Chapter 13 Programs with Promise
- Conclusion The Road that Lies Ahead
- Index
- References
Chapter 9 - Testimonials of Exodus: Self-Emancipation in Higher Education through the Power of Womanism
from Part III - Strategies for Inclusion and Retention
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 April 2022
Book contents
- We’re Not OK
- We’re Not OK
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Breaking Our Silence
- Part I Experiences – The Journey from Student to Faculty
- Part II Promoting Mental Wellness
- Part III Strategies for Inclusion and Retention
- Chapter 9 Testimonials of Exodus: Self-Emancipation in Higher Education through the Power of Womanism
- Chapter 10 Defying Odds and Certainty: Challenges and Approaches to the Retention, Inclusion and Resilience of African-American Women in Higher Education
- Chapter 11 Black Talent: Practical Retention Strategies
- Chapter 12 Bearing a Black Woman’s Burden: Autoethnography for Provoking Perspective-Taking and Action in Predominantly White Academic Spaces
- Chapter 13 Programs with Promise
- Conclusion The Road that Lies Ahead
- Index
- References
Summary
This study chronicles the self-emancipatory journey of two Black female scholars from small, predominantly White liberal institutions in the American Midwest, through narrative inquiry, and by employing an Africana womanist lens. The authors use narrative vignettes to illustrate representative incidents that punctuated and pervaded their trajectories as pre-tenured faculty at their respective higher education institutions. In this reflective analysis, although the authors acknowledge their valuable contributions to the institutions, students of color, and other underrepresented student populations, they make the difficult decision to prioritize their mental, emotional, and intellectual well-being. Grounding their emancipatory process in the Africana womanist tenets of being self-namers and self-definers, the authors connoted a keen awareness of their spirituality, mothering, and wholeness. The authors underscored their imperative to self-liberate while also providing practical strategies to higher education institutions interested in supporting and retaining Black faculty.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- We're Not OKBlack Faculty Experiences and Higher Education Strategies, pp. 147 - 168Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
References
Allen, M. D. (2018). If you can see it, you can be it: Black panther’s black woman magic. Journal of Pan African Studies, 11(9), 20–2.Google Scholar
Ashley, W. (2014). The angry black woman: The impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1), 27–34.Google Scholar
Banks, W. M. (1984). Afro-American scholars in the university: Roles and conflicts. American Behavioral Scientist, 27(3), 325–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2002). A womanist experience of caring: Understanding the pedagogy of exemplary Black women teachers. The Urban Review, 34(1), 71–86.Google Scholar
Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2005). Womanist lessons for reinventing teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(5), 436–45.Google Scholar
Bell, D. A. (1980). Brown and the interest-convergence dilemma. In Bell, D. A. (ed.), Shades of Brown: New perspectives on school desegregation. New York: Teachers College Press, 91–106.Google Scholar
Bell, J. (2005). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. 4th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Caine, V., Estefan, A. & Clandinin, D. J. (2019). Narrative inquiry. In Atkinson, P., Delamont, S., Cernat, A., Sakshaug, J. W. & Williams, R. A. (eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://www.doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036771087Google Scholar
Campney, B. M. S. (2019). Hostile Heartland: Racism, repression, and resistance in the Midwest. Champagne, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Clandinin, D. J. (2006). Narrative inquiry: A methodology for studying lived experience. Research Studies in Music Education, 27(1), 44–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1321103X060270010301Google Scholar
Clandinin, D. J. (2007). Handbook of Narrative Inquiry: Mapping a methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Cousin, G. (2009). Researching Learning in Higher Education: An introduction to contemporary methods and approaches. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Davies, B. & Davies, C. (2007). Having, and being had by, “experience”: Or, “experience” in the social sciences after the discursive/poststructuralist turn. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(8), 1139–59.Google Scholar
Delgado Bernal, D. (1998). Using Chicana feminist epistemology in educational research. Harvard Educational Review, 68(4), 555–83.Google Scholar
Dillard, C. B. (2006). On Spiritual Strivings: Transforming an African American woman’s academic life. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Few, A. L., Stephens, D. P. & Rouse‐Arnett, M. (2003). Sister‐to‐sister talk: Transcending boundaries and challenges in qualitative research with black women. Family Relations, 52(3), 205–15.Google Scholar
Franklin, R. S. (2012). Benchmarking student diversity at public universities in the United States: Accounting for state population composition. Annals of Regional Science. 49, 355–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gasman, M., Smith, T., Ye, C. & Nguyen, T. H. (2017). HBCUs and the production of doctors. AIMS Public Health, 4(6), 579–89.Google Scholar
Glenn, C. L. & Cunningham, L. J. (2009). The power of Black magic: The magical negro and white salvation in film. Journal of Black Studies, 40(2), 135–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodnough, A. (2009). Harvard professor jailed. New York Times. July 21. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.htmlGoogle Scholar
Gordon, C. (2019). Race in the heartland: Equity, opportunity, and public policy in the Midwest. University of Iowa and Iowa Policy Project.Google Scholar
Harper, S. R., Patton, L. D. & Wooden, O. S. (2009). Access and equity for African American students in higher education: A critical race historical analysis of policy efforts. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(4), 389–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779022CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, S. R. & Wood, J. L. (2016). Advancing Black Male Student Success from Preschool through Ph.D. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.Google Scholar
Hill, K. D. (2009). Code‐switching pedagogies and African American student voices: Acceptance and resistance. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), 120–31.Google Scholar
hooks, b. (1989). Talking Back: Thinking feminist, thinking black. Boston: South End Press.Google Scholar
Hudson-Weems, C. (2020). Africana Womanism: Reclaiming ourselves. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hughey, M. W. (2009). Cinethetic racism: White redemption and black stereotypes in “magical negro” films. Social Problems, 56(3), 543–77.Google Scholar
Jones, T. & Norwood, K. J. (2016). Aggressive encounters & white fragility: Deconstructing the trope of the angry black woman. Iowa Law Review, 102(5), 2016–69.Google Scholar
Johnsrud, L. K. & Des Jarlais, C. D. (1994). Barriers to tenure for women and minorities. Review of Higher Education, 17(4), 335–53.Google Scholar
Johnsrud, L. K. & Sadao, K. C. (1998). The common experience of “otherness”: Ethnic and racial minority faculty. Review of Higher Education, 21(4), 315–42.Google Scholar
Kelly, B. T., Raines, A., Brown, R., French, A. & Stone, J. (2019). Critical validation: Black women’s retention at predominantly white institutions. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 23(2) 434–56.Google Scholar
Killough, A. L., Killough, E. G., Walker, I. I. & Williams, O. (2017). Examining the delicate balance of maintaining one’s blackness as a black professional on the predominantly white campus. Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity, 10(2), 81–110.Google Scholar
King, J. E. (ed.) (2005). Black Education: A transformative research and action agenda for the new century. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–91. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465Google Scholar
Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751Google Scholar
Lawton, J. (2018). Academic advising as a catalyst for equity. New Directions for Higher Education, 2018(184), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20301Google Scholar
Lazarus, E. (1883). A quote from epistle to the Hebrews. Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/media/quote-from-epistle-to-hebrewsGoogle Scholar
Love, B. L. (2019). We Want to Do More than Survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Matias, C. E. & Zembylas, M. (2014). “When saying you care is not really caring”: Emotions of disgust, whiteness ideology, and teacher education. Critical Studies in Education, 55(3), 319–37.Google Scholar
McArthur, S. A. & Lane, M. (2019). Schoolin’ Black girls: Politicized caring and healing as pedagogical love. The Urban Review, 51, 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0487-4Google Scholar
McKay, N. Y. (1997). A troubled peace: Black women in the halls of the white academy. In Benjamin, L. (ed.), Black Women in the Academy: Promises and perils. Miami: University of Florida Press, 11–22.Google Scholar
Means, D. R., Hudson, T. D., Tish, E. (2019). A snapshot of college access and inequity: Using photography to illuminate the pathways to higher education for underserved youth. The High School Journal, 102(2), 139–58.Google Scholar
Meriwether, A. (2020) What’s the deal with ‘Midwest Nice?’ National Public Radio. January 11. https://bit.ly/3yBq6z9Google Scholar
Merriam-Webster (n.d.). self-emancipation. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-emancipationGoogle Scholar
Morris, J. E. (2004). Can anything good come from Nazareth? Race, class, and African American schooling and community in the urban South and Midwest.” American Educational Research Journal, 41(1), 69–112.Google Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2017). The Condition of Education 2017. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017144Google Scholar
Noguera, P. (2019, July 8). Equity isn’t just a slogan. It should transform the way we educate kids. The Holdsworth Center. https://holdsworthcenter.org/blog/equity-isnt-just-a-sloganGoogle Scholar
Ogunyemi, C. O. (1985). Womanism: The dynamics of the contemporary black female novel in English. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 11(1), 63–80.Google Scholar
Riley, T. & Hawe, P. (2005). Researching practice: The methodological case for narrative inquiry. Health Education Research, 20(2), 226–36.Google Scholar
Rocha, J. Alonso, L. López Mares-Tamay, M. J. & Reyes McGovern, E. (2016). Beyond theoretical sensitivity: The benefits of cultural intuition within qualitative research and Freirean generative themes: Four unique perspectives. The Qualitative Report, 21(4), 744–64.Google Scholar
Smallwood, S. (2007, October 9). Noose discovered on office door of black professor at Columbia U. The Chronicle of Higher Education. October 9. https://bit.ly/3EuB63sGoogle Scholar
Smith, W. A., Yosso, T. J., & Solórzano, D. G. (2011). Challenging racial battle fatigue on historically white campuses: A critical race examination of race-related stress. In R. Coates (Ed.), Covert racism (pp. 211–237). Boston: Brill.Google Scholar
Stanley, C. A. (2006). Coloring the academic landscape: Faculty of color breaking the silence in predominantly white colleges and universities. American Educational Research Journal, 43(4), 701–36. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312043004701Google Scholar
Taylor, E. (1999). Critical race theory and interest convergence in the desegregation of higher education. In Parker, L., Deyhle, D. & Villenas, S. (eds.), Race Is … Race Isn’t: Critical race theory and qualitative studies in education. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 181–204.Google Scholar
Truth, S. (1850). Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Documenting the American South. https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/truth84/truth84.htmlGoogle Scholar
Tuitt, F., Hanna, M. D., Martinez, L., Salazar, M. & Griffin, R. (2009). Teaching in the line of fire: Faculty of color in the academy. Thought and Action, 25, 65–74.Google Scholar
Turner, C. S. V. & Myers, Jr, S. L. (2000). Faculty of Color in Academe: Bittersweet success. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Vega, S. (2015). Latino Heartland: Of borders and belonging in the Midwest. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Walker, A. (1983). In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist prose. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Warren, C. A. (2014). Towards a pedagogy for the application of empathy in culturally diverse classrooms. The Urban Review, 46, 395–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0262-5Google Scholar
Whitfield-Harris, L. (2016). The workplace environment for African-American faculty employed in predominantly white institutions. ABNF Journal, 27(2), 28–38.Google Scholar