Antiracism Approaches Through an Outsider-Within Positionality: Making Black Women’s Lives Matter in Art Education

Abstract

This study investigated the narratives and racial experiences of Black women K–12 art educators navigating the White field of art education. Drawing from a Black feminist outsider-within positionality framework, their shared stories reveal how Black women art educators are unprivileged insiders within their schools and outsiders to a social system that privileges White people as the dominant group in art education. Outsider-within positionality is foundational in providing a platform for revealing the exclusion of Black women’s identities in White spaces. A Black feminist approach to narrative inquiry is a crucial methodology in identifying why Black women matter in art education. Their interviews expose the experiences of racist obstacles that hinder their progress as art educators. As a result, approaches to implementing gender equity with antiracist strategies are presented for an inclusive and safe environment for Black women art educators and create a critical dialogue in art education at large.