Exploring the Heartbeat of the Black Family: Observations through the Lens of Endarkened Epistemology

Abstract

BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 83, NO. 2 (EXTENDED DIGITAL VERSION) | 19 83 No.2 EXPLORING THE HEARTBEAT OF THE BLACK FAMILY: OBSERVATIONS THROUGH THE LENS OF ENDARKENED EPISTEMOLOGY By: María T. Colompos-Tohtsonie, Shanell L. Walter, and Karina Avila Introduction We are family—a “research family” and kindred souls. We are three scholars of color who are culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse (African American and Latina). As undergraduates, we participated in an “Endarkened Feminist Research Mentor Program” for 3.5 years. Throughout our research journey, we explored research frameworks such as (1) Constructivism, (2) Critical Race Theory, (3) Endarkened Feminism, (4) Positivism, and (5) Post-Positivism, as well as quantitative and qualitative research methods. Through the lens of endarkened epistemology, we conducted a mixed-methods research study titled “Borders, Bras, and Battles: Sociocultural Perspectives of Female Scholars of Color in ROTC.” Before graduating, we presented our research findings at conferences, published articles, and co-authored an award-winning book titled Borders, Bras and Battles: A Practical Guide to Mentor Undergraduate Women of Color to Achieve Career Success. The community of caring that we experienced with endarkened epistemology “sparked our genius” and kinship. Currently, we are in doctoral (Educational Leadership and Policy) and master’s (Public Policy and Administration) programs, and we continue our research collaborations. This collaboration is an article for the Black History Bulletin (BHB). The theme for this issue of the BHB is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity”—the 2021 Black History Theme. Because our undergraduate degrees include (1) History, (2) Sociology, and (3) Rehabilitative Services, we incorporate science, history, and sociology to explore the metaphoric heartbeat of the Black family. Additionally, we are including our graduate school programs by adding a splash of educational policy, public policy, and social justice in our observations. The Heartbeat and Arteries of the Black Family Scientists tell us that the heartbeat produces signals through arteries that one can detect using a variety of sensors characterized by the following three major factors: individual variants, environmental variants, and sensory variants.1 Metaphorically speaking, we can liken the individual variants of the “heartbeat” to the self-identity spectrum, emotional state, and cardiac state of African American family members.2 For example, the environmental variants that affect the heartbeat compare to socially constructed policies that hinder the growth of the Black family.3 Sensory variants of the heartbeat—again, metaphorically—might include physical deformations whereby contraction circulates blood through the vascular network of veins and arteries, which damages the overall health of the Black family. Understanding the individual, environmental, and sensory variants of the metaphorical heartbeat within the Black family may help recognize, with greater clarity, the racial, historical, and physiological adversities that formed and deformed the Black family’s cultural formation in the United States. We review these adversities through the lens of endarkened epistemology. 20 | BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 83, NO. 2 (EXTENDED DIGITAL VERSION) 83 No.2 Endarkened Epistemology Cynthia B. Dillard is the architect of endarkened epistemology, a way of knowing that could serve as a means for exploring the deeper levels of the so-called heartbeat of the Black family. Endarkened epistemology is defined as unmasking the traditionally oppressive political constructions and descriptions of sociocultural phenomena and relationships.4 Dillard is also the Mary Frances Early [endowed] Professor and Chair of the Educational Theory and Leadership Department at the University of Georgia, Athens. She was also “enstooled” as Nana Mansa II of Mpeasem, Ghana, West Africa. Her research interests include critical teacher education, spirituality in education, and African American feminist studies.5 When Dillard6 proposed endarkened feminist epistemology, she drew upon the strengths of several feminist and spiritual frameworks: Black feminist thought,7 feminist psychology and standpoint theory,8 the tenets of African American spirituality, and Parker J. Palmer’s9 work on spirituality in education. When describing her interpretation of this heartbeat of the Black family, Josephine Baker, the world renowned African American vocalist, dancer, and activist, vividly mapped the arteries of the Black family in America. Raised in poverty in the Midwest, Baker’s parents were unable to succeed in their respective artistic endeavors due to discriminatory working decrees. Baker was compelled to find jobs to...