Teach Us How: Love, Relationships, Resistance

Abstract

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine Black love in the historical, contemporary cultural, and political context. The goal of this paper is to illustrate the importance of choosing love as a means of resistance and as a practice for teaching transdisciplinary praxis. Historically, scholarship conducted on Black love did not incorporate the multidimensionality that blackness spans. It placed a focus on the relationships between Black males and females through a sociocultural lens examining factors such as Black male viability, Black male scarcity, and the impact systemic structures have on Black males. This emphasis placed on the Black male experience does not allow us to examine Black love from a heterosexual relationship standpoint. This in turn creates hegemonic narratives leading towards the development of assigned gendered/sexed roles. It is important to understand that Black love exists beyond the gender binary. bell hooks’ (2000) writing on the subject illuminates the struggle that has been created by both the lack of discourse around love and individuals articulating love in a means that could potentially emphasize their experience with lovelessness. Combining this with work by Frankfurt (2004) and Kierkegaard (1847), a framework can be created and then further expanded conceptually, utilizing various theories such as Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Thought, Lens Theory, and narrative inquiry by forming connections where applicable. The importance of this concept is grounded in understanding notions of love in relation to Black love; this lies in its capacity to build community, connection, and inspire social action.