“We are not broken”: using Sista circles as resistance, liberation, and healing

Abstract

In understanding the systemic effects of White supremacist patriarchal ideologies on the experiences of Black girls and Black women in schools, one must begin with a critical examination of the behavioral practices that govern public spaces in which Black girls and Black women live and learn. Therefore, here we discuss the effects of these White supremacist ideologies on the experiences of Black girls and Black women, which often silence and marginalize them in schools, creating a need for safe spaces where their voices are centered, and they can experience full citizenship. In this article, we use Black feminist thought and Womanism to re-examine the racialized experiences of Black women and Black girls at the middle and secondary level to discuss how they use sista circles as a safe space for them to dissolve the material effects of the White supremacist ideologies to experience healing, citizenship, and a celebration of self as they thrive in schools.