Black Girl Research Articles

Walker’s The Color Purple: Portrayal of Celie’s Struggle from Servitude to Sovereignty

This paper attempts to explore Celie’s struggle for independence in a male dominated African American society as depicted in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982). Focusing on the lives of African-American women in the Southern United states during 1930s, it unfolds the events of black male brutality towards black women. It exposes the ways that the central character, Celie, pursues, when she proceeds to her long journey to freedom. Celie passes through a difficult path of racial/patriarchal oppression before she gets sovereignty. She accepts the solidarity of the female community to accomplish her quest for identity. Applying textual inquiry approach, the present paper highlights the role of deep female relationships in the life of Celie, a poor black girl. Celie becomes stronger when she gets support from other women, which helps her to emancipate herself from the evils of patriarchy and sexism. Celie’s freedom goes through physical, then spiritual, and finally economic phases, specifically, when she establishes her own business. Narrating the accounts of under privileged black community, Walker clarifies that ‘womanism’ is the only medium that helps to liberate inconspicuous southern black women from patriarchy and structural racism and sexism. The harsh circumstances are the key factors which make African American community captive and black women’s lives miserable.

Palmetto, from Black Girl in Triptych , Part 1

Palmetto, from Black Girl in Triptych , Part 1

A Black Womanist Theomethaxis

This article offers a new tool for women of color scholars to write and analyze the data and archive from their own life journals and journeys. Coining a new concept of theomethaxis, a Black Womanist Theomethaxis framework is an integration of theory, methodology, and praxis focused on the intersection of race, gender, and spirituality. It uses Black women’s autobiography, critical praxis autoethnography, counter-storytelling, and Black girl cartography as methodological tools. Drawing from cultural studies, feminist theories, African American history, women’s history, and childhood studies, it integrates theoretical constructs from Black feminist thought, Black girlhood studies, Critical Black Feminism, Hip-Hop Feminism, Crunk Feminism, New Black Feminism, Womanist thought, Womanist theology, and the Wild Woman Archetype. Integrating personal narrative, the article illustrates how the framework facilitated the praxis of analyzing 45 years of journals, revealing revolutionary and transformational themes in the initiation journey from Black girlhood to Black womanhood. The concept of a womanist theomethaxis may also provide a framework for application to other academic areas and studies, such as Chicana/Latina feminist studies, Asian American feminist studies, and Indigenous feminist studies.

Author Meets Critics: Branding Black Womanhood: Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic

Abstract: This discussion centers on Timeka Tounsel's book Branding Black Womanhood: Media Citizenship from Black Power to Black Girl Magic (Routledge, 2022). In this meeting, participants examined the various ways in which Black women's empowerment became a commercial, image-driven enterprise and the ways Tounsel's methodology unpacks issues of race, gender, power, markets, identity, and visibility. Black Girl Magic, a central construct of the book, was a phrase coined in a 2013 tweet proclaiming Black women's resilience, which, less than five years later, was employed regularly commercially. A significant part of this book conversation discusses how the book explores how Essence , under the leadership of Susan L. Taylor, encouraged self-branding and conscious consumerism for Black women. The conversation also discusses how the book includes case studies of campaigns led by Black women and companies' corporate social responsibility efforts. Lastly, the book covers positive outcomes where media producers have used the idea of Black Girl Magic to advance more inclusive visions of media citizenship for Black women.

Mapping the Boundaries of Racetalk: Examining the Experiences of Black Girls in Independent Schools

Background/Context: An increasing body of literature reveals how systems of racism, sexism, and classism intersect to marginalize Black girls in contexts of schooling. Few studies have explored this topic from the perspectives of Black girls in all-girls independent schools pursuing antiracist school reform. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study examined the experiences of Black girls in all-girls independent schools to understand how they perceived themselves as mapped into or left out of conversations about race in school and society. Research Design: The study employed a qualitative research design. A total of 42 middle and high school students participated in a semi-structured focus group interview lasting 60–120 minutes. Interviews were conducted in person and online. Audio-recordings were transcribed for analysis. Data analysis involved a multilayered approach. First, transcriptions of the focus group interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques to identify recurring themes and patterns. A Black Girl Cartography framework was employed to distinguish the spatial and relational aspects of the participants’ experiences and identities. Finally, critical discourse analysis was applied to examine the interplay between power, identity, culture, and spatiality within the participants’ narratives. Findings/Results: Data revealed that Black girls were navigating conversations about race across one-on-one, peer group, advisory meeting, classroom-based, and schoolwide interactions, where they perceived themselves to be physically and epistemologically marginalized and/or excluded. We identified dimensions of racetalk that aided in their experience of marginalization and exclusion: (1) placelessness, (2) selflessness, and (3) Blackgirlhoodlessness. Data also revealed that while participants were navigating ideologies, practices, and procedures that threatened their opportunities for development, they were also charting spaces for their individual and collective joy, healing, and racial socialization. Conclusions/Recommendations: Implications from these data explore the ways in which all-girls independent schools overlook Black girls’ unique geopolitical locations in schools and society and, in so doing, miss opportunities to nurture their development. This study contributes to a rich understanding of the complex interplay between power, identity, culture, and spatiality that Black girls navigate in schooling and society. We advocate for an application of principles and best practices aligned with culturally relevant and culturally sustaining pedagogies that center the experiences of Black girls. We recommend that schools (1) employ situated and intersectional approaches to antiracist educational reform, (2) center Black girl mattering in schooling, and (3) nurture Black girl self-love, joy, and racial literacy.

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invisibilized Challenges of Black Girlhood in Elite Independent Schools

Background/Context: The experiences of Black girls navigating elite, predominantly white independent schools remain underresearched in the academy despite this issue being integral in disciplines such as sociology, education, and African American studies. Within such institutions, Black girls must navigate the duality of their privilege in having access to the highest quality and resourced education with the marginality of being a demographic minority within a space controlled by cultural elites. Purpose: This study investigates the experiences of Black girls in independent schools via the accounts of Black-woman-identifying alumni of such institutions. This study utilizes a Black feminist framework for understanding the often overlooked excess challenges that Black girls are forced to face. Research Design: Through qualitative semi-structured, conversational interviews with 13 Black women graduates of 10 Mid-Atlantic and New England boarding and day schools, this study explores how the graduates reflect on their experiences navigating elite schooling during formative adolescent years, decision-making processes, and management of Black girl identities within the exceedingly white and wealthy context of independent schools. Conclusions: Significant themes that emerged from the qualitative data generated by this study include feelings of rootlessness from Black and white communities, difficulty navigating a racialized and gendered social hierarchy, and heightened levels of social anxiety and self-consciousness about physical and ideological selves. Through a thematic retelling from those who have lived through the challenges and understand how they are presented in these contexts, the significance of this study’s exploration of Black girls in independent school is the (1) liberation of these historically marginalized voices and (2) potential to provide current school leaders a framework for how best to support their students.

Black Girl Gone: Misogynoir, Hypervisibility, and Black Women

Bam! Thunk! Bam! I awaken to commotion at my front door. Clash! Boom! It sounds like someone is trying to knock down my door. I hear voices outside my ground-floor apartment. My boyfriend, Kenneth, wakes up immediately. The banging is getting louder and louder. We are convinced that someone’s trying to break in. We walk out of my bedroom and down the hallway. I watch as he asks who’s at the door, but they don’t identify themselves. A battering ram takes the door out. Kenneth, licensed to carry, starts firing to defend against the intruders. The intruders, police officers, return fire. More shots stream in from the window. Several pierce me. I collapse. My clothes become drenched in my blood. As I lay there in my expanding blood bath, my dreams of becoming a nurse and starting a family fade. Soon, I stop breathing. Like an animal, my body remains on the cold, bloody floor. Later, I’m pronounced dead at the scene. My name is Breonna Taylor (Oppel & Taylor, 2023; Riley, 2020).

“I can’t just keep talking about the men”: Black girl resistance in a history classroom

ABSTRACT Drawing from Black Feminist Thought and Black Girl Cartography the author uses the domain-of-power framework to analyze the Black Girl Charting practices of Cierra, a Black girl student navigating racial history in a secondary classroom in the United States. She encounters the physical space as a site of interpersonal oppression and the U.S. history curriculum as a space of cultural, hegemonic domination. Most importantly, she resists those constraints with her reframing of Blackness, women, and youth through her coursework. After examining Cierra’s essay, presentation, exchange with the principal, and responses to interview questions, the author reimagines the focal conversation as a pathway to empowering learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the study for Black feminist pedagogy and abolitionist teaching in K-12 education, teacher education, and education research.

The Appalling Tragedy: Sexuality, Beauty Standard, and Racism in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Being about the tragic lives of African American black families who encounter traumatic circumstances, the novel The Bluest Eye especially focuses on the unbearable life of a little black girl, Pecola. The horrible atmosphere of the novel can be seen from the beginning pages. It is heart-wrenching to see from the beginning pages of the novel that a young girl is raped by her father; consequently, she is pregnant. Pecola is so severely affected by the traumatic events such as the racial discrimination, internalized ugliness as being black, whiteness as the accepted beauty standard, and sexual abuse by her father that in the end, she goes mad and hallucinates a dream friend seeing her blue eyes. As a child, she associates blackness with the burden of her life and she considers that having blue eyes would be the solution to all her sufferings. Moreover, other black male and female characters such as Frieda, Claudia, Cholly, Darleine, Paulina are affected by the racism, sexual abuse, beauty standard, discrimination, and humiliation in the society. They have an internalized belief of blackness and ugliness; for this reason, they believe they experience poverty and discrimination. The aim of this paper is to discuss the traumatic tragedy caused by beauty standards, sexual abuse, and racism.

Exploring Subaltern Agency in Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The research paper investigates on the representation of American society that is constituted by the hegemonic social, political and cultural structures of oppression to delimit the identity of African-American women in Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: An Autobiography. Despite being subordinated by the whites; black women have gained central position in the socio-political spheres in America. This research paper analyzes the bitter experiences of a black girl, Maya Angelou, who is continuously dominated and sexually exploited by white people, and her struggle to overcome the constraints in the existing prejudiced society. The paper uses analytical method and library research in data collection. To analyze the experiences and overcoming of constraints on the part of black women, the research applies the theoretical insights of Gramsci, Fanon, Abrams and Tamen on subaltern, identity, agency and resistance. Broadly, the paper explores the subordination of African- American women and their sheer willpower to resist socio-cultural oppressions for their self-definition as well as social change in America. The research concludes that identity of the subaltern always remains in flux. Proper representation of the subaltern is essential to redefine their identity and to establish them as autonomous individuals in the society.

Black girl magic: Empowerment stories of black dual status girls

Youth formally involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, referred to as dual status youth-face unique challenges in their systems involvement. There is a steady increase of Black dual status girls. Black dual status girls experience compounding racially gendered discrimination and inequities in these systems, including occurrences of sexual abuse in out-of-home placements and harsher juvenile punishments for minor delinquent acts. These gruesome realities can be overwhelming for Black girls leaving them tasked to navigate toward positive outcomes independently or with limited positive support. Still, Black girls demonstrate a strong ability to overcome discriminatory adversities, through a relentless dismissal of narratives of racialized and gendered stereotypes; and using their empowered voices to recount personal stories of their lived experiences of dual system involvement. Theoretical frameworks for understanding the empowerment of Black dual status girls have focused on deficits, and disregarding the powerful intersectional, gendered systemic racism they endure. Thus, this study proposes a conceptual framework to view the protective factors and positive racialized and gendered identity of Black dual-status females. The approach in this study is to integrate Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Black feminism. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, six Black women, 18–36 years old (M = 25) with previous dual system involvement were interviewed with their responses explored in a retrospective analysis. The participants described obstacles related to their dual system involvement and their outcomes of living powerful and successful lives in adulthood. Key themes from findings are: 1) unveiling structural and gendered experiences of Black dual status girls; 2) trauma and triumph: navigating adversity through resistance, critical interrogation of oppressive systems, and engaging in collective responsibility; and 3) Black girl magic: celebrating the strengths and empowerment demonstrated by Black women and girls through centering their voices, raising the collective consciousness, and emphasizing collective responsibility. Illuminating the voices of Black empowered girls in this study is critical in interrupting racial and gender discrimination in these systems and will contribute to how anti-oppressive practices for Black girls are reimagined.

Power and Resistance: A Critical Racial Study of Harris' The Other Black Girl (2021)

Zakiya Dalila Harris’ masterwork The Other Black Girl (2021) examines black women’s experiences with racism. American civilization is matured, yet white-black inequalities have caused it to rethink rules and perceptions. Minority ethnic groups are subjugated, but the challenges are how to achieve equal rights under racism. This study explores black women’s lives in America and the “other side” of racism. The qualitative investigation is descriptive. Delgado and Jean Stefancic (2001) study American race and prejudice using Critical Race Theory. Racism also involves exploring race and seeking equal rights. Racism also involves contemplation and “creation of resistance” against racial behaviour. Resistance production seeks power and equal rights. Delgado and Jean Stefancic (2001) defined resistance as literature, media war, defensive behaviour, solidarity of minor ethnic groups, mainstreaming of black women, and fighting racial thought. Power, equal rights, and identity can make a society standardized, according to the study.

Shifting Profile of Africa in Twenty-First Century Black Canadian Writing

The affective link with Africa was visible in those Black Canadian works composed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In contrast, the profile of Africa has shifted for younger generations of Black diasporan writers in Canada. The purpose of this article is to open up a conversation into how Black Canadian affects, both concerning national identity and homeland connection, seem to have shifted roughly after 2000. In order to do so I analyse The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (2017), a reinterpretation by Black Canadian playwright Lisa Codrington of George Bernard Shaw's 1932 short story of the same title. Her play was a milestone in the history of Black Canadian writing, because for the first time a Black Canadian playwright (and a woman, too) was invited to participate in one of Canada's most prestigious and longest-established theatre festivals, the Shaw Festival.

Celebrate with me: a black adolescent girl’s speculative multimodal design of intersectional college and career futures

PurposeThis paper aims to demonstrate how Alayah, a 16-year-old African American girl, leverages multiple expressive modes for intersectional self-representation as speculative design. Here, speculative design refers to a multimodal composition (i.e. digital collage) which leverages multiple expressive modes for intersectional self-celebration in possible futures.Design/methodology/approachInformed by intersectional multimodal literacy frameworks and analyses, this paper addresses the question, “How does Alayah represent her college and career futures in her speculative multimodal design? To address this question, the author analyzed Alayah's digital collage using an intersectional multimodal analysis template complemented by a thematic analysis of her interview data and the narrated explanation of her collage.FindingsIn a speculative design composed of 15 images and words, Alayah agentively determined and critically celebrated her intersectional college and career futures through four interrelated themes: Black girl affirmation; Collegiate success; “Sweet” work; and Black livingness.Originality/valueBy centering Black girls’ speculative multimodal designs in college and career curricula, ELA educators (re)imagine college and career pedagogies to critically celebrate Black adolescent girls as intelligent, empowered and literate young women worthy of the futures that they desire.

In conversation with Renee Hess of Black Girl Hockey Club

Renee Hess founded Black Girl Hockey Club in 2018 as a way to create a sense of community of Black women who identify as hockey fans. She currently works as the organization’s Executive Director and collaborates with its many committees organizing social, educational, and advocacy activities all centered around anti-racism. Outside of this role, Hess holds a Master’s degree in Literature and works as the Associate Director of Service Learning at La Sierra University in California. This text is a transcript and related commentary on Black Girl Hockey Club written by sociologist Kristi Allain based on her conversation with Hess about the importance of leaning into discomfort around committing to change, inauthentic displays of solidarity and progress, and the importance for Black women to feel a sense of joy and community among other like-minded folks when participating in hockey.

Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington

Reviewed by: Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington Natalie Berglind Lockington, Mariama J. Forever is Now. Farrar, 2023 [416p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780374388881 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780374388898 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-12 After Sadie witnesses an incident of police brutality, her generalized anxiety disorder increases to a point where she is unable to even leave the house. Other than her outlets of boxing and writing poetry, Sadie finds solace in therapy, where she’s diagnosed with agoraphobia. Journaling via livestreaming on an activist version of TikTok called Ruckus also helps, and she’s able to find other Black kids who struggle with their mental health. Still, Sadie continues to feel like she’s letting down those she loves, and as the Oakland, California, community organizes protests on behalf of the woman who was arrested, Sadie yearns to contribute, if only she can bring herself to do so. This novel-in-verse depicts a range of relevant struggles for Black girls: Sadie is painfully aware of a world that is both physically dying and politically corrupt, and she’s furious that her generation is expected to save it even as the threat of racial violence means she could be the next person whose name gets chanted at protests. Notably, Lockington equally emphasizes Sadie’s cherishing of sources of Black joy, especially through Sadie’s best friend and a cute boy who moves in across the street. Sadie is a character readers will root for as she overcomes her first heartbreak, advances with her therapy enough to attend the protest march, and finds her voice: “I am a sad, anxious Black girl./ And all I have are these fists,/ telling [End Page 331] a fury tale.” An author’s note explains that Black women’s mental health often goes untreated, and it also provides a list of resources for Black and queer kids to find therapy and adults who can help. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

KEY THEMES AND TRENDS IN RESEARCH ON BLACK GIRL LEADERSHIP: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

This systematic review is critical as it sheds light on a neglected area of research: the experiences of Black girls in leadership positions. While there is a growing body of literature on leadership and gender, race, and ethnicity, the experiences of Black girls in leadership roles have received less attention. This study addresses this gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of research on Black girl leadership from 2000 to 2020.The problem that this systematic review address is the longstanding neglect of the experiences of Black girls in leadership positions. Despite the growing attention to issues of diversity and inclusion in leadership, the experiences of Black girls have been consistently overlooked and understudied.A systematic search was conducted in ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Scopus and Google Scholar for articles published from 2000 to December 2020. The reference lists of the included studies were also searched to retrieve possible additional studies.The systematic review analyzed 9 articles and found six main themes in Black girl leadership: mentoring, oppression, intersectionality, underrepresentation, support networks, and the role of race. Each theme provided valuable insights into the experiences, challenges, and potentials of Black girls in leadership roles.The findings of this systematic review have important implications for researchers, policymakers, and educators working to promote equity and inclusion in leadership. Policymakers and educators can use this information to develop targeted interventions and programs to support Black girls in leadership positions.

Epistemic Adultification: Clarifying the Pernicious Work of Black Girls as “Prematurely Knowing”

Abstract In this essay, I conceptualize epistemic adultification as an important feature of adultification bias against Black girls in the United States. This socio-epistemic dimension of adultification is a pernicious move by adults to paint Black girls, negatively or positively, as “prematurely knowing” and thus “less innocent and more adultlike than their white peers.” Adult attribution of “prematurely knowing” is a socio-epistemic assessment of children and/or teenagers as knowing beyond an elusive conception of “age-appropriate, innocent knowledge.” I analyze two common contemporary mythologies of a “prematurely knowing Black girl”: the myth of the “fast” Black girl and the myth of the “violent, sassy Black girl” here. Ultimately, I argue that epistemic adultification plays a significant role in whether and how adults punish children and teenagers who “know better” or “should have known better,” a key part of the widespread adultification bias phenomenon. Black girl children and teenagers are experts on their own experiences and uniquely positioned to develop luminous standpoints within concurrent interlocking systems of oppression. They do not, however, possess a distinct “adultlike knowingness.”

“It Ain't Enough”: Toni Morrison and the Tragic Dark-Skin Girl Motif

Abstract Central to Toni Morrison's political strategy throughout her oeuvre is the disruption of the white gaze, a move that often exposes our readerly reliance on race to read human motivation. Employing what we call the “tragic black girl motif,” this paper explores how God Help the Child, Morrison's last novel, continues this disruption of the white gaze vis-à-vis her treatment of colorism, patriarchy, classism, slavery, and self-determination.

Now It’s My Time! Black Girls Finding Space and Place in Comic Books

This essay examines how Black girl narratives are finding and making space and place in the arena of comic books and television. With the rise in Black girl (super)hero protagonists on the comic book pages and adapted television shows, it is essential to explore the significance of their rising inclusion, visibility, and popularity and understand how they contribute to the discourse surrounding the next generation of heroes. Guided by an Afrofuturist, Black feminist, and intersectional framework, I discuss the progressive possibilities of popular media culture in depicting Black girlhood and adolescence. In Marvel Comics’ “RiRi Williams/Ironheart”, DC Comics’ “Naomi McDuffie”, and Boom! Studios’ “Eve”, these possibilities are evident. Blending aspects of adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, and STEM, each character offers fictional insight into the lived experiences of Black girl youth from historical, aesthetic, and expressive perspectives. Moreover, as talented and adventurous characters, their storylines, whether on the comic book pages or the television screen, reveal a necessary change to the landscape of popular media culture.