UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Engendering Sisterhood
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Engendering Sisterhood, Solidarity, and Self-love: Black Feminist Pedagogy and the Identity Formation of African-American Girls. A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Monique Lanier Lane 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Engendering Sisterhood, Solidarity, and Self-love: Black Feminist Pedagogy and the Social Identities of African-American Girls. By Monique Lanier Lane Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Tyrone Howard, Chair 2014 Efforts towards urban school reform regularly overlook the complex socio-cultural contexts in which Black female students are situated and the ways in which their subordination is regularly perpetuated in schools. The propagation of urban misogyny in youth popular culture and corresponding reductive media narratives that position young Black women as hypersexual, aggressive, and anti-intellectual profoundly influence the evolving identities of these youth. This reality—coupled with the unremitting urging by policymakers for educators to align curriculum with standardized tests—has created classroom contexts that disregard the educational needs and cultural subjectivities of these youth. Drawing from a Black feminist framework, this study involves analyzing Black feminist pedagogical practices employed for two years during the ii author’s recent research as an English teacher at a public South Los Angeles high school. Specifically, a qualitative methodology is utilized to explore the immediate and long-term impact of a Black feminist curriculum on African-American female students’ orientation towards school and the development of their racial/ethnic and gender identities. This research offers concrete examples of pedagogical processes that engender self-actualization and an authentic craving for cultural and intellectual empowerment among young Black women. Implications for classroom pedagogy, and teacher education are explored. iii The dissertation of Monique Lanier Lane is approved. Kimberly Gomez Thomas Philip Venus Evans-Winters Tyrone Howard, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv DEDICATION In the midst of celebrating Black female empowerment and the culmination of this research study, I sit with a heavy heart. There are millions of Black women and girls—at home and abroad—whose full expression of humanity is stifled by interlocking forms of race, class, and gender oppression. Many of us agonize over our subordination in silence; our pain is overshadowed by the ubiquitous image of the strong, Black woman. Notwithstanding the few who have masterfully commanded respect and recognition in public domains (shout out to Oprah Winfrey and Lupita Nyong’o), most of Africa’s daughters have been simply consigned to oblivion. I will continue to put pen to paper until we all have the liberty to cultivate our gifts and determine our destinies. Black women matter. Our stories are important. The struggle is not in vain. Mary Virginia Jones…I write for you Tarika Wilson (Rest In Power)…I write for you Latasha Harlins (Rest In Power)…I write for you Karyn Washington (Rest In Power)…I write for you To the hundreds of abducted Nigerian schoolgirls…I write for you May your legacies remain tenaciously ablaze in my heart v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION .................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................... 1 Introduction: Girl Interrupted .......................................................................................................... 1 Study Rationale .................................................................................................................................. 2 Theoretical Foundations: A Black Feminist Perspective ................................................................ 4 Social Context of the Study ............................................................................................................... 6 Black Girls Left Behind: The Problem with NCLB ....................................................................... 8 Teacher Ideology and Practice ...................................................................................................... 10 Pushing Towards Transformative Education ................................................................................ 12 Study Overview ............................................................................................................................... 14 Beyond the Bell: The Creation of a ‘Safe Space’ ......................................................................... 14 Methodology: Critical Race Feminist Autoethnography ............................................................... 19 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................. 20 Study Contributions ........................................................................................................................ 21 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 23 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 23 The Oppressive Nature of Schooling and A Call for Identity Work .......................................... 23 Why Black Girls? ......................................................................................................................... 23 Schooling and the Threat to Identity Development .................................................................... 26 Identity Work .............................................................................................................................. 33 Black Feminist Pedagogy and Research with Black Girls ........................................................... 35 From Theory to Practice ............................................................................................................. 35 Distinguishing Features of Black Feminist Pedagogy ................................................................. 37 Education as Liberation .............................................................................................................. 39 Othermothering ........................................................................................................................... 40 A Politicized Ethic of Care ......................................................................................................... 41 Empirical Studies ........................................................................................................................... 42 Moving Forward ............................................................................................................................. 44 vi CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 47 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 47 Background Into the Site ................................................................................................................. 47 Demographic Profile .................................................................................................................... 47 Organizational Dysfunction & Academic Turmoil ...................................................................... 49 Taking the Road Less Travelled .................................................................................................. 50 The Ideological, Pedagogical, & Organizational Structure of BGU ........................................... 52 A Black Feminist Orientation ..................................................................................................... 52 BGU Pedagogical Structure ........................................................................................................ 53 Organizational Structure: Who Joined BGU? ............................................................................. 56 Critical Race Feminist Autoethnography ..................................................................................... 59 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................ 61 Participant Selection ................................................................................................................... 61 Data Sources .................................................................................................................................. 65 BGU Curriculum ........................................................................................................................ 66 Field Notes ................................................................................................................................. 67 Video Recording .......................................................................................................................