Stories of Mudanca (Change): Black Brazilian Teachers and Activists On
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Stories of Mudança (Change): Black Brazilian Teachers and Activists on Afro Hair and Antiracism in Education and Society Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marla Goins, M.A. Graduate Program in Teaching and Learning The Ohio State University 2020 Dissertation Committee: Mollie Blackburn, Advisor Timothy San Pedro, Advisor Theodore Chao Candace Stout Copyrighted by Marla Goins 2020 Abstract In this research, I explored how and why Black Brazilian women preservice teachers and activists performed afro hair activism, and how they sought to impact education and society through their work. Hair is a socio-politicized feature—one which carries cultural significance and has been racialized and gendered in various ways across time and space. For Black people internationally, the specific ways in which their hair is politicized are integral to their gendered racialization by the dominant societies in which they live. Societies which carry a legacy of slavery and colonization have characteristically oppressed Black bodies. Afro hair discrimination exists as an extension of that oppression. In an effort to mitigate their discrimination, Black people have practiced hair straightening globally since the advent of chemical straighteners in the early 1900s. However, 21st century afro hair activists have challenged the dejection of afro hair and promoted its embrace. In this study, I observed afro hair activism and its educational value, in the context of São Paulo, Brazil. Study participants consisted of two (2) preservice teachers and six (6) activists. The following questions guided my study: • How do Black Brazilian women preservice teachers and activists define the importance of afro hair activism to education and society? • What (counter)narratives do they seek to teach about afro hair? • What epistemologies undergird those narratives? What pedagogical approaches do they take to teach those narratives? iv I conducted fieldwork while I was a visiting researcher with the University of São Paulo from August to December in 2018, and from August 2019 to February 2020. I collected written narratives from participants, observed their study-related activities, and collaborated with one participant to organize an afro hair workshop for high school students. Using Grounded Theory methods, I discerned themes, patterns, and theoretical connections which helped me to illustrate a complex portrait of participants’ work. My findings are divided into three sections. In the section one, I posit that afro hair embrace cultivates Black pride and antiracism. That claim is based upon my analysis of four core data themes: representação (representation), autoestima (self-esteem), empoderamento negro (Black empowerment), and antiracismo (antiracism). I also present a found poem which is comprised exclusively of participants’ words on the theme of autoestima (self-esteem). In section two, I contend that participants’ thought and practice constituted Black feminist literacy. This literacy consisted of two components: an alfabetização (‘letters’ literacy) which pertained to the care of afro hair, and a letramento (‘indoctrination’ literacy), which concerned the valorization of afro hair. In section three, I relay the ways in which participants’ Black feminism intersected with and diverged from U.S.-based academic notions of Black feminism. The primary distinction I perceive is that participants drew upon African epistemologies such as the philosophy of Ubuntu (‘I am because we are’), while also engaging constructs which are more central to U.S.-based academic notions of Black feminism, such as gender and race. In my discussion chapter, I offer that participants revealed the value of polycentricity to Black feminism. Polycentricity may be useful to Black feminist communities across the African diaspora and foster equitable collaboration between Black feminist groups internationally. v Dedication To Justin Walker, Lais Siqueira Conceição, Victoria Dunn, and Ginger Shefferson. May you rest in God’s loving arms. Until we meet again! vi Acknowledgements I am inexplicably grateful to the participants of this study. It was with their help that this research which began as an unwavering dream came to fruition. My advisors Dr. Mollie Blackburn and Dr. Timothy San Pedro provided me with immense support throughout the planning, conducting, and writing of this study. My committee members Dr. Theodore Chao and Dr. Candace Stout also endowed me with encouragement. This research was made possible through the financial supports of the following organizations: The College of Education & Human Ecology Dissertation Research Fellowship at The Ohio State University, The Coca Cola Critical Difference for Women Program, and The Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center. I am also indebted to the Faculty of Education at the University of São Paulo (FEUSP), for granting me a research exchange fellowship. I give special thanks to my FEUSP faculty advisor Dr. Fabiana Jardim, master’s student and friend Sheila Perina, and Secretary of the Commission for National and International Cooperation Vanessa Van. Furthermore, I am extremely grateful for the Director of the Ohio State University Brazil Gateway Center, Jane Aparecido, who connected me with FEUSP. An abundance of professors selflessly guided me throughout my research process, including Drs. Isis Barra Costa, Karen Beard, Christian Faltis, Valerie Kinloch, Ruth Lowery, James Moore, Pedro Pereira, and Elaine Richardson. I also appreciate e alexander and Susie Mauck of the Data Access and Analysis Core in the College of Education and Human Ecology at OSU. vii I thank Dr. Adrian Clifton, who I met while visiting a study participant in a hair salon in São Paulo. I was ecstatic when the participant exclaimed that another African American woman was in the salon. When I learned that she had a PhD in Education, I was convinced that we were destined to meet. Dr. Clifton repeatedly made herself available to provide feedback on my research. I am beyond thankful for her compassion! As a first-generation graduate student learning to navigate academia while confronting bouts of imposter syndrome, peer support was extremely important to me. When I doubted whether the socio-politics of Black hair was scholarly enough for academic research, my colleagues and friends Binta Bah, David Mayo, and Alice Ragland reassured me. Thank you! My students of the course Equity and Diversity in Education at The Ohio State University also supported me just as much as I supported them. Many students reached out to me beyond our course to inquire about my research progress. I am moved by their support. Along with the professors, organizations, colleagues, and students who supported me throughout my study, I have received a lifetime of support from countless teachers, community members, and family members. I appreciate my high school teachers, including Susan Chevalier, Robert Gravatt, Amara Strode, and Karen Zimpfer. Their genuine interest in their students’ wellbeing and success left a lasting impression on me. Thank you to Mr. James Williams and the Mount Vernon AME Church, for igniting my academic journey with their college tour. On that tour, I was granted a full ride to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). That blessing continues to enrich my life and spirit. I had plenty of inspiring professors at JCSU, including Drs. Amos Etokudoh, Leslie Gutierrez, Joseph Turner, Mario Bahena Uriostegui, and Marsha Walker. Thank you to Dr. Cynthia Spence and the UNCF Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, which first inspired me to seek a PhD. viii I could not have achieved this feat without the love and support of my family. My grandmother Shirley provides me with laughter and calmness; my aunts Gerry and Melena, and Uncles Gideon, Massai, and Timothy champion my success; my siblings Jeremy, Justin, Marquis, Marquita, Noah, and Whitnie regularly profess how proud of me they are; my father Chuck exemplifies determination; and my mother Starla is my confidant and best friend. I am proud of my family, just as they are proud of me! Finally, I am eternally grateful for God. I have always known that you were the ultimate creator, and that you were with me. I will continue to live my life for you. Thank you for your boundless blessings! ix Vita 2012 .............................................................. B.A English, Johnson C. Smith University 2015 .............................................................. M.A. African American and African Studies, The Ohio State University 2015-2019..................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University 2019-2020 .................................................... Dissertation Fellow, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University Publications Oslick, M., Goins, M. & Brown, S. (2019). Immigrant and Refugee Resources. In R. M. Lowery, R. Pringle, & M. Oslick, (Eds.), Land of Opportunity: Immigrant Experiences in the North American Landscape. New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield. Oslick, M., Goins, M., & Brown, S. (2019). Resources on Immigrants and Refugees. In R. M. Lowery, M. Oslick, & R. Prigle, (Eds.), Immigrant Experiences: Expanding the School-Home-Community Dialogue. New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield. Goins, M. (2012) Juan Antonio Alix, Afro-Acceptance and Dominicanidad. Mellon Mays Undergraduate