University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications Instruction and Teacher Education, Department of 6-1-2015 Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women Daniella Ann Cook University of South Carolina - Columbia,
[email protected] Tiffany J. Williams Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/edcs_facpub Part of the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Publication Info Published in The Western Journal of Black Studies, Volume 39, Issue 2, 2015, pages 157-166. © The eW stern Journal of Black Studies, 2015, Washington State University Cook, D. A., Williams, J. T. (2015). Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 39(2), 157-166. This Article is brought to you by the Instruction and Teacher Education, Department of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women D aniella Ann Cook - University of South Carolina Tiffany W illiams-M iami University Abstract In this article, we use the concepts o f fictive kinship networks (Cook, 2011; Fordham, 1996; Stack, 1974) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) to explore the deeply embedded attitudes found in certain religious doctrine about the value o f education for Black females and how these beliefs shape the educational aspirations o f Black females. Especially for Black women from more conservative, religious backgrounds, we identify fictive kinship networks as important to creating the vital emotional, spiritual and intellectual spaces necessary to imagine and explore educational possibilities.