"I said what I said": Black women narratives on identity, communication, and refusal at historically white institutions
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Petty, Raya
- Graduate Program:
- Higher Education (PHD)
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 09, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Kevin Kinser, Program Head/Chair
Tiffany Nyachae, Outside Field Member
Janice Byrd, Outside Unit Member
Wilson Okello, Major Field Member
LaWanda Ward, Chair & Dissertation Advisor - Keywords:
- Black women
Black girlhood
Higher education
Refusal - Abstract:
- Black women have a unique racialized gendered experience in U.S. higher education. My study centers the individual and collective experiences of Black women with a starting point in Black girlhood to emphasize how their former educational experiences influence the way they show up in higher education. I utilize Black Girls’ Literacies Framework (BGLF) to address the tie between Black girlhood and Black womanhood and to present more expansive narratives of Black women of their higher education journey. I employ a Black feminist approach to autoethnography and narrative inquiry to capture the individual and collective experiences of Black women with navigating and negotiating our identity at historically white institutions (HWI). I enter the conversation with a focus on language and communication to examine how dominant white ideologies are reinforced in education by influencing how Black girls and women perform and express their identity. I interviewed 17 Black women who grew up in a metropolitan city with high concentrations of Black people, and currently attend a HWI in the U.S. I identify four major themes from the participants’ and my personal narratives that highlight our individual and collective educational experiences, and our transition from girlhood to womanhood. Findings from this study reveal that Black women demonstrate what I consider Black girl refusal. Further, findings suggest that understanding the experiences of Black women in higher education can assist institutional leaders and policymakers in establishing practices and policies that support Black girls and women in education.