Theoretical and Methodological Approaches

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches That Center Black Women and Girls in Education

Africana Womanism:

Alexander-Floyd, N. G., & Simien, E. M. (2006). Revisiting" what's in a name?": Exploring the contours of Africana womanist thought. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 27(1), 67-89.

Hudson-Weems, C., & Sofala, Z. (1995). Africana womanism: Reclaiming ourselves. Troy, MI: Bedford Publishers.

Black Feminist Thought:

Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge.

Collins, P. H. (1986). Learning from the outsider within: The sociological significance of Black feminist thought. Social Problems, 33(6), 14-32.

Cooper, B. C. (2015). Love No Limit: Towards a Black Feminist Future (In Theory). The Black Scholar, 45(4), 7-21.

Guy-Sheftall, B. (Ed.)(1995). Words of fire: An anthology of African-American feminist thought. New York: The New Press.

Hooks, B. (2000). Feminist theory: From margin to center. London: Pluto Press.

Hooks, B. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking black. Boston, MA: South End Press.

Howard-Hamilton, M. F. (2003). Theoretical frameworks for African American women. New directions for student services, 2003(104), 19-27.

Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Feminism:

Evans-Winters, V. E., & Esposito, J. (2010). Other People's Daughters: Critical Race Feminism and Black Girls' Education. Educational Foundations, 24, 11-24.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education?. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7-24.

Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate IV, W. F. (1995). Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47-68.

Endarkened Feminism:

Croom, N. N., & Patton, L. D. (2015). Using Endarkened and Critical Race Feminist Perspectives to Question and Analyze Knowledge Production Narratives. In F. Bonner (Ed.) Black Faculty in the Academy: Narratives for Negotiating Identity and Achieving Career Success, 67-78. New York, NY:  Routledge.

Dillard, C. B. (2000). The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen: Examining an endarkened feminist epistemology in educational research and leadership. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 13(6), 661-681.

Hip Hop Feminism:

Brown, R. N. (2009). Black girlhood celebration: Toward a hip-hop feminist pedagogy. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Durham, A., Cooper, B. C., & Morris, S. M. (2013). The stage hip-hop feminism built: A new directions essay. Signs, 38(3), 721-737.

Love, B. L. (2012). Hip hop's li'l sistas speak: Negotiating hip hop identities and politics in the new South. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Morgan, J. (1999). When chickenheads come home to roost: A hip-hop feminest breaks it down. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Intersectionality:

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford law review, 43(6) 1241-1299.

Museus, S. D., & Griffin, K. A. (2011). Mapping the margins in higher education: On the promise of intersectionality frameworks in research and discourse. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2011(151), 5-13.

Storytelling and Narrative Analysis:

Banks-Wallace, J. (2002). Talk that talk: Storytelling and analysis rooted in African American oral tradition. Qualitative Health Research, 12(3), 410-426.

Bell-Scott, P. (1994). Life notes: Personal writings by contemporary Black women. New York: W. W. Norton.

Lawrence-Lightfoot, S., & Davis, J. H. (1997). The art and science of portraiture. Jossey-Bass Incorporated Pub. 

 

 

Image: Cathy Wall UVA Medical Resident, 1974. (http://voicesandvisibilityuva.org/about-these-portraits/women-at-uva-history/

Historical Presence Of Black Girls and Women on Campus

Anderson, K. (1994). From “brickbats and roses": Lucy Diggs Slowe, 1883- 1937. Women's Studies Quarterly, 22(1/2), 134-140.

Benjamin, L. (Ed.) (1997). Black women in the academy: Promises and perils. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.

Guy-Sheftall, B. (1982). Black women and higher education: Spelman and Bennett colleges revisited. The Journal of Negro Education, 51(3), 278-287.

Ihle, Elizabeth. L. (1992). Black women in higher education: An anthology of essays, studies, and documents. New York: Garland

Lawson, E. N., & Merrill, M. (1984). The three Sarahs: Documents of antebellum Black college women (Vol. 13). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Pr.

Little, M. H. (2002). The extra-curricular activities of black college students, 1868-1940. The Journal of African American History, 87, 43-55. 

Perkins, L. (2009). The history of Black women graduate students 1921-1948. In L. Tillman (Ed.), The sage handbook of African American education (pp. 53-65). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Perkins, L. M. (1997). The African American female elite: The early history of African American women in the seven sister colleges, 1880–1960. Harvard Educational Review, 67(4), 718-757.

Perkins, L. M. (1996). Lucy Diggs Slowe: Champion of the self-determination of African-American women in higher education. Journal of Negro History,81(1-4) 89-104.

Perkins, L. M. (1983). The impact of the “Cult of True Womanhood” on the education of Black women. Journal of Social Issues, 39(3), 17-28. 

Royster, J. J. (2000). Traces of a stream: Literacy and social change among African American women. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. 

Shaw, S. J. (1996). What a woman ought to be and to do: Black professional women workers during the Jim Crow era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (In particular, see chapter 3)

Thomas, V. G., & Jackson, J. A. (2007). The education of African American girls and women: Past to present. The Journal of Negro Education, 76(3), 357-372.

Histories of Black Women in America That Contain Extensive Information on the Post-Secondary Experience:

Giddings, P.J. (2014) Where and where I enter: The impact of Black women on race and sex in America. New York: Harpers Collins.

Hine, D. C., & Thompson, K. (1999). A shining thread of hope: The history of Black women in America. New York: Broadway.

Selected Archives:

Smith College, Women of Color & Race Relations in the U.S.

Howard University, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

Straight University, New Orleans, Louisiana

Spelman College Archives

Bennett College Archives

 

http://www.professorevans.com/ -- Two minute overview of Black women's history in higher education. Music, pictures, & maps. Information from book *Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History* Content by Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans; Graphics by Brother Joseph Akoni - See also BLACK MEN IN THE IVORY TOWER: http://www.professorevans.com/bmitVideo.htm

Video by Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans.

Image:Alberta Virginia Scott, Class of first African American graduate of Radcliffe College - courtesy of Schlesinger Library.

Our Foremothers and Pioneers

Here we have listed pioneers of research on Black women in higher education, as well scholar-practitioners. The historical presence and activism of these Black women require and call for an exploration into their lives and careers.  As we continue to add to this list, comment below with your own suggestions of who belongs on this list.  

Anna Julia Copper

Cooper, Anna Julia. 1998. The higher education of women. In C. Lemert & E. Bhan (Eds.) The voice of Anna Julia Cooper: Including A Voice from the South and other important essays, papers, and letters, . New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

For a more on Copper:

Guy-Sheftall, B. (2009). Black feminist studies: The case of anna julia cooper. African American Review, 43(1), 11-15. 

May, V. M. (2012). Anna Julia Cooper, visionary black feminist: A critical introduction. New York: Routledge.

Anna Julia Cooper Papers, Howard University

Lucy Diggs Slowe

Slowe, L. D. (1933). Higher education of Negro women. Journal of Negro Education, 352-358.

Slowe, L. D. (1937). A colored girl enters college: What shall she expect.Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life, 15, 276-79.

For a more in-depth exploration of Slowe's life see:

Miller, C. L., & Pruitt-Logan, A. S. (2012). Faithful to the task at hand: The life of Lucy Diggs Slowe. SUNY Press.

Slowe Papers, Howard University 

Jeanne L. Noble

Noble, J. L. (1978). Beautiful, also, are the souls of my Black sisters: A history of the Black woman in America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Noble, Jeanne L. (1956). The Negro woman’s college education. New York: Columbia University Press.

Noble, J.L. (1957). Negro women today and their education. The Journal of Negro Education 26 (1): 15–21.

For a biographical note and information of Noble's papers at Smith College click here!

https://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss531_bioghist.html

Willa Player

Player, W. B. (1948). Improving college education for women at Bennett College (Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University).

Player, W. B. (1992). The Negro college and women's education. In E.L. Ihle (Ed.) Black women in higher education: An anthology of essays, studies, and documents, 364-365. Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor and Francis.

For a more in-depth exploration of Player's life please see:

Brown, L. B. (1998). The long walk: The story of the presidency of Willa B. Player at Bennett College. McCain Printing Company.

Digital Archives at Bennett College 

Jacqueline Fleming

Fleming, J. (1985). Blacks in College. A Comparative Study of Students' Success in Black and in White Institutions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Fleming, J. (1983). Black women in Black and White college environments: The making of a matriarch. Journal of Social Issues, 39(3), 41-54.

Panelists: The Rev. Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J., President of Georgetown University/ Jacqueline Fleming, Professor of Psychology at Barnard College and Author of Blacks in College; Paul Shang, Director, Help for Education & Life Planning Success Center, Colorado State University; Gloria Romero, Visiting Professor of Chicano Studies, Loyola Marymount University (CA); Curtis Polk, Race Relations Counselor, University of Texas-Austin; Julian Bond, Moderator Major Topics: Who is responsible for creating campus unity?

Rare video of Fleming discussing her work. She comes in at marker 1:00.

Marion Cuthbert 

Cuthbert, M. V. (1936). Juliette Derricotte. New York, N.Y: Women's Press.

Cuthbert, M. V. (1987). Education and marginality: A study of the Negro woman college graduate. New York: Garland.

Cuthbert, M. V. (1936). Democracy and the Negro. New York: Pilgrim Press.

For more information on Cuthbert please see:

Crocco, M. S., & Waite, C. L. (2007). Education and marginality: Race and gender in higher education, 1940–1955. History of Education Quarterly, 47(1), 69-91.

If anyone knows where Cuthbert’s papers are located please let us know.

For a quick biographical sketch of her life and accomplishments please see here.

Constance Carroll

Carroll, C. M. (1982). Three’sa crowd: The dilemma of the black woman in higher education. In G.T. Hull, P.B. Scott, & B. Smith (Eds.), All the women are White, all the Blacks are men, but some of us are brave, 115-128. New York, NY: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York.

For more information on Carroll please see:

San Diego Community College District Profile

Intellectual Histories

Evans, S. Y. (2008). Black women in the ivory tower, 1850-1954: An intellectual history. Gainsville, FL: University Press of Florida. 

Evans, S. Y. (2009). African American Women Scholars and International Research: Dr. Anna Julia Cooper's Legacy of Study Abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 18, 77-100.

Gaines, R. (2016). Rhetoric and a Body Impolitic: Self-Definition and Mary Mcleod Bethune's Discursive Safe Space. Howard Journal of Communications, 27(2), 167-181.

Grant, C. A., Brown, K. D., & Brown, A. L. (2015). Black intellectual thought in education: The missing traditions of Anna Julia Cooper, Carter G. Woodson, and Alain LeRoy Locke. New York: Routledge.

Perkins, L. M. (1982). Heed life's demands: The educational philosophy of Fanny Jackson Coppin. Journal of Negro Education, 181-190.

Johnson, K. (2013). Uplifting the women and the race: The lives, educational philosophies and social activism of Anna Julia Cooper and Nannie Helen Burroughs. London: Routledge.

On Campus at HBCUs

The Co-Eds

Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2018). The New Howard Woman: Dean Lucy Diggs Slowe and the Education of a Modern Black Femininity. Meridians, 17(1), 25-48.

Bell-Scott, P. (1997). To keep my self-respect: Dean Lucy Diggs Slowe's 1927 memorandum on the sexual harassment of black women. NWSA Journal, 9(2), 70-76.

Gasman, M. (2007) Swept under the rug? A historiography of gender and black colleges. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 760-805.

Gasman, M., & Perna, L. W. (2011). Promoting attainment of African American women in the STEM Fields: Lessons from historically Black colleges and universities. In G. Jean-Marie & B. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Women of color in higher education: Changing directions and new perspectives (pp. 73-88). Bigley, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Lindsey, T. B. (2017). Colored No More: Reinventing Black Womanhood in Washington. University of Illinois Press. (Chapter 1, Climbing the Hilltop is of particular importance)

Patton, L.D. & Simmons, S. (2008). Exploring complexities of multiple identities of lesbians in a black college environment. Negro Educational Review, 59(3-4), 197-215. [Special Issue: Race and Gender]

Njoku, N. R., & Patton, L. D. (2017). Explorations of respectability and resistance in constructions of Black womanhood at HBCUs. In L.D. Patton & N.N. Croom (Eds.), Critical Perspectives on Black Women and College Success, : 143-157. New York, NY: Routledge.

Thomas, J. C. (2018). Pageantry & Politics: Miss Howard University from Civil Rights to Black Power. The Journal of Negro Education, 87(1), 22-32.

Spelman College, Bennett College, and Experiences beyond the Gender Binary at morehouse College

Flowers, D. B. (2005). The launching of the student sit-in movement: the role of black women at Bennett College. The Journal of African American History, 90(1-2), 52-63.

Guy-Sheftall, B. (1982). Black women and higher education: Spelman and Bennett colleges revisited. The Journal of Negro Education, 51(3), 278-287.

Lefever, H. G. (2005). Undaunted by the fight: Spelman College and the civil rights movement, 1957/1967. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.

Mobley, Jr. S. D., & Johnson, J. M. (2018). “No pumps allowed”: The “problem” with gender expression and the Morehouse College “Appropriate Attire Policy.” Journal of Homosexuality. Advance online publication. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1486063

Patton, L. D. (2014). Preserving respectability or blatant disrespect? A critical discourse analysis of the Morehouse Appropriate Attire Policy and implications for intersectional approaches to examining campus policies. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27(6), 724-746.

Williams, E. L. (2013). Women's Studies and Sexuality Studies at HBCUs: The Audre Lorde Project at Spelman College. Feminist Studies, 39(2), 520-525.

Texts on Black students to be read with a lens that identifies the roles and history of Black women:

Williams, J., & Ashley, D. (2004). I'll find a way or make one: A tribute to historically black colleges and universities. New York: HarperCollins.

Njoku, N., Butler, M., & Beatty, C. C. (2017). Reimagining the historically Black college and university (HBCU) environment: exposing race secrets and the binding chains of respectability and othermothering. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(8), 783-799.