Teach Like a Black Woman: A Trauma-Informed Black Feminist Praxis

Abstract

When considering the traumatic, racialized educational landscape of the U.S., we turn our attention to the revolutionary consciousness that Black feminism provides in our conceptualization of trauma, suffering, and healing. Ultimately, we maintain that Black women educators (BWEs) enacting Black feminist pedagogies in their classrooms are uniquely positioned to advance our collective discourses, practices, and research on trauma and healing. Utilizing qualitative inquiry, we examine interviews from BWEs through the lenses of Black feminism and our holistic trauma framework. Findings reveal BWEs’ tools—love lessons and proactive, interactive, and reactive healing pedagogies. We conclude with recommendations for urban teacher education programs.

Keywords

Black women educators trauma pedagogy urban teacher education

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