Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This paper presents a critical dialogue between Black women scholars that examines how they navigate and resist institutional expectations while creating new pathways for survival and flourishing in academia. Drawing from in-depth conversations with Drs. Brittany Friedman and Kris Marsh, we explore how Black women scholars are actively rejecting the false burden of institutional transformation while developing innovative strategies for personal and collective well-being. The dialogue reveals several interconnected themes: the reframing of rest and self-care as forms of resistance, the creation of support networks that extend beyond institutional boundaries, and the importance of embracing multi-dimensional identities that transcend academic roles. Particularly significant is the emergence of innovative forms of activism that prioritize Black women’s right to “exist, have dreams, have love, joy, and passions” rather than sacrificing personal well-being for institutional change. Through their candid exchanges about mental health, mentorship, and mutual protection, the scholars demonstrate how Black women in academia are creating alternative models of intellectual engagement that honor their full humanity while advancing collective liberation. This work contributes to broader conversations about racial justice in higher education by documenting concrete strategies for survival and resistance while challenging traditional narratives about institutional transformation.

Keywords

Black women scholars academia institutional transformation resistance strategic flourishing self-care mentorship

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ahmed

Sara

. 2017. Living a Feminist Life. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Aldridge

Delores P.

2008. Imagine a World: Pioneering Black Women Sociologists. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Bell

Derrick

. 1992. Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Boylorn

Robin M.

Orbe

Mark P.

Ellis

Carolyn

Rawlins

William K.

2014. “Sitting at the Kitchen Table: Fieldnotes from Women of Color in Anthropology.” Pp. 129–49 in Critical Autoethnography: Intersecting Cultural Identities in Everyday Life, edited by Boylorn

R. M.

Orbe

M. P.

New York, NY: Routledge.

Collins

Patricia Hill

. 2000. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge.

Cooper

Brittney

. 2018. Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Cooper

Brittney C.

Morris

Susana M.

Boylorn

Robin M.

2016. The Crunk Feminist Collection. New York, NY: The Feminist Press at CUNY.

Dillard

Cynthia B.

Okpalaoka

Chinwe L. Ezueh

. 2011. “The Sacred and Spiritual Nature of Endarkened Transnational Feminist Praxis in Qualitative Research.” Pp. 147–62 in The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Evans

Louwanda

Moore

Wendy Leo

. 2015. “Impossible Burdens: White Institutions, Emotional Labor, and Micro-Resistance.” Social Problems 62(3):439–54.

10.

Few

April L.

Stephens

Dionne P.

Rouse-Arnett

Marlo

. 2003. “Sister-to-Sister Talk: Transcending Boundaries and Challenges in Qualitative Research with Black Women.” Family Relations 52(3):205–215.

11.

Gregory

Sheila T.

2001. “Black Faculty Women in the Academy: History, Status, and Future.” Journal of Negro Education 70(3):124–38.

12.

Griffin

Kimberly A.

2016. “Reconsidering the Pipeline Problem: Increasing Faculty Diversity.” Liberal Education 102(4):22–27.

13.

Griffin

Kimberly A.

Reddick

Richard J.

2011. “Surveillance and Sacrifice: Gender Differences in the Mentoring Patterns of Black Professors at Predominantly White Research Universities.” American Educational Research Journal 48(5):1032–57.

14.

Gumbs

Alexis Pauline

Martens

China

Williams

Mai’a

. 2016. Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines. Oakland, CA: PM Press.

15.

Harris-Perry

Melissa V.

2011. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

16.

Henry

Wilma J.

Glenn

Nicole M.

2009. “Black Women Employed in the Ivory Tower: Connecting for Success.” Advancing Women in Leadership Journal 29(2):1–18.

17.

hooks

bell

. 1989. Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black. Boston, MA: South End Press.

18.

Jackson

Jennifer M.

2022. What Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

19.

Jones

Brandolyn

Hwang

Eunjin

Bustamante

Rebecca M.

2015. “African American Female Professors’ Strategies for Successful Attainment of Tenure and Promotion at Predominately White Institutions: It Can Happen.” Education, Citizenship and Social Justice 10(2):133–51.

20.

Jordan-Zachery

Julia S.

2017. Shadow Bodies: Black Women, Ideology, Representation, and Politics. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

21.

Lamar

Kendrick

. 2024. “Not Like Us.” Single. pgLang/Interscope Records.

22.

Lorde

Audre

. 1988. A Burst of Light: Essays. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand Books.

23.

Maparyan

Layli

. 2012. The Womanist Idea. New York, NY: Routledge.

24.

Matthew

Patricia A.

2016. Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

25.

Nicol

Donna J.

2024. Black Women on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

26.

Ross

Henry H.

Edwards

Willie J.

2016. “African American Faculty Expressing Concerns: Breaking the Silence at Predominantly White Research Oriented Universities.” Race Ethnicity and Education 19(3):461–79.

27.

Settles

Isis H.

Jones

Martinque K.

Buchanan

Nicola T.

Dotson

Kristie

. 2020. “Epistemic Exclusion: Scholar(ly) Devaluation That Marginalizes Faculty of Color.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 13(4):1–17.

28.

Smith

William A.

2004. “Black Faculty Coping with Racial Battle Fatigue: The Campus Racial Climate in a Post-Civil Rights Era.” Pp. 171–90 in A Long Way to Go: Conversations about Race by African American Faculty and Graduate Students, edited by Cleveland

New York, NY: Peter Lang.

29.

Sulé

Venice Thandi

. 2014. “Enact, Discard, and Transform: A Critical Race Feminist Perspective on Professional Socialization among Tenured Black Female Faculty.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 27(4):432–53.

30.

Turner

Caroline S.V.

González

Juan Carlos

Wood

J. Luke

. 2008. “Faculty of Color in Academe: What 20 Years of Literature Tells Us.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 1(3):139–68.

31.

Williams

Melanie R.

Brewley

Denise N.

Reed

Rhonda J.

White

Dorothy Y.

Davis-Haley

Rachel T.

2005. “Learning to Read Each Other: Black Female Graduate Students Share Their Experiences at a White Research I Institution.” The Urban Review 37(3):181–99.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB