“We Were Loving Warriors!”: A Content Analysis of Black Women’s Resistance Within Psychological Science

Abstract

Though findings are mixed, collective action engagement has been shown to be positively associated with greater academic success, social support, political efficacy, and well-being with racially marginalized individuals. Despite these findings, however, investigations of collective action engagement with Black American adult women within psychological science are scarce. Consistent with Black feminist thought, the construct of resistance may provide a necessary expansion to include all the ways that Black women actively work to transform their communities toward justice, beyond collective action. To ascertain the breadth and scope of psychological research related to Black women’s resistance (i.e., collective action engagement) to interpersonal discrimination and structural oppression, in this systematic review and content analysis we sought to identify participants’ and scholars’ definitions of resistance, as well as thematic dimensions and specific strategies of resistance. Additionally, we sought to determine the outcomes of resistance that have been assessed and the degree to which psychological health and well-being have been examined as an outcome of resistance within the literature. Findings from the analysis suggest the need for future examinations of the specific influence of Black American women’s collective action engagement and resistance to oppression on their well-being. Additionally, the findings of this review may have important implications for Black women’s well-being and as such, we discuss resistance work as a therapeutic intervention that can be encouraged by therapists, healers, community leaders, and educators.