Some notes on being a black woman in the academy in the United States

Abstract

I came of age during the watershed of changes in access to higher education that emerged during and after the U.S. Civil Rights Movement (CRM). These changes yielded broad financial support of higher education for previously excluded populations. Mid-twentieth CRM gains opened the way for Black people from all social class settings to take advantage of educational opportunities at a rate unprecedented by any prior time in the nation’s history. During the generation of my youth, in my community – as was true in many Black communities across the United States – education was lauded as the most certain way to improve one’s chances and station in life, despite realities of anti-Black racial discrimination. My community’s affirmation of education and the post-CRM educational opportunities intersected to open the academy as a vocational context for me. My journey to becoming a Black woman in the academy in the United States derived significantly from these two realities. In addition to shaping my vocation, the Black community of my youth and the Civil Rights Movement also shaped my world view. The civic commitments of my parents and the justice orientation of the CRM, inform my interpretations and imaginings of the world, orient my teaching, and enliven my scholarly work. What follows are some notes on interpretations of my journey as a Black woman in the academy that emerge from my world view.