Black Women Acting Against the Extremes of Visibility in the Academy

Abstract

Black women faculty building their academic lives can be treated as or made to feel invisible (i.e., ignored) or hypervisible (i.e., overly scrutinized). Subsequent harms can follow, such as stress, insecurity, power/voicelessness, and job attrition. Through the fusing of sister circles focus groups with Theatre of the Oppressed Forum Theatre, we explored how five Black women faculty confronted issues related to visibility utilizing this culturally informed critical arts-based methodology. Through introspection and performance, they brought in elder wisdom, and through rehearsal and performance, they left with shared knowledge on how to mediate at the extremes of visibility to improve their academic lives. We discuss the findings and their implications for academic healing via culturally responsive arts-based interventions and methodologies.

Set Ablaze Yet Not Consumed: Tenure Seeking Blackwomxn and Black Feminist Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching and Mentoring during COVID-19

“…We recognize that all 17 of the Blackwomxn faculty in our study engaged in emotional and invisible labor, consistent with scholarship that Black faculty and Womxn of Color commit to mentoring and providing extra support to Students of Color (Griffin et al, 2013;Moore & Toliver, 2010). There is robust scholarship that is very informative for how institutions should account for emotional and invisible labor (Gonzales & Griffin, 2020;Porcher & Austin, 2021;Porter et al, 2020;Roberts et al, 2022). For tenure seeking Black faculty at research intensive institutions, scholarship productivity is critical to advancement and mentorship is not equally valued in promotion and tenure (Ward & Hall, 2022).…”

“…Specifically, Blackwomxn are "surviving in the margins with experiences of gendered racism" in the academy (Allen & Joseph, 2018, p. 152). Blackwomxn's experience with invisibility and hypervisibility (Roberts et al, 2022), isolation, and marginalization is influenced by the historical exclusion of Blackwomxn in education (Porter et al, 2020) and stereotypical assumptions about Blackwomxn's capability 2023 | JAAWGE (Walkington, 2017). Experiences of isolation, marginalization, and underappreciation may be greater for Blackwomxn faculty who are contingent or non-tenure track (Porcher & Austin, 2021;Porter et al, 2020).…”

“…Although Blackwomxn remain underrepresented as faculty and student affairs leadership positions (Roberts et al, 2022;West, 2020), their contribution in higher education is significant. More specifically, literature shows that Blackwomxn faculty serve as formal and informal mentors to students and colleagues, contributing to their retention, persistence, and academic and career advancement (Griffin, 2013;Holmes et al, 2007;Johnson, 2022).…”

“…Blackwomxn faculty in particular dedicate time and energy to support students inside and outside the classroom (Griffin & Reddick, 2011;Griffin et al, 2013). Scholars note that Blackwomxn take on a "greater load of mentoring responsibilities" (Griffin & Reddick, 2011, p. 1050, even though their support often goes unrecognized (Pennant, 2022;Roberts et al, 2022).…”