“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.

Lay theories about collective power in the context of racial oppression

“…History is ripe with numerous examples of Black Americans’ resistance, ranging from 'everyday resistance' efforts (Rosales & Langhout, 2020), such as undermining the plantation system during slavery by intentionally slowing down production (Camp, 2004), turning segregation into ‘congregation’ during the Jim Crow era whereby segregated sites such as churches became unmonitored meeting grounds for resistance movements (Higginbotham, 1993; R. D. G. Kelley, 1993), to more recent mass movements such as Black Power (Ture & Hamilton, 1967) and Black Lives Matter (Garza, 2020; C. W. Leach & Allen, 2017). When describing power, several participants referenced common resistance efforts among the ingroup, including spreading awareness of the injustice faced by the ingroup, protesting and facilitating social change (see also shodiya‐zeumault et al., 2022). For example, a 21‐year‐old female participant (P4) said:

I don't think Black people are entirely powerless in the sense that they will still protest even if their rights are being taken away or they'll still find ways to push laws and change things and shake the table at all times.

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