Abstract
This paper is in dialogue with Danielle Ferguson and Catherine Martin-Dunlop’s paper, Uncovering stories of resilience among successful African American women in STEM. The purpose of this article is to extend conversations on Black women in STEM, focusing on radical transformations of STEM by centering (and normalizing) their voices and experiences. Understanding the necessity of taking a critical perspective toward unpacking the lived experiences of Black women in STEM, we seek resistance and justice, moving beyond the notion of coping that promotes individual reform. To foster critical perspectives, we offer resistance frameworks that disrupt mainstream positionings of Black women.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aikenhead, G. S., & Jegede, O. J. (1999). Cross-cultural science education: A cognitive explanation of a cultural phenomenon. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(3), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199903)36:3<269::AID-TEA3>3.0.CO;2-T
Ahmed, S. (2007). A phenomenology of whiteness. Feminist Theory, 8(2), 149–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700107078139
Borum, V., & Walker, E. (2012). What makes the difference? Black women’s undergraduate and graduate experiences in mathematics. The Journal of Negro Education, 81(4), 366–378. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.81.4.0366
Castro, A. J., Kelly, J., & Shih, M. (2010). Resilience strategies for new teachers in high-needs areas. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 622–629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.010.
Charleston, L. J., Adserias, R. P., Lang, N. M., & Jackson, J. F. (2014). Intersectionality and STEM: The role of race and gender in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM. Journal of Progressive Policy and Practice, 2(3), 273–293. https://caarpweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JP3-Vol.-2-No.-3.pdf#page=83
Cobern, W., & Aikenhead, G. (1998). Cultural aspects of learning science. In K. G. Tobin and B. J. Fraser (Ed.), The international handbook of science education (pp. 39–52). Great Britain: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Collins, P. H. (2019). Intersectionality as critical social theory. Durham: Duke University Press.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Espinosa, L. (2011). Pipelines and pathways: Women of color in undergraduate STEM majors and the college experiences that contribute to persistence. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 209–241. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.2.92315ww157656k3u
Guy, B., & Boards, A. (2019). A seat at the table: Exploring the experiences of underrepresented minority women in STEM graduate programs. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 47(4), 354–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2019.1617383
Harris, C. I. (1993). Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review, 106(8), 1707–1791. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341787
Ireland, D. T., Freeman, K. E., Winston-Proctor, C. E., DeLaine, K. D., McDonald Lowe, S., & Woodson, K. M. (2018). (Un) hidden figures: A synthesis of research examining the intersectional experiences of Black women and girls in STEM education. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 226–254. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759072
Joseph, N. M., Hailu, M., & Boston, D. (2017). Black women’s and girl’s persistence in the p-20 mathematics pipeline: Two decades of children, youth, and adult education research. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), 203–227. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X16689045
Katz, L. A., Aloisio, K. M., Horton, N. J., Ly, M., Pruss, S., Queeney, K., et al. (2017). A program aimed toward inclusive excellence for underrepresented undergraduate women in the sciences. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 16(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0029
King, N. S., & Pringle, R. M. (2019). Black girls speak STEM: Counterstories of informal and formal learning experiences. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56(5), 539–569. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21513
Ko, L. T., Kachchaf, R. R., Hodari, A. K., & Ong, M. (2014). Agency of women of color in physics and astronomy: Strategies for persistence and success. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 20(2), 171–195. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014008198
McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued Black and Latino racial identities: A by-product of STEM college culture? American Educational Research Journal, 53(6), 1626–1662. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216676572
McGee, E. O., & Bentley, L. (2017). The troubled success of black women in STEM. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1355211
Matias, C. E., Montoya, R., & Nishi, N. W. M. (2016). Blocking CRT: How the emotionality of whiteness blocks CRT in urban teacher education. Educational Studies, 52(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2015.1120205.
Mensah, F. M., & Jackson, I. (2018). Whiteness as property in science teacher education. Teachers College Record, 120(1), 1–38. https://www.tcrecord.org
Morton, T. R., & Parsons, E. C. (2018). #BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education. Science Education, 102(6), 1363–1393. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21477.
Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19(1), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136319
Rosa, K., & Mensah, F. M. (2016). Educational pathways of Black women physicists: Stories of experiencing and overcoming obstacles in life. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 12(2), 020113. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020113
Russell, M. L., & Russell, J. A. (2015). Black American undergraduate women at a PWI: Switching majors in STEM. Negro Educational Review, 66(1–4), 101.
Ryan, R. G., Durdella, N., & Navarro, T. (2014, June). A case study of success: Mentoring and supporting underrepresented transfer students in a mechanical engineering program. Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. Retreived July 22, 2020, from https://peer.asee.org/19913.
Solorzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 60–73. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2696265
Solórzano, D. G., & Bernal, D. D. (2001). Examining transformational resistance through a critical race and Latcrit theory framework: Chicana and Chicano students in an urban context. Urban Education, 36(3), 308–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085901363002
Wing, A. K. (Ed.). (1997). Critical race feminism: A reader. New York: New York University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Lead Editor: F. M. Mensah.
This review essay addresses issues raised in Danielle Ferguson and Catherine Martin-Dunlop’s paper entitled: Uncovering stories of resilience among successful African American women in STEM (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-020-10006-8).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morton, T.R., Nkrumah, T. A day of reckoning for the white academy: reframing success for African American women in STEM. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 16, 485–494 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-020-10004-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-020-10004-w