Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Social Welfare

Advisor

Harriet Goodman

Committee Members

Bernecea Eanes

Nancy Giunta

Jason VanOra

Subject Categories

Social Justice

Keywords

Black feminist theory, Muted Theory, Social Justice Movements, Narrative Inquiry, Sojourner Truth Syndrome, Afterlife of Slavery

Abstract

The contributions of Black women in social justice movements are not well documented in the scholarly literature. Their roles as activists have been expunged from the history in America over centuries. This study revealed Black women’s experiences within social movement spaces. The purpose of this dissertation study was to discover the struggles, successes, and strategies of the lives of high-profile Black women activists working in contemporary spaces that are often co-inhabited by Black men and/or white women; it elevated the voices of Black women activists. The study employed a narrative analysis methodology utilizing open-ended individual interviews with three prominent Black women activists between the ages of 30 and 50. These interviews occurred over a three-month period and took place in person and via Zoom in a confidential space of the participant's choosing. The methodology of this study supported typical data collection procedures of interpretivism, containing small samples, and in-depth qualitative examinations. The principal component of this study’s method was the use of axiology, which openly precluded traditional modes of binary thinking within research. Centering my proximity to the research participants and my own personal experiences was critical to the design of the study. The study explored the socio-political context in which the participants worked, their roles within the larger movements of their activism, and their relationships to Black and white men and white women who were similarly engaged. The study found that pain was a powerful motivator in driving the engagement of Black women within activist spaces. It redefined pain and the challenges overcoming it as a source of strength. The findings revealed the macro themes of resiliency, rejection of strength, magnification of one’s voice, selflessness, liberation, trauma, and pain. The micro themes of this study underscored the compulsion and insistence of the participant’s involvement in social movements as a survival mechanism both for themselves and for their communities. The implications of this study for future research are the continued challenges of dominant methodologies within the academy. The use of a narrative analysis with an interpretivist lens is a practice not widely utilized and provides a methodological framework for future qualitative researchers interested in generating knowledge from both them and their communities. Accenting Black women’s contributions in liberation since the belly of the slave ships to modern-day is also an effect of this study. The study allowed inferences on the societal treatment of Black women, their unique techniques for survival, motivation, and resilience.

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