Exploring Black girl magic: Identity development of Black first-gen college women.

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the impact of institutional context on Black first-generation college women's identity development. We examined their experiences along the lines of their minoritized race, gender, and first-generation student status using intersectionality theory. Six Black, first-generation college women participated in this study. The findings revealed (a) participants struggled with constant identity negotiation, particularly related to their potential for academic success as first-generation students; (b) all participants reported experiencing and seeing discrimination that culminated in feelings of institutional betrayal; and (c) despite negative experiences and encounters, each of the women in this study identified support mechanisms and counterspaces for developing healthy coping strategies with balancing their identity development in predominantly White campus environments.

Predicting the quality of Black women collegians’ relationships with faculty at a public historically Black university.

“…First, the importance of performance feedback (i.e., grades, draft feedback, completed assignment feedback) for Black women collegians aligns with other scholarship suggesting that information about academic achievement is particularly salient to their sense of belonging in college (Williams & Johnson, 2017). Positive relationships with faculty are a vital part of students feeling connected to the university environment; thus, there is likely an indirect relationship between offering timely formative and summative performance feedback and sense of belonging for these students.…”

Letters to My Sisters: Advice From Black Women Alumnae About How to Thrive and Survive in College

“…A. Williams et al, 2020) may seem partially empowering toward Black women (Thomas, 2015). However, the schema reveals unreasonable expectations for Black women to achieve success on their own (Donahoo, 2017).…”

“…The Black superwoman schema (Abrams et al, 2014; Knighton et al, 2020; Watson-Singleton, 2017; Woods-Giscombé, 2010) and the attention of hashtags like #BlackGirlMagic (Q. A. Williams et al, 2020) may seem partially empowering toward Black women (Thomas, 2015).…”

Black Girl Magic or Queen Bee: An Exploration of Gendered Leadership in South African Business

“…Black girl magic is a term used to celebrate all aspects, including physical traits of being black, contrary to societal norms. Emanating from the black community in the United States, they celebrate and support their blackness (Adams‐Bass et al, 2020; Johnson, 2018; López, 2021; Mason, 2021; Williams et al, 2020).…”