Maroons: Blackgirlhood in Plain Sight

Abstract

Historically and globally, Black people have engaged in practices of maroonage to resist bondage and re-make free homes and communities. In this article, I offer maroons as a keyword and assert that Blackgirls are present-day maroons in plain sight who resist structural bondage and re-make practices of survivance in the pursuit of freedoms on an everyday basis. Through the article, I share and analyze ethnographic data as well as poetry and lyrics written by Blackgirls and womxn who enact their/our resistance and maroonage in plain sight.

No One-Size-Fits-All: Critical Narrative Intervention and Archeology of Self as Anti-Racist and Anti-Colonial Practices in Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

“…For Black women and girls who face discrimination at disproportionate rates (Dill, 2022), health educators can combat dominant narratives by facilitating learning around one’s own heritage and cultural diversity, as well as dispelling stereotypes which can lead to higher self-esteem and self-acceptance (Eckart, 2017). We demonstrated the importance of health educators assisting Black girls and Black women in naming and identifying resilience and coping mechanisms that may not be typical.…”

“…When we "parachute" into communities (Lancet Global Health, 2018), we leave room for compassionless care. Health educators are also poised to cause harm, and we need to move from labeling communities and prescribing interventions to labeling and dismantling the multiple systems of violence enacted upon them that often goes unchecked (Dill, 2022).…”

“…We demonstrated the importance of health educators assisting Black girls and Black women in naming and identifying resilience and coping mechanisms that may not be typical. Storytelling allows for critical reflection on what healing practices work (Dill, 2022). Through storytelling, health educators can defer to the communities they serve as experts, while adding context through evidence-based research and solutions.…”

“…Arts-based practices like DST, CNI, and AOS can be deployed as critical approaches to health education and promotion as they push back against a one-size-fits-all approach to public health—an approach rooted in colonialism and anti-Blackness. Black girls and Black women combat the violence and oppression in their lives by creating and disseminating art and creativity as resistance, to move from bondage to self-determination, and ultimately autonomy outside of the White gaze (Dill, 2022). The results of our creative autoethnographic project underscore the cruciality of participatory research methodologies as legitimate means of knowledge generation, data analysis, resistance and organizing around self-determination and social justice for historically-excluded races and ethnicities.…”