MY PHILOSOPHY

My role and continual development as an educator is rooted in a Black feminist ideology. Black feminist praxis, where ideas inform practice and practice shapes ideas, is constituted by the struggle of Black feminist thought for self-definition and self-determination (Collins, 1998). 

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Our institutions of higher education need Black feminism; they need a break in time, a rupture in narrative, and something new. My philosophical values stem from this belief and a strong sense of responsibility to confront racial injustice, which allows me to ground my work in three values - advocacy and social change, voice, and transgressive pedagogy. 

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Advocacy and social change. I have made a commitment to use my privilege and engage in a life-long learning process to advocate for communities I belong to and those I do not. As an educator centered on social justice and issues of equity, I must continue to advocate for students and communities facing oppressive systemic and societal barriers. I have a role in assisting others in recognizing that these systemic forms of oppression exist and impact everyone, and that racism, in particular, has informed all of us in higher education (ACPA Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization, n.d.). I must seek to reduce my contributions to these systems, understanding that intersections of identities and forms of oppression are real, linked, global, and enduring (ACPA Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization, n.d.). 

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Voice. It has been claimed that documented history narrates the experiences of five percent of the population (Gonzalez-Martin, 2017). Let’s read that again… FIVE percent. It is my goal to create learning environments for students that provides space for them to utilize their capital and give voice to the diasporic knowledge and collective histories of the other 95%; to elevate counter-stories and provide more holistic narratives than what is currently prioritized in education. In this way, I seek to create meaningful opportunities for marginalized students to see their collective memories – of generational knowledge, kinship, culture, language, and struggle – magnificently come alive in the present (Gonzalez-Martin, 2017). 

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Transgressive pedagogy. I believe in the capacity for education to transform, and for all community members - from practitioners, scholars, and students to administrative leadership, service workers, and support personnel - to engage in the reconstruction and re-imagination of what our educational environments can look, feel, and sound like. Practice that parallels and diverges from the teachings of traditional institutions gives space for students to affect individual and social change. It provides marginalized students the knowledge, skills, and values important for participating in the culture of power, while also creating avenues to better understand and appreciate their own culture (Christen, 2003). 

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I strongly believe in these values because they support the belonging, development, empowerment, and celebration of Black students, and marginalized students as a whole, in their learning environments. But, they also benefit and uplift all students – white students, indigenous students, queer students, differently-abled students, first-generation students; students and global communities who have too long been silenced and erased from curriculum. With these values and my evolving skill set, I can contribute to a team of motivated educators while learning and growing alongside them.