Call Me Worthy: Utilizing Storytelling to Reclaim Narratives about Black Middle School Girls Experiencing Inequitable School Discipline

ABSTRACT In this year-long ethnographic study, the authors illuminate the narratives and experiences of four black middle school girls who experienced multiple school disciplinary actions including detention, suspension, and expulsion. The study design includes a weekly school-based mentorship and advocacy program to support the academic and socioemotional development of black middle school girls. Data include interviews with focal girls, their parents, teachers, and administrators; school academic and disciplinary records; and fieldnotes from classroom observations and weekly mentorship sessions. Critical race feminism provides a framework for shedding light on the experiences of black girls who continue to experience unjust forms of school discipline. Findings speak toward the incongruence of black girls’ experiences when juxtaposed to school narratives and disciplinary outcomes. Through the illumination of black middle school girls’ stories, the authors seek to reject how schools and society negatively position black girls, by reclaiming their humanity and worth.

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