Black Women and the Politics of Education

This autoethnographic study sought to address how to retain Black teachers by examining how principals’ leadership styles, workplace climate, and advancement opportunities impacted the author’s decision to remain in the teaching profession. Using intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought as theoretical lenses, she self-reflexively explored her lived experiences in public education in vignettes. She problematized office politics as an influence on school culture and a potential source of conflict for principals to address. Situating her frustration in silence, she encourages readers to hold themselves and school leadership accountable for the microaggressions and slights that occur and encourages them to attend to the underlying biases that are present.