An intersectional narrative inquiry into why Black and racialized teachers quit the profession

In this article, we report findings from a narrative inquiry into why Black and racialized teachers quit the profession. Using intersectionality as a theoretical framework, five in-depth narrative interviews were analysed, yielding six thematic threads: emotional labour and cultural taxation, subtle and overt systemic racial violence, technology-facilitated harassment, a tension between identity and professionalism, and disillusionment with school leadership and institutional inaction in addressing harm. The findings reveal the compounded challenges Black and racialized teachers face, when professional demands intersect with systemic marginalization, particularly at the intersections of race and gender. They also show that while institutional shortcomings impact all teachers, contemporary challenges such as school underfunding and staff burnout are multiplicatively exacerbated for Black and racialized teachers as structural educational inequities intersect with systemic violence. Findings point to the need for robust and intersectional retention strategies. Schools should do the courageous work of confronting the structural and cultural harms that make teaching untenable for many, reimagining educational spaces as ones that value, support, and sustain racialized educators. Without this shift, retention initiatives will remain incomplete and unable to address the deeper inequities at play.