Black Women Educational Leaders in PK-12 Public Education: A Multiple Case Study on the Double Consciousness of Black Women Educational Leadership in Southwestern United States

This dissertation examined the stories of Black Women Educational Leaders (BWEL) in PK-12t public education and their double consciousness as expressed through their leadership. The focus of this study was BWEL’s counternarratives as leaders within a system built upon systemic racism and oppression. Their experiences as Black Women Educational Leaders in PK-12 in a school district in which most school administrators are white, but most of the student body is Black and Brown were highlighted and centered to shed light on how the double consciousness of Black women informs their leadership. Utilizing Critical Race Feminism as the theoretical framework with Black Feminist Thought and Double Consciousness as analytical lenses, this study considered the historical and current research on the experiences and impact of BWELs, examined how systemic racism affects BWELs, and explored the role of race-gender consciousness in the way these BWEL exercise their leadership within their organizations. This qualitative counter-narrative multiple case study provided more significant insights into the counternarratives of the Black Women Leadership Experience (BWEL) and filled gaps in the existing literature on the double consciousness of Black Women Educational Leaders.