Creating the Spaces We Wish for Ourselves: How Black Women Secondary English Teachers Respond to Racism in Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate what Black women Secondary English teachers' personal stories reveal about their experiences of racism in education. Additionally, the study explored the mental and emotional effects of racism on Black women secondary English educators and how othermothering was a role that they took on with their students to resist racism. Participants for the study included 11 Secondary English teachers, and semi-structured one-on-one interviews were done with each participant. The data showed that participants experienced high levels of racism in education from their white women colleagues which affected their mental, physical, and emotional health, not only at work but in their personal lives. Although these experiences were challenging for all participants, and for some traumatic, participants also shared individual, interpersonal, systemic, and spiritual ways they coped to combat the racism they experienced. Ultimately, this study highlighted a need for systemic change in school environments for Black women to feel protected, safe, valued, and included in educational spaces.