Term of Award
Summer 2016
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Committee Chair
Sabrina N. Ross
Committee Member 1
Ming Fang He
Committee Member 2
Daniel Chapman
Committee Member 3
Meca Williams-Johnson
Abstract
This inquiry explores the experiences of Black women as they navigate through the workplace while embracing their natural hair. Four college-educated, professional, career-oriented Black women who have had natural hair for five or more years served as the catalyst of creating this dissertation by participating in semi-structured interviews.
Theoretically, drawing upon the frameworks of critical race theory, Black Feminist Thought, and Womanism, I examine the trials and victories that each of the participants have endured both in their personal and professional lives as a result of their natural hair. Methodologically, I utilize Black feminist narratives to capture the authentic, unfiltered voices of Palm, Oak, Olive, and Maple, my research participants, in order to construct meaning from each of their experiences.
Three findings and six themes emerged from the research. The three findings include: (1) Empowering self-definitions that each participant achieved occurred within the context of sometimes severe internal and external pressures to confirm to White hegemonic standards of beauty; (2) Parents and significant others played a substantial role in the empowerment of the participants and in the decisions of the participants to maintain natural hairstyles; and (3) Historical mistreatment and negative portrayals of Black women in the U.S. continue to influence present-day perceptions of Black women about themselves and about the beauty of their natural hair. The six emerging themes include: (1) Conflicting definitions of what it means to be ‘natural’; (2) Varying approaches to and attitudes about the transition to natural hair; (3) Exemplary job performance; (4) Power of leadership roles; (5) Hegemonic ideologies about beauty are played out inter-generationally within Black families; and (6) The importance of education for altering negative perceptions about Black women.
By giving voice to these four women, it is my hope that this research will shed light on the obstacles that women of color continue to endure even in the midst of the 21st century and that this research will create a sense of urgency in institutional policy makers to initiate ‘courageous conversations of change’, not only for Black women, but all people of color.
Recommended Citation
Coney-Devine, Neshika, "From Tangled Roots To New Growth: Narratives Of Black Women Who Have Embraced Their Natural Hair While Navigating The Workplace" (2016)
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
