Victoria Showunmi
UCL Institute of Education
Victoria Showunmi is a Senior Lecturer at Maynooth University. Her interests aregender, class, identity and race. She uses such interests to interrupt areas such as educational leadership and gender policies. She has local, national and international experience in the area of gender and education and the wellbeing of young Black women.
This paper draws on research undertaken with black women leaders within the educational field. The chapter contributes to the literature on leadership and identity by examining how race, gender and class may confer disadvantage or bestow privilege in accessing leadership positions. Both studies (Curtis, Showumi: 2014) asked the women to identify their influences on their journeys and addresses the theme of Intersectional Narrative and Voicing.
The theoretical framework used challenges inequitable racialised systems and applies Critical Race Theory (CRT). The use of CRT centralises ‘race’ and racism, opening up wider debates on the intersections which affect black women’s lives, and setting a context in which history informs our present-day understanding of being racialised and gendered (King, 1988; Crenshaw, 1989). Culturally relevant theories are needed that address the needs of black women and their lived experiences (Moseley-Smith, 2008). Further complexities exist in their bi-cultural lives, in which they pass between the dominant culture and the culture which they identify as their own.
Examining issues of race and gender as potential outcomes of marginalisation has given depth to this research, which has also examined their histories and policy development, including further potential barriers to black women’s success. Findings showed that there are some clear issues around the ways in which society continues to identify black women which present the obstacle of race. Equally important is acknowledging what Copeland Carson (2006) describes as the integration of our dual identities. These women identify with the oral traditions that link to Critical Race Theory (CRT) and black feminism, and demonstrate the influences that strengthen their identity or sense of self by sharing their stories individually and collectively in this process (Solórzano and Yosso, 2002). They reveal their use of spiritual strength and their roles as nurturers in their families in developing a wider community approach. Their skills, knowledge and practices are shared through their cultural insights and the developed competences which are often described as part of their ‘cultural wealth’ (Yosso, 2005). This study presents a critical insight into their leadership through the lens of CRT and black feminism whilst seeking to transform racialised hierarchies in the educational field.
The methodology used in this research draws from an interpretive paradigm and relates to the narrative analysis used through the lens of CRT. This blended theoretical framework will deepen the understanding of the multiple factors that influence and affect black women as leaders.
