For Black Women Who Have Reconsidered Flipping School Boards When Letters and Lawsuits Weren’t Enough: A Case Study on the Power Shifting Efforts of Black Women for a Better Education (BW4BE)Pinchback-Johnson, Allyce La'Fay (2024) For Black Women Who Have Reconsidered Flipping School Boards When Letters and Lawsuits Weren’t Enough: A Case Study on the Power Shifting Efforts of Black Women for a Better Education (BW4BE). Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)
AbstractFor decades, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) has blatantly disregarded and ostracized Black caregivers and community members who have attempted to address concerns about the educational experience of Black students. The only moderately successful strategy was political activism led by Dr. Barbara Sizemore in the 1970s to secure a board majority, who fired an ineffective superintendent and hired a transformational leader who improved outcomes for Black children. In 2020, Black Women for a Better Education (BW4BE) was formed to bring renewed visibility to the plight of Black PPS students. After an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the PPS board not to renew the contract of the previous superintendent, BW4BE formed a political action committee (PAC) to support candidates for PPS board. After successful cycles in 2021 and 2023, BW4BE secured a school board majority who is poised to transform outcomes for Black PPS students. Through an artifact analysis, interviews with school board slate members, and a sister circle with BW4BE founders, this case study answered two inquiry questions, 1) What were the contributing factors to BW4BE’s success in shifting power from PPS by flipping the school board? 2) How does the Black mothering tradition influence the way Black women show up as community organizers for school reform? Utilizing an endarkened feminist epistemology focused on Black women’s ways of knowing, the case study chronicled BW4BE’s inception, power shifting, and programming. Key findings about the success of BW4BE’s power shifting efforts included the community’s ongoing frustration with PPS, the desire for new school board representation, and circumstances surrounding the pandemic and racial reckoning of 2020. BW4BE’s foundation in the Black mothering tradition provided mission alignment, safety, and a hyperfocus on Black children. This case study highlighted the need to revisit the history of Black educational activism in Pittsburgh, take bold action in the face of fear and hierarchy, and acknowledge the ancestral connections to Black education justice work. The study concluded with reflection on the possibilities for a school board majority, alternatives to traditional urban schooling for Black children, recommendations for education-focused role groups, and an overview of BW4BE’s future work. Share
Details
MetricsMonthly Views for the past 3 yearsPlum AnalyticsActions (login required)
|
![[feed]](/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}