Outsiders within the Academy: Strategies for Resistance and Mentoring African American Women

Abstract

Black Feminist Thought is used to identify some of the tensions experienced by African American women faculty holding positions in predominately White institutions: (a) the mammy-sapphire continuum of existence, (b) inequality without reverence to credentials and expertise, and (c) privilege and dismissing intersectionality. Peer mentoring is discussed as a tool of resistance. Other forms of resistance include: using counter narratives, identifying the issue, defining and evaluating self, relinquishing representations offered by others, seeking and using work-life resources, and securing required resources.