Telling Our Stories of Leadership: If We Don’t Tell Them They Won’t Be Told

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study is to bring the interlocking system of race, gender, and social class (intersectionality) to the conversation of leadership by examining the leadership experiences of 10 African American women in predominantly White organizations. According to the women in this study, disempowering encounters, being excluded from the good ole boy social network, being the only one, needing validation, and demythicizing (disrupting myth) stereotypical images were the most salient encounters that they experienced. Another finding from this study was the need for sociocultural theories such as Black feminist theory and critical race theory to explain and give voice to the everyday lived experiences of African American women leaders.