An Analysis of the Educational Narratives of Reentry Black Women

The purpose of the study was to examine the educational narratives of reentry Black women in an effort to determine how the dynamics of the larger society, which often negatively impact their lives, are played out in higher education. The adult education literature portrays reentry women as a generic class and does not consider the actual cultural diversity of the group. The sample consisted of graduate and undergraduate Black women, including the author, between the ages of thirty-four and fifty-four. Narrative analysis was the methodological approach used and Black feminist thought provided the theoretical framework. Findings revealed that these Black women regularly faced issues involving power relations based on race, gender, class, and color. In responding to these systems of oppression, these women used strategies of silence, negotiation, and resistance.