Protect Black Women Teachers: Influencing Sustainability Through Mental Health Literacy

Abstract

Critical Black women teachers (BWTs) play a vital role in education. They employ pedagogies that are political in nature and effective in outcome, particularly for Black students in urban schools. However, despite their impact, BWTs leave the profession at rates higher than all other teachers. Therefore, this study engaged sista circle methodology to explore how post-service critical BWTs reflected on their teaching experiences, specifically regarding their mental health and the role it had on their decision to leave the profession. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to key stakeholders to support critical BWTs’ mental health and sustainability in urban schools.

Keywords

critical Black women teachers teacher mental health teacher sustainability

Historically, Black women teachers (BWTs) have been actively involved in the political struggle for educational equity (Dixson, 2003). However, this struggle's momentum was interrupted by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which detrimentally impacted Black teachers, nearly 80% of whom were women (Fultz, 1995). For decades after Brown, thousands of Black educators were subject to racist policies and practices that dismissed them from Black schools, denied them employment in white schools, paid them less than less qualified white teachers, and offered them positions lower than their qualifications warranted (Hudson & Holmes, 1994; Tillman, 2004). Certain effects of Brown have proven to be long-term and still exist today. For example, the presence of BWTs in P12 schools has continued to decline, with them representing only 5% of the teaching force today (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020). Further, the reverence and familial trust that Black communities once held for Black educators was damaged after Black schools were closed and many of the Black teachers who remained were demoted and moved into spaces harming Black students (Carrol, 2017; Foster, 1993).

Critical Black Women Teachers

Even so, the pedagogical practices of many BWTs today reflect the spirit of those who served in segregated Black schools, having a clear political charge with the primary goals of protecting Black children and liberating all children (Dillard, 2022; Dixson & Dingus, 2008; McKinney de Royston, 2020). Their politicized caring frameworks illustrate how BWTs interrupt the racialized trauma within schools and unapologetically value Black students as children who are worthy of quality education. In doing so, BWTs who utilize these frameworks increase their Black students’ motivation and effort to succeed, critical thinking capacity, enjoyment of school, racial and cultural pride, and character development; all of which position them “for academic, economic, civic, and social success” (Carrol, 2017, 2020, p. 8; Leath et al., 2021). Thus, in recognition of the variety among BWTs’ pedagogical approaches and cultural responsiveness, the present study focuses explicitly on those who practice emancipatory pedagogies (Cherry-McDaniel, 2018). Duncan (2019) leveraged the seminal work of Cooper, Ellis, Woodson, and Du Bois to describe emancipatory pedagogies as teaching methods that (a) demonstrate high personal and academic expectations, (b) cultivate students’ positive racial self-perceptions, and (c) develop students’ critical consciousness and activism. Aligned with Ladson-Billings’ (1995) culturally relevant pedagogy, this approach can only be effectively undertaken by teachers who possess political clarity and a sense of urgency to ameliorate the racism and oppression present throughout their students’ socialization (Acosta et al., 2018).

Critical Black Women Teachers’ Mental Health

However, while BWTs have a legacy of practicing emancipatory pedagogy, they are tasked to do so while also navigating constant macro- and micro-level misogynoir (Acosta, 2019; Acosta et al., 2018; Bailey, 2021; Dillard, 2022). Specifically, while protecting their Black students from racialized harm, critical BWTs also directly contend with policies, infrastructures, schoolwide procedures, and peer interactions that attempt to tokenize them and/or diminish their proficiency (Acosta, 2019; Carrol, 2017; McKinney de Royston et al., 2021). Misogynoir, a term conceptualized by Moya Bailey in 2008 refers to, “the uniquely co-constitutive racialized and sexist violence that befalls Black women as a result of their simultaneous and interlocking oppression at the intersection of racial and gender marginalization” (Bailey, 2021, p. 1). BWTs who go beyond their contractual duties for their students while also navigating their own experiences of misogynoir are at increased risk of stress, job dissatisfaction, fatigue, psychological distress, and turnover (Hancock et al., 2020; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020). Too often, BWTs are not equipped with the necessary tools to be able to “identify the shifting manifestations and consequences of racism” (Mosely, 2018, p. 272), which ultimately pushes them out of the profession (Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020). As such, while ample literature discusses BWTs’ consistently high attrition rates, the literature is missing a thorough examination of the role mental health plays in such rates. This type of investigation is necessary to identify practical solutions that support the sustainability of BWTs in urban schools.

Accordingly, the purpose of this qualitative study was to identify how mental health relates to BWTs’ departure from teaching, and to recommend measures that would support their sustainability in the profession. We first frame this investigation in Black feminist thought before providing a review of literature regarding BWTs’ historical and contemporary role in education. We then discuss our methodological approach, sista circle methodology (SCM), and analyze qualitative data to determine the role mental health played in post-service BWTs’ decision to leave teaching. We then discuss the implications of our findings and offer policy and practice recommendations for key stakeholders to strengthen how they support the valuable work and sustainability of BWTs in urban schools.

Theoretical Framework

The present study is framed by Black feminist thought (BFT), which centers the lived experiences and legitimate knowledges of Black women to foster their empowerment and social justice. Central to BFT are several themes that expose the layers of oppression faced by Black women and highlight the many ways they resist and confront those oppressions. Among the themes of BFT are Black women's intersectionality, power to self-define, acts of resistance, controlling images, and unpaid labor (Collins, 2000; Crenshaw, 1989; hooks, 1981).

Though it had been previously conceptualized by several Black women scholars, Crenshaw (1989) coined the term intersectionality, naming that the raced and gendered experiences of Black women had been erased from feminist and anti-racist discourse. Inspiring the aforementioned concept of misogynoir, Crenshaw's (1989) observed that oppression occurring at the intersection of being Black and being woman intensifies one's experiences of both racism and sexism. To this end, Crenshaw (1989) explains how Black women have been disregarded in anti-discrimination policy and legislation, thus effectively eliminating accountability for discrimination at the nexus of gender and race.

However, the shared experiences of discrimination among Black women can indeed be unique, especially since stereotypical and caricatured images have been widely adopted and attributed to Black women who demonstrate traditions and characteristics atypical to white femininity. These negative images, which Collins (2000) argues are created to control Black women, further perpetuate their oppression, and contribute to the normalization of misogynoiristic violence toward Black women (Bailey, 2021; Collins, 2000). Examples of such images are mammies and matriarchs, both of which limit and trivialize the contributions of Black women. Furthermore, historically, Black women tend to compartmentalize their trauma and resiliency, thus making their healing from such violence difficult. Ricks (2018) asserts that the ways Black women may perceive and establish themselves within the world based on controlling images can lead to them living in a state of normalized chaos, which is a defense mechanism to diminish life disruptions and other negative experiences as normal parts of life (Ricks, 2018). As such, normalizing chaos leads to an evolution of self-violence and trauma under the premises of martyrdom (Ricks, 2018). When this narrative is disrupted within the BFT framework, Black women are then positioned to fully tend to their mental health needs.

Many of the Black women who disrupt normalized chaos understand that stereotypical images are intended to control and oppress them, and they challenge stereotypes by embracing their power of self-definition (Collins, 2000; Rollins, 1985). By reclaiming this power, Black women are emboldened to dispel controlling images placed on them by choosing to operate outside of stereotypical narratives, or by redefining the underlying assumptions that uphold the images. Within urban school settings, critical BWTs leverage ancestral and cultural knowledges to self-define how good teaching looks for Black students. They then boldly operate from this self-definition, even while being stereotyped, marginalized, and isolated (Acosta et al., 2018; Collins, 2000; Watson, 2017).

Literature Review

Self-defining is one of many acts of resistance carried out by Black women. Specifically in education, BWTs have historically and contemporarily resisted the norms and curricula that center whiteness while marginalizing Black people (Dixson, 2003; Muhammad et al., 2020). In urban classrooms, BWTs often volunteer their unpaid labor to ensure the progression of the Black race by way of fostering academic excellence among their Black students (Farinde-Wu, 2018; Hill-Jackson, 2017). BWTs become othermothers toward their students and operate as warm demanders to facilitate their learning which extends far beyond academics (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002; Foster, 1993; Ware, 2006). They fight to protect their students from oppression while also demonstrating urgency for their students to meet their academic and social potential, which they insist is great (Acosta, 2019; Dillard, 2022; McKinney de Royston et al., 2021).

Indeed, BWTs play a crucial role in the learning and development of all students, and especially Black students in urban schools. The work they do to maximize the achievement of Black students is historically unparalleled, however the cost has been great (Acosta, 2019). BWTs endure great amounts of stress, racial battle fatigue, psychological distress, and other forms of trauma that often impact their longevity in urban schools (Acosta, 2019; Farinde-Wu & Fitchett, 2016; Hancock et al., 2020; Milner, 2020; Pizarro & Kohli, 2020). Accordingly, it is necessary to thoroughly unpack and analyze the layers of commitment BWTs hold toward educating the Black community, as well as the factors that contribute to their psychological distress in carrying out this commitment. This way, it becomes possible to establish a system that adequately prepares BWTs to practice their exemplary pedagogies safely and sustainably (Acosta et al., 2018).

Historical Significance of Black Women Teachers in Black Education

Collins (2000) conceptualized Black women's activism as having two dimensions of struggle: struggle for group survival and struggle for institutional transformation. This has been the case regarding their educational activism since their forced establishment in the United States (Dillard, 2022; Dixson, 2003; Royster, 2000). Historically and contemporarily, critical BWTs' pedagogies have been rooted in activism and resistance, especially against anti-Black racism (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002; Case, 1997; Dixson & Dingus, 2008; Farinde-Wu, 2018; Ware, 2006). As resistance against the racist and sexist violence they were facing, enslaved Black women channeled their traditional West African cultural roles as storytellers to “‘read,’ name, then ‘paint’ the world so that others could see it, understand its truths and consequences, and be compelled to act in the interest of the preservation of the community or ‘the race’” (Royster, 2000, p. 113). Royster (2000) further explained that, because of their daring and successful activism while enslaved, Black women “came out of two hundred years of legal oppression with a sense of self-worth as capable, tenacious, and self-reliant. They were confident in their abilities to work hard and to hold themselves and others together in the face of opposition” (p. 113). This confidence was evidenced by their immediate action to advance Black education.

Black women educational pioneers such as Catherine Williams Ferguson (1779–1854), Ann Marie Becroft (1805–1833), Lucy Craft Laney (1854–1933), Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964), Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955), Charlotte Hawkins Brown (1883–1961), Marion Thompson Wright (1905–1962), Ruby Jackson Gainer (1913–1994), and many others established a legacy for BWTs’ resistance and classroom-based activism (Loder-Jackson et al., 2016; Muhammad et al., 2020; Royster, 2000). After the abolishment of slavery, BWTs carried the weight of liberating the Black community through education with scarce resources and amid racial terrorism (Dillard, 2022). While white women dominated the white teaching force because it was widely considered to be a means of preserving conservative traditions, most of the Black teaching force was comprised of Black women who worked to maintain their traditions of resistance and social activism (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002; Hill-Jackson, 2017).

BWTs’ emancipatory pedagogies have been described in ways such as womanist caring (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002), othermothering (Case, 1997; Foster, 1993), warm demander pedagogy (Irvine & Fraser, 1998; Ware, 2006), and others that all recognize BWTs’ teaching as a revolutionary act. Each of the conceptualizations emphasize BWTs’ genuine care for their students in addition to the high rigor and expectations they hold, which foster academic excellence among their Black students. Indeed, prior to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling against de jure segregation, Walker (2000) found in her research that BWTs demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of student learning and effective teaching strategies. However, after schools were desegregated in 1954, Black students began getting bussed to white schools, and BWTs in the South were lawfully and systematically pushed out of the teaching profession (Hill-Jackson, 2017; Tillman, 2004). The effects were long-lasting, as today, BWTs make up only 5% of the teaching profession (NCES, 2020).

However, while less in number, BWTs continue to resist the harm Black students face in urban classrooms. Studies reveal that Black women enter the profession as an act of service to the Black community, serve in urban schools to ensure their far-reaching impact on Black students, and use their classrooms as platforms for social and political activism (Dixson & Dingus, 2008; Farinde-Wu, 2018; McKinney de Royston, 2020). However, this resistance does not come without challenges. While their passion and commitment remain present, their experiences of misogynoir and racial battle fatigue contribute to several mental health concerns, which can ultimately contribute to their burnout and attrition (Acosta, 2019; Hancock et al., 2020).

The Current Role of Black Women Teachers in Urban Education

Today, many BWTs continue to exhibit the same commitment and pedagogical excellence that has been present among them throughout history (Acosta, 2019; Dillard, 2022; Dixson & Dingus, 2008; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; McKinney de Royston, 2020; Watson, 2017). In their study of BWTs’ workplace satisfaction, Farinde-Wu and Fitchett (2016) found that some BWTs prefer to serve in urban schools. Farinde-Wu (2018) then found that this preference, which she conceptualized as the urban factor, is influenced by BWTs’ desire to work in settings that mirror their own educational experiences and allow them to make a critical impact on students. Watson (2017) also found that some BWTs teach in urban schools with intentions to promote equity and social justice. The BWTs in Watson’s (2017) longitudinal study demonstrated a race-full ideological standpoint, which she defined as “a struggle towards understanding the root causes of a racially marginalized group's experiences with particular attention to institutionalized oppression from the perspectives of that group while creating positive definitions of who they are rooted in their own humanity” (p. 223). This approach to teaching characterizes the pedagogies of many BWTs. Beauboeuf (1997) used the term politicized mothering to describe the practices of BWTs who leverage their knowledge, beliefs, and life experiences to center social justice in their teaching. Beauboeuf-Lafontant (2002) further conceptualized BWTs’ pedagogy to be womanist in nature, since their approach demonstrates how they embrace their maternal instincts, regard teaching as a political act, and maintain an ethic of risk in their work.

According to Beauboeuf-Lafontant (2002), BWTs’ embrace of the maternal is exemplified by the familial and urgent way they care for their students. Similarly, they demonstrate political clarity by centering their students’ lived realities in their approach to teaching. Finally, BWT's ethic of risk lies in their constant “engagement with oppressive realities… in spite of [their] recognition that social injustice is deep-seated and not easily dismantled” (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002, p. 80). All three of these characteristics of BWTs align with other scholars’ conceptualizations of BWTs’ emancipatory pedagogies (e.g., Foster, 1993; Ware, 2006; Watson, 2017, etc.). As such, there is a heightened ancestral influence on the pedagogical excellence of many contemporary critical BWTs (Acosta et al., 2018; Dillard, 2022). For example, othermothering, described by Beauboeuf (1997), Foster (1993), and Ware (2006) as a staple component of BWTs’ pedagogy, has been a cultural role embraced among Black women across the Diaspora for centuries (Case, 1997; Foster, 1993). Similarly, Black women have been central to the liberation of Black people throughout colonial time, engaging in pedagogical activism since and before the establishment of Black schools in the United States (Irvine & Hill, 1990; Muhammad et al., 2020). However, while teaching toward liberation, BWTs are tasked to manage the psychological implications that result from confronting the direct and institutional barriers their students face, as well as the direct and institutional misogynoir they face (Hancock et al., 2020; McKinney de Royston et al., 2021; Milner, 2020).

Psychological Implications of BWTs’ Dedication

Collins (2000) called out the trend in literature to frame Black women's unpaid labor as a form of resistance rather than one of exploitation. However, perhaps it is possible that both perspectives are true, considering that many BWTs enter the profession essentially to go beyond their contractual duties in order to ensure students are psychologically safe, physically cared for, and emotionally loved (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002; Case, 1997; Dixson & Dingus, 2008; McKinney de Royston, 2020; McKinney de Royston et al., 2021; Ware, 2006). Even so, as suggested by Collins (2000), the broader literature is lacking a comparable interrogation into the ways BWTs’ unpaid labor is exploited, though this area of scholarship has gained more attention recently.

The job of any educator is stressful. In fact, research suggests that the teachers experience stress at higher rates than individuals in other careers (American Federation of Teachers & Badass Teachers Association, 2017; Schutz & Zembylas, 2009). Further, teachers in urban schools experience more psychological distress than those who serve in non-urban schools (Lee et al., 2020). Accordingly, the unpaid labor of BWTs in urban schools, which is often met with layered oppression rather than support, establishes a burden that too often leads to their burnout (Acosta, 2019; Milner, 2020; Mosely, 2018). Specifically, BWTs are at increased risk for racial battle fatigue, which is the mental and emotional toll for facing racism daily (Smith, 2004). Smith et al. (2006) noted the following:

The stress of unavoidable front-line racial battles in historically white spaces leads to people of color feeling mentally, emotionally, and physically drained. The stress from racial microaggressions can become lethal when the accumulation of physiological symptoms of racial battle fatigue are untreated, unnoticed, misdiagnosed, or personally dismissed. (p. 301)

McKinney de Royston et al. (2021) captured the initial stages of this trajectory for BWTs in urban classrooms, stating that they “continually place themselves on the frontlines—discursively and physically—by denouncing the racialized harm and neglect Black children experience” (p. 70). As such, BWTs continue to press on in their fight for social justice, even at the cost of their own health (hooks, 1981; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; Pizarro & Kohli, 2020). This tendency is often mislabeled as resilience, which in turn perpetuates the mammy stereotype and leads to BWTs' psychological needs going unaddressed (Collins, 2000; Donovan & West, 2015; Jeffries, 2015). BWTs in urban schools who constantly offer their unpaid labor in the face of misogynoir and without support pay a great toll. They are challenged with an increased risk of stress, physical and mental health concerns, and racial battle fatigue, all of which lead to their burnout from the profession (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; McCarthy et al., 2020; Pizarro & Kohli, 2020). Accordingly, it is necessary for stakeholders to acknowledge and address these realities and establish protective factors designed to ensure the longevity of BWTs in urban schools.

Methodology

The purpose of this study was to identify the role of mental health in BWTs’ attrition from urban schools and recommend measures to support their professional sustainability. The following research questions were explored to meet this purpose:

How do post-service critical BWTs describe their mental health while teaching in urban schools?

What role does mental health play in post-service critical BWTs’ decision to leave the teaching profession?

The data used for this analysis derived from a larger qualitative study that utilized sista circle methodology (SCM; Johnson, 2015) to explore the reflective professional experiences of post-service critical BWTs. SCM is a type of collaborative inquiry specifically for Black women to examine the similarities and nuances in their lived experiences (Bridges & McGee, 2011; Johnson, 2015). This design was chosen because it honors and seeks to fully understand the lived experiences of Black women, as they shared through affinity-based dialogue. The goal through using SCM was to establish a research context that was supportive, authentic, and culturally relevant, which would allow the participants to engage in a shared process of meaning-making. Accordingly, this approach calls for the researcher to engage participants in group dialogue through sista circles, which are distinguishable by their communication dynamics, centrality of empowerment, and positioning of the researcher as a participant. Specifically, SCM encourages (a) authentic verbal and non-verbal discourse between the Black women researchers and participants; (b) the establishment of a non-hierarchical, supportive, and empowering “sister-to-sister context” (Johnson, 2015, p. 46); and (c) active participation from the researcher, as necessary to center empowerment, encourage connectedness, and maintain a mutually beneficial experience (Johnson, 2015).

Participant Selection

We engaged in purposive sampling by sharing the call for participants via social media and email communication. Inclusion criteria for the study included (a) self-identification as a Black woman; (b) former full-time teaching status with at least three years of lead teaching experience in an urban school; and (c) self-reported identification as a critical teacher who practiced emancipatory pedagogy. Definitions for critical teacher, emancipatory pedagogy, and urban school were provided in the call for participants. Aligned with contemporary scholarship, critical teachers were defined as those who demonstrate political clarity and a commitment to disrupting inequity through emancipatory pedagogies (Duncan, 2019; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; McKinney de Royston, 2020). A definition for emancipatory pedagogies followed, which cited the following from Duncan (2019):

teaching methods by which teachers (a) hold high expectations of their students, (b) make their students knowledgeable of the positive contributions of their race, and (c) work to help their students develop a critical lens or consciousness to examine the root causes of their oppression and develop ways to end it. (p. 198)

Finally, applying Milner (2012), and Milner and Lomotey’s (2014) conceptualizations, urban school was defined as one who serves majority students of color and regularly faces challenges such as overcrowding, underfunding, and inadequate resources.

Women replied to the call via email to express their interest in participating, to which we replied with a link to a form that provided detailed information regarding the purpose of the study; participant inclusion criteria; an electronic consent form; and a pre-survey to gather their demographic information, pseudonym preference, and availability to participate in an interview and sista circle. The final sample consisted of a 15 post-service critical BWTs who were diverse in age, location, and teaching experience. Table 1 outlines each participant's teaching experience and sista circle participation.

Table 1.

Participants’ Teaching Experience and Sista Circle Participation.

Pseudonym	Years Taught	Grade Level	Teaching Location
Sista Circle 1 Participants
Janay	2008–2015	Middle	Winston Salem, NC; Charlotte, NC
Dionna	2016–2021	Middle, High	Charlotte, NC
Noelle	2015–2021	Middle	Charlotte, NC
Carmen	2011–2019	Middle, High	Harlem, NY; Brooklyn, NY
Sista Circle 2 Participants
Adelaide	2014–2018	Middle	Brooklyn, NY
Nina	2016–2019	High	Charlotte, NC
Joy	2015–2018	High	Charlotte, NC
Sista Circle 3 Participants
Jamie	2000–2003, 2011–2012	High	Columbia, SC; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC
June	2015–2018	Middle	Charlotte, NC; Los Angeles, CA
Saige	2009–2016	Elementary, Middle	Toledo, OH; Houston, TX
Jada	1999–2002	Middle	Las Vegas, NV
Lena	2012–2021	Middle	Charlotte, NC
Marissa	2011–2018	Middle, High	Nashville, TN
Amara	2017–2021	High, Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten	Charlotte, NC
Brittney	2015–2018	Elementary	Charlotte, NC

Data Collection

First, each participant engaged in a 30- to 60-minute virtual individual pre-interview to provide preliminary data on their teaching experiences and self-perceptions as critical teachers. Following the completion of all pre-interviews, we then conducted three successive semi-structured sista circles via Zoom, each of which lasted approximately 2 hours in length. A sista circle is an affinity space that aligns specifically with the cultural ethos of Black women for them to engage in critical group dialogue, and it is the primary data collection method for SCM. The sista circles in this study invited the participants to communally reflect on their teaching experiences and the factors that led them to leave. Each participant joined one of the sista circles, which were scheduled based on their availability. Initially, five participants were confirmed for each sista circle, however, some of them rescheduled their participation due to unanticipated changes in their schedules. Thus, the first sista circle included four participants, the second included three participants, and the third included eight participants. Finally, to ensure the data's authenticity, 15 minutes were reserved at the end of each sista circle for the participants to record a written reflection of their summative thoughts regarding their decision to leave teaching.

Analysis

All the pre-interviews and sista circles were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. We then engaged in immersive engagement with all the transcripts, which is a process that includes multiple data readings, pre-coding, categorizing, and identifying and refining themes that emerged from the data (Ravitch & Carl, 2021; Saldaña, 2016). Thus, each pre-interview was transcribed and pre-coded before the first sista circle was conducted, and each sista circle was transcribed and pre-coded prior to the next one being conducted. This process allowed the researchers to begin immersing themselves in the data, engage in reflexive journaling, and determine where emphasis would be necessary in subsequent stages of data collection. After all interviews, sista circles, and final reflections were transcribed and precoded, we categorized them based on the research purpose, then refined them into themes informed by the research questions (Saldaña, 2016).

Data Validity

Lincoln and Guba (1986) developed five criteria for data authenticity to increase validity in qualitative research findings. The researchers followed Lincoln and Guba’s (1986) five criteria, which are fairness, ontological authenticity, educative authenticity, catalytic authenticity, and tactical authenticity. The researchers achieved fairness in this by providing detailed informed consent to all participants, including all their perspectives in the analysis, and engaging in data triangulation. Regarding ontological authenticity, which is concerned with allowing participants the means to engage in dialogue, the sista circles were facilitated as spaces for genuine, nonjudgmental experience-sharing (Bridges & McGee, 2011). Next, we achieved the educative authenticity criterion, which encourages the participants’ access to differing perspectives, by fostering open spaces that encouraged participants to express varying standpoints without fear of appraisal. Finally, catalytic authenticity is the participants’ willingness to act once the study is completed, and tactical authenticity is the participants’ ability to act once the study is completed (Lincoln & Guba, 1986). As such, part of the inclusion criteria for this study was that the participants practiced emancipatory pedagogies while teaching, which ensured that tactical authenticity was met. Regarding tactical authenticity, we directed certain dialogue during the sista circles to be action-oriented, particularly when exploring strategies for the participants to prioritize their mental wellness, and opportunities for activism regarding BWT sustainability.

Findings

This study explored the following research questions to identify the role of mental health in critical BWTs’ attrition from urban schools: (a) How do post-service critical BWTs describe their mental health while teaching in urban schools? (b) What role does mental health play in post-service critical BWTs’ decision to leave the teaching profession? Through data analysis, the following paradoxical themes emerged as findings: self-sacrificing to liberate and leaving to self-preserve.

Self-Sacrificing to Liberate

Throughout the interviews and sista circles, the participants repeatedly discussed their deep desires to teach as a means to liberate others, and the implications that accompanied those desires. As Black women, the participants discussed how their intersectional experiences of oppression created in them a longing sense of urgency to fight for the liberation of others experiencing oppression. This sense of urgency was not only expressed as a desire, but also as a need since they understood their own liberation to depend on that of others. In Sista Circle 2, Nina expressed the following regarding her perception of freedom:

Black women … are always the ones that don't benefit. Like we are the ones that receive the trickle down. It's like, if we think about the level of advantage and the resources and opportunities and experiences, they trickle down the ladder of hierarchy and we literally are always getting the crumbs and the drops of the system. And it's like, we have realized that we have to liberate all people for us to be able to get it. And it sucks because I got to advocate for your liberation, because if you're not liberated, I can't be liberated because I'm in line behind you.

As described by Nina and others, these BWTs who desire to make a social impact recognize the importance of fighting for the freedom of others. However, this was often expressed as a secondary reflection on their actions, and not as a primary reason they engaged in emancipatory pedagogies. Instead, the conviction held by most participants was solely focused on providing an excellent education to students who were otherwise marginalized. Because the work of the participants, selfless in nature, centered the need to teach students critical thinking and literacy, all of them expressed how detrimental the residual impacts of their pedagogical resistance were.

Marissa, who continually expressed how supportive her administration was of her emancipatory pedagogy throughout her 7-year tenure as a high school teacher, discussed the mental and physical effects of her relentless pursuit of liberation. While describing her experience through pregnancy while teaching, Marissa reflected on the moment she realized that her body was “physically reacting to my work … and I’m on a hospital bed hooked up to monitors, still responding to texts and emails to teachers asking questions about students.” Marissa continued, “clearly, I allowed them to think that that was okay in my journey of wanting to support students.” Thus, Marissa's journey toward liberating her students led her colleagues to depend on her as the “Negro whisperer,” as named by Lena, rather than work alongside her and engage in their own emancipatory pedagogies. This burden of feeling alone in her liberation first manifested physically for Marissa who said, “over time, my heart broke, and that manifested in my mental health shutting down.”

While Marissa had an administration who was supportive and encouraging, she still experienced the weight of isolation in her efforts. This feeling of isolation was expressed by all the participants, many of whom were not led by administration who encouraged their acts of resistance. During Sista Circle 3, Amara began sobbing almost immediately once she started sharing her reflections on leaving the teaching profession. She detailed the systematic way she was pushed out by her administration who punished her emancipatory pedagogy through an action plan. Amara, who taught kindergarten, discussed the harmfulness of the scripted curriculum required by her school, and how she worked hard to meet her students’ learning needs by going off script. Her efforts, while praised by her students and their parents, were received poorly by her administration, who ultimately placed her on an action plan after an unannounced observation that was conducted while she was 7 months pregnant and sick with COVID-19.

Amara's retelling of the bullying and abuse she endured while teaching prompted other women to share similar stories, such as Brittney who reluctantly admitted that the poor leadership she received was from other Black women. This reality, according to Brittney, was “heartbreaking” and a large part of what made her lose hope in her ability to liberate students through teaching and thus decide to leave. This loss of hope was a common thread through the participants’ reflections on leaving the profession. It was revealed as both a cause and an effect of mental and physical health concerns. Because these BWTs entered the profession with such high hopes and expectations to liberate, the realities they faced of so many individuals and systems operating against their mission devastated them.

Leaving to Self-Preserve

As the participants discussed their decisions to leave the profession, emotions among them were high. Ultimately, most of the participants left the profession because it was not mentally sustainable. While Nina, Adelaide, Joy, Lena, Noelle, Marissa, and Amara named the mental health concerns that manifested from their work (e.g., anxiety and depression), each of the remaining participants described their mental unwellness. During Sista Circle 2, Adelaide discussed the anxiety attack she had on her way to work one day. In response, Nina described how she had the same experience on the other side of the country while driving to work. Taken aback by the similarities in their experiences, Nina expressed the following:

It shouldn't be that Black women coming into education can relate that in-depth about experiences that have never met. You talking about having a panic attack on a ride over, I'm thinking about having panic attacks in my car, riding in silence back home. That shouldn't be so relatable at all. That's dangerous, to me.

Concerns with mental health were brought up in other spaces as well. Noelle described in Sista Circle 1 how she began engaging in therapy during her second year of teaching in order to unpack the heavy emotions she constantly felt as a result of her work. Joy, as much love as she described having for her students, exclaimed in Sista Circle 3 that she would never go back to teaching because of the effects it had on her mental wellness. In her own words, “You know I love my kids. Like the kids are what I did at for, but I would wake up every day, not wanting to go to work.” This sentiment was shared throughout all three sista circles and several of the interviews, and many participants described it as a primary contributor to their departure from the profession.

However, the intense need to leave teaching that almost all the participants described was accompanied by a heavy feeling of guilt that was difficult for them to work through. Some of the participants realized during the sista circles that they are still experiencing that guilt. For example, Carmen wrote the following in her final reflection:

Reminiscing about my teaching career brings lots of intense joy but also trauma. Needing to leave my classroom for a taste of freedom although knowing I have left my students in bondage is a realization I would like to avoid because I am not sure there is adequate enough response. Going back to the classroom still entails engaging in anti-Black school policies and being ostracized when anything is done differently. Developing my own school still includes getting involved in systemic inequalities; even in all Black spaces, anti-Blackness still exists. So while I'm sure there is a glass half full approach I could take to processing, right now it's really wild to consider leaving the magic of being a critical Black woman teacher.

Other women shared Carmen's sentiments, including Lena who, when asked during her interview how it felt to make the decision to leave, expressed the following:

Oh, I cried like a baby. It was like I was leaving my children to the enslavers so I could go on for freedom. That's the best way for me to describe it. I'm going to leave my babies in the hands of their enslavers so I can go be free. And it really, it still makes me well up. And then what I'm trying to do now is to one by one, go back and get educators so they can see what it feels like and know what it feels like to be free so they can go back for those kids. But it makes me emotional to this day.

As expressed by both Carmen and Lena, as excruciating as it was to make the decision to walk away from teaching, the participants in this study did not walk away from their conviction to liberate. Many of them maintained their passion for liberating students, which made leaving the classroom develop a sort of resentment for teaching. As Carmen said in her interview, “I don't think I had realized how intensely I was resentful of being a teacher at that point.” Nina gave a similar, more detailed reflection of her feelings in Sista Circle 2:

I just hated that I had to choose. I hated that I had to choose between protecting my children and making sure that they were safe and okay, and my own sanity. I hate that it had to be a tradeoff, that I couldn't get both, that I didn't live in a world where I don't have the option to get both.

Regardless of the heavy emotions they carried about leaving the classroom, the participants were unwavering in their commitment. Marissa, who ended up hospitalized while she was pregnant due to the stresses of teaching, remained devoted to liberating her students. She said, “this job is starting to impact my pregnancy, and me, and my health; and I'm going to have to take a break and kind of reassess my entry points into this thing as an educator.” Instead of walking away completely, Marissa strategized a different way to make an impact. This was common across all the participants, and at the time of data collection all but two of them were still working in education in different capacities.

Therefore, while the participants in this study worked at different schools across the country, taught different grade levels and subject areas, and worked in P12 education at different points in time, they shared a common charge to fight against oppression and all were faced with unanticipated isolation and resistance. The participants’ teaching careers were identifiable by the ways they self-sacrificially worked to liberate their students. However, maintaining this type of selfless commitment led them to a mental unwellness, which ultimately forced them to respond to the internal ultimatum of choosing between their students’ liberation or their own.

Discussion and Recommendations

The findings of this study offer critical insight that should be considered when identifying ways to support the recruitment, preparation, and professional sustainability of BWTs. There is a trend in the literature that Collins (2000) calls out, which tends to frame Black women's unpaid labor as a form of resistance rather than one of exploitation. The findings of this study argue that both are true: BWTs’ unpaid labor is both a form of resistance and a form of exploitation. They work beyond their contractual duties and resist the expectations for teachers to assist in indoctrinating students. However, too often ignored is the simultaneous truth that their abilities to foster critical thinking and quality education is exploited by colleagues and administrators who choose to tokenize and/or marginalize them rather than adequately compensate and/or learn from them. For the participants in this study, these experiences as well as direct harm and isolation created environments that were unsustainable enough to push the BWTs out of the profession.

Several scholars have discussed possible solutions to retaining BWTs in the classroom, and most of them acknowledge the importance of beginning with intentional recruitment (e.g., Farinde-Wu et al., 2020; Gist et al., 2018). Some have also suggested incorporating supports that aid in BWTs' mental health as they navigate their experiences in urban schools (e.g., Hancock et al., 2020; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; Mosely, 2018). Jorm et al. (1997) contend that it is necessary for the public to have a sense of mental health literacy, which they defined as the “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention” (p. 182). To make his argument, Jorm (2012) pointed out that most people understand the steps they can take to prevent and treat certain major physical diseases but are generally unaware of the signs and treatment options for mental illness and unwellness.

Accordingly, Jorm (2012) explained the necessary knowledges for members of the public to develop mental health literacy, which are as follows: (a) recognize developing mental disorders, which facilitate early help-seeking; (b) know professional help and treatment options; (c) understand effective self-help strategies; (d) be able to provide mental health first aid to others; and (e) know of mental illness preventative measures. For critical BWTs, acquiring mental health literacy could be a means of protection and self-preservation, which can ultimately assist in their sustainability in the teaching profession. Following, we provide recommendations for educator preparation programs and urban school administrators to develop healthy work environments for critical BWTs.

Recommendations for Educator Preparation Programs

Systems must be put in place proactively to support the overall and long-term sustainability of BWTs. Different from retention, BWTs’ sustainability can be influenced by “helping schools and other educational institutions become more welcoming and supportive places for them, where their professional practice can be cultivated over time” (Mosely, 2018, p. 269). The participants in this study did not have a place to process their experiences and have them recognized, validated, and buffered. If they were provided the proper expectations and resources prior to entering education, their adverse experiences may not have led to their departure. As such, we recommend that initiatives focused on building their mental health literacy begin during BWTs’ pre-service training. Educator preparation programs (EPPs) can do this in several ways, including the following, which are discussed further in the next sections:

Offer a course on mental wellness that is cross listed with another department.

Budget the compensation of a Black woman counselor to facilitate sequential workshops focused on maintaining mental wellness in urban schools.

Develop an optional plan of study that focuses on teachers’ mental wellness.

Cross-listed course offering

One potential way to buffer pre-service BWTs’ increased risk for stress and mental health concerns is to offer them the opportunity to take a course that focuses on mental health and wellness. While this is not typically an option within undergraduate education majors, other departments may already offer courses that provide practical guidance to begin building mental health literacy. For example, if an institution has a psychology department, courses that focus on adjustment psychology can help pre-service teachers understand the process of adjustment and factors that may influence adaptation. This can be helpful long-term, giving BWTs tools to be able to identify psychological reactions they may be having to the critical issues they encounter in the teaching profession. Adjustment psychology courses sometimes also provide approaches to intervention and treatment, which can further assist with their promotion of mental health literacy (Jorm, 2012; Jorm et al., 1997).

For similar outcomes, some institutions may also offer courses within their health department that focus on mental and emotional health from a wellness perspective. Similarly, courses within a sociology department may explore the relationships between demographic variables, social support, stress, and mental wellness. If these types of courses were to be cross-listed and counted toward the completion of pre-service teachers’ degree, BWTs would then have a foundation from which to build their mental health literacy and remain healthy while navigating oppressive systems within their pre-service and in-service experiences. However, a consideration to this approach is that it would provide only a shallow introduction to mental health and wellness, as exposure to one course cannot adequately build the skills necessary for BWTs to be able to effectively identify, assess, and apply the knowledge they learn. The magnitude of this downside could be lessened by offering a supplemental one credit-hour seminar that assists pre-service BWTs in applying the course material to their lived experiences. However, the next recommendation is an approach that could more adequately address the unique needs and experiences of BWTs.

Mental health workshops

Another option to support pre-service BWTs’ mental health literacy is to offer a series of workshops that focuses on maintaining their mental wellness while navigating their pre-service and in-service experiences. These affinity-based workshops should be facilitated by Black women whose expertise lie in the urban educational context. For example, an institution's education department could compensate a current school counseling faculty member who is a Black woman and has experience serving in urban schools to lead these sequential workshops. The content of these workshops should be relevant and practical, covering topics such as BWTs’ historical and contemporary significance, African American Pedagogical Excellence (Acosta et al., 2018), BWTs’ unpaid labor, gendered racism, racial battle fatigue, mental health self-assessment strategies, signs of mental unwellness, mindfulness and other self-help strategies, and mental health help-seeking options.

Offering a series of workshops during pre-service training that attends to the unique mental health needs of BWTs could play a crucial role in increasing their retention and sustainability in urban schools (Donovan & West, 2015; Hancock et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2020). If executed with heightened intentionality, these workshops have the potential to operate as critical professional development (CPD) that provides spaces of affirmation, healing, and resources to “decrease their isolation, strengthen their racial literacy, and increase their capacity to thrive and create change” (Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020, p. 353; Teasdell et al., 2021). While these mental health workshops should be protected racial affinity spaces, our final recommendation for EPPs is an approach that could aid in the development of mental health literacy among all pre-service teachers.

Teacher wellness course sequence

EPPs may also consider developing an optional plan of study for pre-service teachers that focuses on the promotion of mental wellness among teachers, especially in urban schools. In some cases, this plan of study can be prepared into a proposal for a new minor available to education majors. In line with Jorm et al.'s (1997) framework, the courses in this sequence should aim to develop mental health literacy among pre-service teachers who aspire to serve in urban schools. First and throughout, it is necessary to establish a firm, asset-based orientation toward urban schools among the pre-service teachers. Doing so will help to deepen their commitment and desire to serve in this context once discussions move toward challenges of urban schools.

Accordingly, beginning courses in the sequence should unpack the unique features and characteristics of urban schools, including the stressors teachers face. From here, the plan of study should begin developing pre-service teachers’ mental health literacy through courses that build their knowledge of professional resources, self-help strategies, first aid skills, and preventative strategies (Jorm, 2012; Jorm et al., 1997). To maximize effectiveness, the information presented in these courses should always be contextualized within urban schools and coupled with practical application. For example, when exploring self-help and preventative strategies, the course instructor may support students’ exploration of identifying self-care routines that provide the most effective and lasting results. With these tools, pre-service teachers will be better equipped to psychologically manage the demands of serving in urban schools. However, it remains necessary for BWTs to receive continued support within urban schools due to the structural and interpersonal gendered racism that they contend with, which compounds the other stressors faced by all teachers.

Recommendations for Urban School Administrators

Critical professional development

Urban school administrators should support the mental wellness and sustainability of BWTs by providing space and resources for their ongoing affinity-based CPD (Kohli et al., 2015; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; Mosely, 2018). According to Kohli et al. (2015), CPD is a framework that “develops teachers’ critical consciousness by focusing their efforts towards liberatory teaching” (p. 9). To meet this objective, CPD cultivates transformative power among teachers by facilitating authentic dialogue, community building, shared power, and cultural synthesis. Moseley (2018) builds upon this framework, incorporating a racial affinity component for Black teachers. In her study, the affinity-based CPD helped to “[sustain] the holistic health and wellbeing of Black teachers as well as lifting up the artistic talent of Black teachers. Participants gained skills to support their physical, emotional, and social health as teachers and leaders in their community” (p. 273).

Mosely’s (2018) model for sustaining Black teachers through racial affinity CPD is a promising solution to the issues of turnover in urban schools. Similar to the mental health workshop suggestion mentioned previously, these sessions should be led by affirming Black women who are industry professionals and can provide strategies to cultivate mental health literacy, racial literacy, and mental wellness (Mosely, 2018). While Mosely's model invites participation from all Black teachers, we recommend offering this space for BWT specifically, who face layers of gendered racism and oppression that are incomparable to other groups. In their study, Lisle-Johnson and Kohli (2020) created CPD spaces to address BWTs’ isolation, which resulted in the following findings:

Being in a CPD and community that attended to their racial, gender and ideological

marginality led the teachers to reframe their professional experiences as unjust. Through space and time where they could connect with others who share aspects of their identities, critical Black women educators felt seen, valued, and empowered to persevere toward their goals for their communities. Through a CRT lens, we see that the possibilities of self-love, self-efficacy, and empowerment in the face of vast racism is strengthened by collectivity and collective resistance. (p. 354)

As research findings continue to demonstrate, curating intentional spaces for BWTs in urban schools is necessary to support their navigation of racial hostility, feelings of isolation, and mental unwellness; all of which operate to push them out of the teaching profession (Kohli, 2019; Kohli et al., 2015; Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020; Mosely, 2018; Teasdell et al., 2021). Accordingly, urban school administrators should consider providing CPD to support the sustainability of their critical BWTs.

Staff antiracism

For several reasons, school administrators should not rely solely on affinity spaces to support the sustainability of their BWTs. First, while healing, CPD may not be enough to counteract the effects of hostile and misogynoiristic work environments. Secondly, to put the onus on BWTs to cope with their own oppression without confronting the oppression itself would ironically exemplify the violent essence of their weariness and likely produce the opposite result intended. Related, CPD cannot operate as true spaces of healing if BWTs must leave and return to the same harmful work environments. Thus, it is critical that all-staff antiracist work and measures of accountability exist in tandem with the affinity spaces for BWTs. Outside of CPD, school administrators should prioritize cultivating healthy school cultures that are anti-oppressive, placing special emphasis on eliminating the harmful perpetuation of misogynoir. Not only will this type of school commitment help improve BWTs’ career sustainability, but it will also ameliorate the pushout of Black girls (Morris, 2015).

Developing antiracism among all staff members is crucial and has financial implications that will need to be considered in the school's budget, since it is likely that outside professionals will need to be solicited. Additionally, while the implementation of this initiative may look different between schools, it is important that it should not be optional, but rather all staff members demonstrate commitment to the ongoing learning, unlearning, and action that is required to create healthy work environments for BWTs and subsequently everyone. Thus, an accountability system is necessary, which, to be effective, should hold as much intentionality and significance as that of teacher evaluations. Considering the intersectional nature of the oppression Black women face, everyone within schools that demonstrate this amount of time, money, and commitment to protecting BWTs will benefit.

Conclusion

Critical BWTs are the driving force behind creating equitable academic environments and outcomes for Black students (Acosta et al., 2018). Furthermore, BWTs’ pedagogical practices protect Black children, interrupt racialized trauma, and expose white supremacy in education (McKinney de Royston et al., 2021; Watson, 2017). All of this, however, is often at the cost of their mental health (Hancock et al., 2020). There are lasting mental and emotional implications for the unpaid labor and gendered racism BWTs experience (Donovan & West, 2015). These include heightened risks of stress, job dissatisfaction, racial battle fatigue, psychological distress, and turnover (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Lee et al., 2020; Pizarro & Kohli, 2020). In addition to overall mental health concerns, BWTs also often experience extreme isolation, feeling that they are not welcome or supported in the field of education (Lisle-Johnson & Kohli, 2020). However, a viable option to buffer negative outcomes and influence BWTs’ sustainability is to equip them with tools that promote their mental health and overall wellness. One way EPPs can assist in this effort is to provide intentional spaces for pre-service BWTs to gain resources while building community and safety in their identities. Recommendations for EPPs to do so include offering a course on mental wellness during pre-service training, providing BWTs with sequential workshops to build their mental health literacy, and developing a plan of study that focuses on teachers’ mental wellness in urban schools. In addition, once BWTs enter the field, administrators can continue supporting their sustainability by creating space for affinity-based CPD.

The work of BWTs serves as a benefit to everyone, including students of every race, urban schools, and the Black race (Dillard, 2022). Accordingly, it is vital and urgent to support their sustainability in urban classrooms while simultaneously working toward dismantling racism and white supremacy in education. At every stage in their tenure, BWTs need to know that they are seen, heard, and included in education. As such, it is necessary to flip the current narrative of invisibility and turnover among BWTs to one of longevity and contribution in the field of education. To do so, we must provide BWTs with the necessary tools to remain mentally and emotionally healthy while they confront gendered racism and educate students toward liberation.

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Shanique J. Lee

Author Biographies

Shanique J. Lee, PhD is the Education Recruiter for the Cato College of Education, and a Post-Doctoral Fellow for the Urban Education Collaborative at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Lee also completed her undergraduate and doctoral studies at Charlotte, and she earned her master's degree at the University of Georgia. She has over 10 years of experience serving in various capacities as an educator, scholar, and advocate. Through her work, Dr. Lee aims to promote emancipatory, antiracist, and sustainable contexts for teaching and learning.

Stephanie Thomas, PhD has had an amazing journey in education as a teacher, teacher coach, and teacher educator. As a writer, scholar, and educator, Dr. Thomas has over 15 years of experience in educating, coaching, and training teachers. Dr. Thomas's research has been featured in top journals such as the Journal of Negro Education, the Journal of Multicultural Education, and the Journal of African American Males in Education. She has also co-authored several book chapters and books and is excited to present her latest book entitled Political, Legislative, and Economic Solutions to Urban Education and the Implications on Teacher Preparation, being released Fall 2022. Dr. Thomas combines her years of classroom experience with years of research and collaboration with practitioners around ways to support new teachers and teacher educators. She happily serves as an Assistant Professor and MAT Coordinator in the Graduate School of Education at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

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