A CRITICAL FEMINIST METHODOLOGY OF UNDERGRADUATE BLACK WOMXN AT HWIs & HOW THEY DEFINED, CREATED, AND SUSTAINED COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT DURING BLM, COVID-19, AND VIRTUAL LEARNING

Abstract

The simultaneous impact of COVID-19, BLM racial uprisings, and virtual learning caused a societal shift as a global pandemic, global protests, and widespread campus closures placed the world in unprecedented times. Though these societal events had a profound global impact, how undergraduate Black womxn experienced and navigated these times is understudied throughout literature. This study explored how undergraduate Black womxn at historically white institutions (HWIs) defined, created and sustained community and support during the societal context of Black Lives Matter (BLM), COVID-19, and virtual learning. Utilizing Black Feminist Thought and critical feminist methodology, eight collaborators shared their experiences through individual interviews, artifact reviews, and a focus group. The study focused on two guiding questions: 1.) How are undergraduate Black womxn at historically white institutions defining community and support in the context of COVID-19, BLM, and virtual learning? And 2.) How have undergraduate Black womxn at historically white institutions supported and built community with one another during COVID-19, BLM, and virtual learning? The findings revealed these emergent themes: (1) Defining and (Re)Defining Community and Support, (2): Navigating COVID-19, BLM, and Virtual Learning: Emotional Processing, (3): Seeking and/or Continuing Inclusive Curricular Co-Curricular Experiences, (4) BLM & The Pandemic: An Opportunity for Understanding Within and Across the Diaspora, and (5): The Role of Social Media and Technology in Creating and Sustaining Community and Support. The findings illuminate how Black womxn undergraduate students ascribe meaning to community and support and how they traversed the emotional impact of the societal shift.