“I’VE ONLY GIVEN YOU THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG”: EXPLORING QUARE LITERACIES OF K-12 EDUCATORS

Abstract

“The motivation behind every sentence is the wish to say something real to somebody real.” ― June Jordan, Some of Us Did Not Die: New and Selected Essays

Quare, also known as Black Queer, culture is one of resistance. One of the many ways Black Queer individuals resist structural oppression is by literacies, the ways individuals portray their identities (e.g., fashion, movement, word choice, vocal inflections to name a few). However, when turning to K-12 literacy research, there is a significant gap in the literature illustrating how Black Queer educators use Black Queer literacies (BQL) in traditional schooling spaces. This dissertation investigates BQL as a tool of resistance to white supremacy and antiblackness by centering “self-definition, self-care, and self-determination” (Pritchard, 2017, p. 24). This critical narrative study utilized Quare Theory (Johnson, 2001) to understand BQL uses in creating liberatory spaces for K-12 Black Queer Teachers. The study highlights how BQL can shifting the current research understandings of teacher knowledges by including historically marginalized cultural knowledges, which support teacher retention and educational successes. Additionally, it complicates insights on teacher identity, teacher knowledge, classroom practices influence. The dissertation answers the following three questions: 1. How do Black Queer educators conceptualize BQL; 2. How have Black Queer educators experienced BQL in their educational experiences (including teacher education)?; 3. How do Black Queer educators utilize BQL in their own instructional practices? Data was collected through Kitchen Table dialogues conversation (Haddix, McArthur et al., 2016) with five Black Queer, K-12 educators from the metropolitan area within the Mid-Atlantic. Our conversations underwent two cycles of data coding producing biographical narratives. Presented findings challenge siloed discussions of language, race, gender, and sexuality of Black educators, and create a space within K-12 educational research for BQL. The study concludes with recommendations for teacher education and institutions to begin to affirm and sustain BQL practices of in-service and pre-service educators. Ultimately, the dissertation explores and emphasizes the practices of Black Queer teachers and the need for acknowledgement in traditional K-12 educational spaces.