What Does A PhD Mean to a Black Woman?
Today, Black women account for approximately two thirds of all Blacks or African Americans who have completed four years of college or more in the United States. Black women also hold a significant lead in the attainment of professional degrees relative to black men. “In 2014, there were 93,000 African American women with a professional degree compared to 85,000 Black men. For those under the age of 40, there were 41,000 Black women with a professional degree compared to 18,000 Black men,” (JBHE, 2015). The data shows that there are more and more Black women getting their degrees. So, where are all the educated Black women hiding?
Black women in America have had a longstanding history of race, class and gender oppression. Once regarded as genderless property, Black women were assigned to work the field, prepare the meals, tend to household chores and serve as breeders for their slave masters. “When it was profitable to exploit them as if they were men, they were regarded, in effect, as genderless, but when they could be exploited, punished and repressed in ways suited only for women, they were locked into their exclusively female roles,” (Davis p.6). The dehumanizing conditions that Black women experienced did not end after the abolition of slavery. Arguably, the conditions faced by free Black women post slavery were exacerbated. Now, Black women had to pick up the shattered pieces, patch-up their broken homes, and serve as the head of household for their families. Taking care of the household became a monumental trend that would ultimately lead to Black women’s passion and commitment to getting an education.
Black women’s educational consciousness emerged from Black women of the South during the early 1890s (Boukari, p.2). In 1895, the National Association of Colored Women was establish with a primary focus on education, job opportunities and protection from sexual assaults by white men in the South, (Boukari, p.3). The organization’s motto, “lifting as we climb” symbolizes the members’ allegiance to uplift the race by role modeling their resilience and commitment to education. During this time, education was highly regarded as a means to escape poverty and enhance one’s ability to “secure employment and redress social inequalities and injustices,” (Boukari, p.3).
Today, Black women in higher education have been influential in creating spaces for marginalized, underrepresented people of color to tell their story. Their compulsion to address all forms of socially constructed systems of oppressions is one of the trademarks of their black feminist undertaking. Black women’s often overlooked contributions to the American country is the primary reason why Black women have taken matters into their own hand. Black women have been rallying up to speak against social inequality since the inception of slavery in this country, and even now, they are still not being acknowledge for the light they continue to shed on racism, sexism, classism and the intersectionality of multifaceted identities. While the literature on Black women and their lived experiences are scarce, researchers are finally recognizing the need to document the untold stories of Black women in America.
The growing research on Black womanhood will hopefully serve as guide for young Black girls and Black women who are struggling to find themselves and persevere in a system that was not designed to see Black women prosper. Additionally, the rising research on Black women will also hopefully motivate and encourage more black women to purse their doctorate. While there are a growing number of Black women completing their degrees, the number of Black women entering the academy has not changed to match the number of Black women with their PhDs. Academic research on Black women is necessary and vital to understanding Black women, black bodies and underrepresented groups of people.
So I end with the very same question that prompted my interest in this topic, what does a PhD mean to a Black woman? On the surface level it means access to exclusive and highly regarded career opportunities, greater income, and access to additional resources. On the other hand, a PhD is more valuable than the seemingly individual gratification it offers its recipient. A PhD, on a less superficial level, means hope. It means validation. It means the voices and experiences of all black bodies will be shared and acknowledged. It means thoughtful dialogue and necessary research on topics that are disregarded despite its relevance in addressing socially constructed systems of oppression. A PhD to a Black woman represents the next wave of the black feminist movement.
