Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. Camara opens the collection with an account of her twenty-year evolution as a Black woman pedagogue and curriculum designer in a multiracial classroom. The book draws on personal experience to assess what she describes as ambivalence regarding the Latina academic transition. It offers the reader in-depth analysis on twenty-five years of Black feminist and womanist theorizing. The book considers the role of Black women's scholarship in college curriculum. It describes the pedagogical strategies necessary when incorporating critical perspectives into course curriculum. The book also describes the transformative possibilities for women of color students and teachers when critical consciousness is central to the pedagogical project. It evaluates the benefits and liberatory possibilities of a Black feminist curriculum that addresses taboo subjects related to Black women's bodies, desire, and commodification.