ABSTRACT
This is part of a larger study of the formal and informal education of Black women. Working-class Black women have been solely constructed as clients and consumers of education and schooling, as spectators at the spectacle of their education. We have not been perceived as knowers of valuable knowledge who can provide educational leadership. To address this issue, I designed a study and interviewed Ida, Gwen, Yvette, Colleen, and Trudy who were participants in a workplace speech and language training program. I was an instructor in this program, and because of our similarities, my educational experiences are also included in the study. In this chapter, I discuss participants’ informal learning and their authoritative theorizing about the type of education that Black girls should receive.
