ABSTRACT

Black women researchers have been the pioneers of (re)storying the narratives of Black girls and women in order to illuminate a more positive light on their contributions to education. With the help of theoretical frameworks that center the experiences of Black women and girls, there has been an uptick in the amount of research on this population. In order to continue this work, the author argues non-traditional qualitative methodologies accompanied by Black Feminist Thought need to be utilized when doing research with Black girls and women in education. The author discusses how the usage of portraiture methodology, accompanied with theoretical frames that center Black girls and women, allowed for her to engage, and depict her research in an honest yet complex way that ultimately honored the experiences of her dissertation participants, five first-year Black collegiate women.