Black Girls Clap Back: Intersectionality, Black Girlhood, and Inequity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

The diverse lives of Black girls within North America are deeply rooted in various histories of marginalization. They continue to face forms of oppression as a result of their intersectional identities, which produces consequences for their lived experiences. Literature focused on the lives of Black girls in the United States highlights and demonstrates the consistent resilience of Black girls as they struggle to resist the impacts of racism, sexism, and other barriers in their lives. Less available in scholarship, however, is data outlining and describing the circumstances that impact the social and educational realities of Black girls within a Canadian context. This qualitative study focuses on the school and social experiences of fourteen Black teenage girls living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Through the analysis of narratives collected from focus groups and interviews, the study draws connections between medias controlling images and the situations the study participants encounter at school. Using theories that centre Black girlhood, intersectionality, and Black feminist pedagogy, this research examines the thoughts and opinions of the participants as they illustrate the impact of academic streaming, differing academic expectations for Black girls, teacher microaggressions, and media stereotypes, on their experiences in school. In addition, using analyses of representation, this study assists in explaining how normalized readings of historical and contemporary representations of Black female identity construct meaning for Black girls. The goal of this study is to highlight the voices of Black girls as they speak on their own experiences and to illuminate the need for practices such as safer spaces and pedagogical approaches focused on purposeful inclusion to support the development and well-being of Black girls in the GTA.