Academic literature on the topic 'African American women school administrators'


 
 
 School superintendents who are African American women are understudied. In this study, researchers explored the lived experiences of African American women superintendents in the state of Texas. The purpose of the study was to identify the challenges, supports, and personal background characteristics that participants believed influenced their ascension to superintendent positions. A phenomenological research approach was used, and data were collected through individual interviews with superintendent participants. Data were analyzed and interpret- ed using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological reduction approach. Three major themes emerged in the results: (a) desire to impact others at various levels, (b) sources of personal strength, and (c) external support systems. Subthemes were identified and described for each larger theme. Findings suggest a need to expose aspiring African American women administrators to the challenges and rewards of superintendent positions and increase mentorship opportunities and quality preparation programs.
 
 

Aim/Purpose: This qualitative study examined the racist and sexist experiences of doctoral women of color in the academy. Background: Doctoral women of color (e.g., Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Latina Americans, and Native Americans) continue to experience racism and sexism in academic spaces. While few studies have explored the experiences of doctoral students of color and doctoral women of color, with a larger emphasis on how they respond to racism, our study sought to further the knowledge and discourse surrounding the intersectionality of racism and sexism in academic contexts by examining the intersectionality of race and gender systems that impact the lived realities of doctoral women of color as women and people of color. Methodology: This qualitative study employed multiracial feminism and Mellor’s taxonomy of coping styles as theoretical foundations to explore and understand how doctoral women of color experience and navigate racist and sexist incidents. Contribution: The study contributes to research in various areas: (1) it expands our understanding of how doctoral women of color experience racism and sexism, (2) it deepens our perspective about the strategies and methods that they employ to negotiate and overcome these experiences, which can directly inform efforts to support and retain doctoral and other students of color, and (3) it encourages scholars to examine the experiences of doctoral women of color from an anti-deficit approach that acknowledges the social networks, skills, and knowledge that doctoral women of color rely on to disrupt and persist in inequitable contexts as they pursue academic success. Findings: Our findings contribute a classification system that incorporates experiences of doctoral women of color with racism and sexism. Categories in this classification include covert, overt, and physical and material experiences. Our findings also present a classification system that represents navigational strategies of doctoral women of color, or the ways they respond to and overcome racist and sexist experiences. Categories in this classification include defensive, controlled, and direct strategies. Recommendations for Practitioners: First, our findings suggest a critical need for administrators and educators to understand the experiences of women of color and recognize the impact these experiences have on their persistence and success in college. Research on doctoral women of color is limited and very little is known about the entirety of their experiences in graduate programs. This study addresses this gap by exploring how doctoral women of color persist despite the intersectionality of racist and sexist alienation and marginalization. It is important that faculty and staff engage in culturally relevant education and training in order to better understand how to support doctoral women of color as they face these situations. We need more educators who engage in culturally relevant and responsive practices and pedagogy that seek to include their students’ whole identities and lever-age these identities in the classroom. Additionally, more educators need to be trained in ways to recognize and address racist and sexist incidents in their class-rooms and dismantle systems of oppression rather than reinforce them. Specifically, we need to better equip educators to recognize the hard-to-distinguish sexist incidents, which, as our participants suggested, are well concealed within the fabric of our gendered and sexualized society. Second, this study can benefit those in program and resource development to create effective programming and strategies to engage these acts of resilience that enable women of color to succeed in graduate school. Rather than approaching the support and development of doctoral women of color from a deficit perspective of assisting them through challenges, it is more important to fully-engage with these students to recognize what coping strategies they have used that can better inform successful retention programs. Furthermore, mentorship from faculty was highlighted as an important means for participants to address and cope with their negative experiences. Thus, more mentoring relationships between faculty and the student and across student peer groups should be intentionally engaged. This is a system of support also noted in extant literature. As part of the doctoral socialization process, mentoring has many benefits for doctoral students. Specifically, for doctoral women of color, mentoring relationships can be a critical tool for supporting them in managing negative experiences, especially considering that it can minimize feelings of loneliness and isolation. Recommendation for Researchers: Our research contributes to the literature with emphasis on the ways in which doctoral women of color respond to and cope with racism and sexism. Women in this study recount racist and sexist experiences and describe their decision-making processes about how and whether to respond. There were specific reasons that shaped their responses and coping strategies, which highlight awareness and confidence in their individual abilities. The study’s findings also contribute to and expand Mellor’s taxonomy, specifically the incorporation of sexism as a system inherently interlocked with racism. Current literature on doctoral women of color mainly highlights their experience with racism; this gap reinforces our contribution to the literature, specifically, in illuminating predetermined societal roles and expectations for doctoral women of color in academia. Most importantly, our research highlights the assets and agency that doctoral women of color mobilize in the face of racism and sexism. These assets include long-term goals and aspirations, awareness of interlocking systems of oppression shaping their experience in academic environments, commitment to empowering their communities through education, and the support they find within their personal and academic networks. These assets and agency serve as foundation to challenge longstanding deficit perspectives on doctoral women of color in academic spaces and for faculty and program administrators to consider when developing support services. Impact on Society: Our findings encourage faculty, program administrators, and researchers to pay attention to racist and sexist issues as intersecting oppressions rather than distinct manifestations of prejudice to be confronted separately. Our findings also highlight the assets doctoral women of color rely on to overcome oppression and marginalization including their long-term goals and aspirations, awareness of interlocking systems of oppression shaping their experience in academic, commitment to empowering their communities through education, and the support they find within their personal and academic networks. Our hope is that this work encourages systems of higher education to create tangible ways to support doctoral women of color as they grapple with the multiple systems of domination that threaten their success in education, which is intertwined with success in other aspects of society. Future Research: Lastly, future research may explore how the matrix of domination mediates responses of doctoral women of color to racism and sexism. This philosophical inclination is linked to our decision to use Mellor’s taxonomy of coping styles as an introductory framework for our work in understanding navigational strategies. To that end, we argue that the taxonomy as it stands characterizes participants’ responses based on their immediate approach to incidents. This framing fails to include the timing someone might need to process and decide to how to respond. Mellor’s taxonomy positions participants who do not choose to respond immediately as compliant and acquiescent to racialized spaces and events. By doing so, we run the risk of oversimplifying and essentializing the complex processes individuals faced with racism and sexism undertake. At the same time, future research can examine the connection between responses or coping styles and ways that participants are internally transformed in their abilities and desires to address future incidents. There is an inordinate amount of focus on how individuals interact with oppressive incidents and yet very little is known about the ways that these interactions shape future responses. Additionally, the ways that doctoral women of color navigate situations outside the academy is not explored. For example, some of our participants shared how racist and sexist encounters empowered them or inspired them to address other incidents and to interact with family and community members.

Educators, administrators, and policymakers focus much attention on closing the achievement gap, and various approaches have been suggested. The present study focuses on one approach being suggested: student–teacher ethnic matching. The study focused on the long-term contributions of African American ethnic matching to mathematical test scores of 1,200 African American students from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Kindergarten—fifth data set. Employing a two-level growth model, this study of impact from student–teacher ethnic matching revealed that a student having at least one teacher who ethnically matched themselves between kindergarten and fifth grade had a significant impact on mathematics achievement.

African American female principals typically lead low socioeconomic elementary schools. Administrators in predominately urban schools are familiar with the needs of minority students. Although Title I funds are provided from the national government via local educational agencies (LEAs), this money is normally not enough to keep up with technology integration and programs of more affluent schools. Therefore, African American female administrators rely on culture to develop meaningful relationships with students, teachers, and parents and makeup for any financial hardships, which may exist during the transformation of urban elementary schools. Limited research is available on academic success in urban schools. Over the years, much of the focus has been on failure of underperforming schools with minority students and leaders. Additionally, there is a lack of research on the leadership of African American female school leaders. Thus, it is important to study successful African American female role models in urban schools. The purpose of this study was to examine transformational leadership skills evident in African American female principals at high-achieving, urban elementary schools. What are the transformational leadership skills evident in two African American female principals who work in high-achieving urban elementary schools? It was assumed that African American female principals applied some or all of the skills of transformational leadership when leading in two different urban elementary school settings. Successful transformational leadership can be categorized under the following four components 1) charismatic leadership (or idealized influence, CL or II), 2) inspirational motivation (IM), 3) intellectual stimulation (IS), and 4) individualized consideration (IC) (Avolio, Bass, & Jung, 1997). Results showed that African American female elementary school leaders displayed all tenets of the transformational leadership theory while leading high achieving campuses. However, the transformational leadership theoy was missing a cultural component from its doctrine.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2006.<br>"A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education" ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-169)

This qualitative study examined and analyzed mentoring relationships from the personal perspectives and experiences of nine African American women in higher level educational administration leadership positions that have been mentored during their career and who currently hold or have held higher level educational administration leadership positions. The study shed light and brought forth corroboration of previous studies which highlighted that it is often difficult for African American women to attain and retain higher level educational administration leadership positions and the necessity for support systems, namely mentoring relationships. Respondents provided valuable information, evidence, and insight that may be useful in selecting, supporting, retaining, and promoting other African American women into leadership positions. African American women who seek higher level leadership positions in educational administration often face insurmountable barriers, according to the research respondents. These barriers can be attributed to stereotypes related to race, age, and gender. The responses of study participants are supported by the research literature which describes how women, in general, tend to give up their quest for leadership positions when they feel overwhelmed and unsupported while attempting to navigate through the obvious and hidden barriers (Grove & Montgomery, 2001; Malone, 2001). The data from this study shed light on the fact that African American women interested in higher level educational administration leadership positions need access to support systems that contribute to their job success and satisfaction. The respondents reported that engaging in mentoring relationships helped them bridge the gap between theory and practice. Additionally, they stated that more than one mentor, bringing varied perspectives to the mentee, was needed to help address job-related challenges. The respondents further reported that mentoring relationships are beneficial to both the mentor and mentee and emphasized that the mentoring relationships should be open and both the mentor and mentee should be approachable. In summation, even with its imperfections and inconsistencies, respondents noted that the mentoring process continues to be one of the best ways to provide a lasting influence on the attitudes, knowledge, expertise, and professionalism of African American women who are seeking to attain or retain higher level educational administration leadership positions.

This study explores African American women elementary school principals and how their race and gender impact their decision-making practices as they relate to suspension. Principals are faced with deciding how to implement a variety of policies, including curriculum and instruction, student safety and other district initiatives. Special attention is given to suspension because it impacts the average daily attendance funds that schools receive, and if students are not attending school due to suspension, their academic achievement suffers. In addition, there is an increasing national rate of suspension (Ferges, E. & Noguera, P, 2010) that is leading to heightened responsibilities as it relates to discipline. Sacramento County in California was selected as the site of this study due to its diverse population of elementary students. The research question for this study was: How does the intersection of race and gender impact the decisions related to suspensions for African American women elementary school principals? The theoretical framework used to answer this question is Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000). Through in-depth interviews, the women revealed how double consciousness and the dual oppression of race and gender impacted their decisions regarding suspension. Black feminist thought focuses on the marginalized status of African American women and places their experiences at the center of the discourse. With this in mind, the data yielded findings in the following areas 1) race, 2) race and gender, 3) suspension, 4) networking, and 5) mentoring. The intent of this study was to contribute to the field by researching African American women elementary school principals. The focus of suspension practices was selected because of the troubling relationship between academic achievement and suspension. The discourse on African American women in educational leadership has historically been silent, as both a gendered and racialized group (Dillard, 1995). This study attempted to expand the majority of research literature on educational leadership, which has primarily focused on the experiences of White men and women (Bell & Chase, 1993). In addition, this study contributes to suspension scholarship as it considers the elementary school context and the role of race and gender in suspension decisions.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of African American female principals serving in high-poverty urban schools. This study was warranted due to the growing number of African American female principal leaders in urban schools over the last 20 years. School leaders in urban school districts are expected to increase academic achievement, support district initiatives, and foster the development of urban communities. The study results will serve as a source of information to educators on similar journeys.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.<br>Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 274 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-228). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

This Northern California single case qualitative study used Critical Race Theory as a framework for examining the perspectives of African American administrators on improving graduation rates of African American male public high school students in San Joaquin County. Barriers to graduation completion in San Joaquin County public high schools continue to leave stakeholders looking for solutions to change the status quo for African American male high schools students. Ten San Joaquin County African American male and female administrators (identified by pseudonyms) from various public elementary, middle, and high schools were interviewed individually. Participants' responses were categorized into themes according to their answers for each question. Contrary to explanations for low graduation rates of African American male students, as predicted in the literature review of this study, the participants' perspectives rarely indicated that discipline, or lack of parental involvement was a prevailing reason for low graduation rates for African American male students. Low teacher expectations, lack of role models and advocates, and the failure of the school systems to implement successful strategies to improve the graduation rates of African American male students appeared to be the most common themes as discussed in the literature review. Participants perspectives suggest public high schools in San Joaquin County struggle to make positive connections with African American male students. All of the participants claimed that teachers, administrators, and school staff struggle to build and maintain healthy relationships with African American male students. Some of the recommendations from the participants of this study suggest that stakeholders can assist African American male students in overcoming barriers and improving their graduation rates by: starting African American male charter schools, operating mentoring programs in schools, and recruiting more African American teachers and administrators.

This qualitative study examined the career progression of African American women mid-level administrators in student affairs. A conceptual framework that integrated Career Advancement Factors (Coleman, 2002) and Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000) was used analyze the narratives of nine participants. The major findings of this study are that African American women mid-level administrators in student affairs are negotiating their careers by developing mentoring relationships, developing a professional skill set, earning a doctoral degree and navigating institutional politics. They believe their career progression has been impacted by their race and gender albeit in varying degrees. Race was perceived to be a factor by all women whereas gender was perceived to be more of a factor based on their student affairs area. Not all women were actively trying to move up to a senior-level administrative role and were content with their current position. There was a notable difference between the new mid-level administrators (5-10 years in student affairs) and the seasoned mid-level administrators (11 years or more). Seasoned mid-level administrators had a greater level of self-awareness that was used to make important decisions about the future of their career. These findings have implications for practice and for considerations for future research.

Dr. Hopkins is one of the few American women to have held a doctorate in science and a license to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Her career included academia, industry, and government. Esther was born Esther Arvilla Harrison on September 16, 1926, in Stamford, Connecticut. She was the second of three children born to George Burgess Harrison and Esther Small Harrison. Her father was a chauffeur and sexton at a church, and her mother worked in domestic service. Neither of her parents had an advanced education. Her father had some high school education; her mother attended only primary school. However, both of her parents wanted to make sure their children had a good education. When Esther was three and a half years old, her mother took her along to register her older brother for school. Because Esther was taller than her brother, the teacher suggested that she take the test to start school. She passed the test and was able to start kindergarten at the age of three and a half! She and her brother went to school together all through elementary school. Boys and girls were separated in junior high school; in high school they remained separate but attended the same school. She decided in junior high school that she wanted to be a brain surgeon. This was because she met a woman doctor in Stamford who had an office in one of the buildings that her father cleaned. The woman was a physician and graduate of Boston University Medical School. Esther decided that she wanted to be just like her. Therefore, when Esther entered high school, she chose the college preparatory math and science track. She took as many science courses as possible in order to get into Boston University. She spent a lot of time at the local YWCA, becoming a volunteer youth leader. One speaker at a YWCA luncheon discouraged her from entering science and suggested that she become a hairdresser. Esther was hurt but not discouraged by this. She graduated from Stamford High School in 1943.

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman chemist to receive a PhD in chemistry. In addition, she was part of a research team that was working on the precursors to DNA . Marie was born Marie Maynard Daly on April 16, 1921, to Ivan C. Daly and Helen Page, the first of three children. Her father, who had emigrated from the West Indies, received a scholarship from Cornell University to study chemistry; however, he had to drop out because he could not pay his room and board, and he became a postal worker. Daly’s interest in science came from her father’s encouragement and the desire to live his dream.” He later encouraged his daughter to pursue his dream, even though she was a woman and had brothers who were twins. In the 1920s, as a result of the women’s suffrage movement, some women began to aspire to achievement in areas outside the domestic sphere. Marie’s mother encouraged reading and spent many hours reading to her and her brothers. Marie’s maternal grandfather had an extensive library, including books about scientists, such as The Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruff; she read that book and many others like it. Growing up in Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City, she attended the local public school, where she excelled. She was able to attend Hunter College High School, an all girls’ school affiliated with Hunter College for women. Since this was a laboratory school for Hunter College, the faculty encouraged the girls to excel in their studies. Since Marie had an aptitude for science, the teachers there encouraged her to study college-level chemistry while still in high school. One of the many advantages of living in New York City during that time was that students who had good grades could enter one of the tuition-free colleges run by the City of New York. As a result, Daly enrolled in Queens College, then one of the newest institutions in the City College system, in Flushing, New York.

Reatha Clark King is a woman who began life in rural Georgia and rose to become a chemist, a college president, and vice president of a major corporate foundation. Reatha Belle Clark was born in Pavo, Georgia, on April 11, 1938, the second of three daughters born to Willie and Ola Watts Clark Campbell. Her mother Ola had a third grade education and her father Willie was illiterate. Her families were sharecroppers in Pavo. Her mother and grandmother raised her in Moultrie, Georgia, after her parents separated when she was young. She and her sisters worked long hours in the cotton and tobacco field during the summer to raise money. She could pick 200 pounds of cotton a day and earn $6.00, which was more than her mother’s salary as a maid. 1 In the 1940s in the rural segregated South, the only career aspirations for young black girls were to become a hairdresser, a teacher, or a nurse. Reatha started school at the age of four in the one-room schoolhouse at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Still more than a decade before Brown v. Board of Education , Reatha’s schools were segregated. The teacher, Miss Florence Frazier, became Reatha’s first role model. Reatha said, “I never wondered if I could succeed in a subject. It was only a question of whether I wanted to study the subject.” She later attended the segregated Moutrie High School for Negro Youth. Despite missing much school to attend to fieldwork, Reatha maintained her studies. She graduated in 1954 as the valedictorian of her class. Reatha received a scholarship to enter Clark College in September 1954, originally planning to major in home economics and teach in her local high school. These plans changed after her first chemistry course with Alfred Spriggs, the chemistry professor. He encouraged her to major in chemistry and go to graduate school. She found that chemistry was the perfect major for her. She says, “Both the subject matter and methodology were interesting and challenging; the laboratory and lecture sessions were exciting; and my fellow students in chemistry were both serious students and fun to work with.”

Dr. Lilia Abron is an engineer, an entrepreneur, mother, and activist who works twelve-hour days. She is another true Renaissance woman. Lilia was born at home in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 8, 1945. She was small, premature, and almost did not survive were it not for her aunt, who rushed her to the hospital in a cab because ambulances were not available to black people at the time. She was the second of four daughters of Ernest Buford Abron and Bernice Wise Abron, who were both educators. Both of her parents had attended LeMyone College. Her father entered college and played football. Because of an injury he was ineligible to serve in the military in World War II. He then worked as a Pullman porter, because his father had been a Pullman porter. After the war, when the trains were not as popular, he became a teacher in the Memphis public schools. Lilia’s mother and father were very active during the civil rights era. Lilia’s mother was from Arkansas; and she typed the briefs for Wiley Branton, defense attorney for the Little Rock Nine, the group that integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Because Lilia’s parents were active in Memphis society, Lilia was involved in programs that included the Girl Scouts and the church. She went to public school in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, which led the United States to improve math and science education. The school system tracked each student’s education, even in the segregated schools. Therefore, Lilia was placed in the math and science track. This meant she participated in a science fair, which was held at Lemoyne College. In addition, she had to prepare other science projects. Her segregated schools were well equipped for science teaching. In addition to well-stocked labs, the Memphis high school that she attended offered higher-level mathematics, including algebra and introduction to calculus. She graduated from high school in Memphis and decided to go to college with the intention of studying medicine, which was the one of the few occupations available to black people at the time.

Johnnie Hines Watts Prothro was one of the first African American women scientists and researchers in the field of food chemistry and nutrition. Having grown up in the segregated American South, Dr. Protho became particularly interested in promoting healthy nutrition and diets for African Americans. Johnnie Hines Watts was born on February 28, 1922, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the segregated South. Her parents emphasized the importance of an education and she graduated from high school at the age of fifteen. She enrolled in the historically black Spelman College in Atlanta as a commuter student and received a BS degree with honors in Home Economics from Spelman in 1941. Following her graduation, she obtained a position as a teacher of foods and nutrition—the usual career path for African American women who earned bachelor’s degrees in science during the Jim Crow era—at Atlanta’s all-black Booker T. Washington High School. Watts taught at Booker T. Washington High School from 1941 to 1945, then moved to New York City to attend Columbia University, from which she received her MS degree in 1946. Armed with her master’s degree, Watts became an instructor of chemistry at a historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She worked there during the 1946–1947 academic year before deciding to pursue a PhD. Watts enrolled in the University of Chicago after researching the doctoral offerings of several universities. She was the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards at the University of Chicago. Among the awards were the Laverne Noyes Scholarship (1948–1950), the Evaporated Milk Association Award (1950–1951), the Borden Award from the American Home Economics Association (1950– 1951), and a research assistantship (1951–1952). Watts married Charles E. Prothro in 1949. It is said that they met in Connecticut, but this is not clearly documented. Watts Prothro received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 1952. Her dissertation title is “The Relation of the Rates of Inactivation of Peroxidase, Catecholase, and Ascorbase to the Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid in Vegetables.”

Jeannette Brown’s career has included accomplishments in industry, academia, and publishing. Her claim to fame is working in two different pharmaceutical firms, where she was able to contribute her skill to the research teams who produced several marketable drugs. She was also able to mentor minorities to encourage them to enter the field of chemistry, both as part of a corporate effort and as a volunteer. Jeannette Brown was born May 13, 1934, in Fordham Hospital in the Bronx, New York. She was the only child of Ada May Fox and Freddie Brown. She was born in the middle of the Depression, and times were tough. Her father worked a number of jobs in order to feed his family, including shining shoes on the street. Finally, when Jeannette was five, her father got a job as a superintendent in a building in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. This section of Manhattan was just becoming a home for middle-class blacks moving up from Harlem. Since her father was a super, he had a basement apartment in the building. One of the tenants in the house was Dr. Arthur Logan, who became Jeannette’s doctor when she became very ill. Jeannette was in and out of the hospital many times, and she remembers asking Dr. Logan how she could become a doctor. He told her that she would have to study science. Jeannette was only five or six at the time, but that conversation impressed her and she immediately decided to become a scientist. When Jeannette started school at the age of six, she went to the neighborhood public school, which all children did at the time. The children in the school were mostly black, and some of them taunted her because she was interested in being a good student. Her father decided that the only way that she was going to get a good education was for him to try to get a job as a superintendent in a white neighborhood so that Jeannette could go to the mostly white schools.

This book covers the stories of African American women chemists who entered the field before the civil rights era or shortly thereafter. The women in this book were swimming against the tide. They chose to enter a career in which they were among the first persons of their gender and race. There are many young American women currently active in the profession of chemistry. Young girls are still interested in becoming scientists; however, they still have to fight to make sure they receive a good education in science. This need for good education is discussed in a book titled, Swimming against the Tide: African American Girls and Science Education, by Dr. Sandra L Hanson. Dr. Hanson studied young African American girls in high school and their attitudes toward science, which has traditionally been a male profession. One of Dr. Hanson’s conclusions is that these young girls had never seen a role model, African American women chemists, either in books or in person. She also discovered that the young women were still interested in science, even though they received little encouragement from their teachers. Dr. Hanson found that the parents of the girls encouraged their interest in science, with mothers being their biggest cheerleaders. Dr. Hanson would like to see more science teachers encourage young African American girls to study science. One of the women in this book, Allene Johnson, served as a high school chemistry teacher and made a career both of mentoring science teachers and of encouraging African Americans, both male and female, to enter careers in chemistry. Most of the other women in this book also have mentored women who wanted to become chemists either in academia or in industry. What resources are available to young people if they are interested in chemistry as a career? There are many organizations that are focused on careers in chemistry. The major one is the American Chemical Society (ACS). However, one should first consider this question: What is chemistry? Chemistry is a varied profession.

Many people have studied the history of African American women chemists, but the information is scattered in many references, articles, and trade books. Until now, there was no one place where one could access extensive information about these women. This book is a compilation of all the references to date about the lives of these women; the chapters include a brief biography of each woman, with citations to the published information. The back matter provides a list of references. Not all of the women that I have written about are primarily researchers; some of them chose to be educators or businesspeople. My selection includes women pioneers—women who were the first to enter the field and receive a degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical engineering. Some of these women were able to work as chemists before obtaining an advanced degree in chemistry. They later chose to pursue the PhD degree when major colleges and university allowed all students, regardless of race, to study. Some of the women chose not to pursue PhD degrees, ending their education with an MS degree. I extended my research to try to find the earliest women to pursue chemistry after the Civil War. It was difficult to find such early documents; however, I have not stopped searching. The first woman in this book, Josephine Silone Yates, was born into a family of free blacks in the north in 1852, before the Civil War. The next woman, Bebee Steven Lynk, was born in Mason, Tennessee in 1872 but not much is known about her early life. Alice Ball was born in 1896 into a family of free blacks in Seattle. These women, who were born in the nineteenth century, studied chemistry. Only one obtained an advanced degree: a PhC, which may have been a two-year degree. Josephine Silone Yates is reputed to have obtained a master’s degree. Most of the women in this book were, as the expression is used today, “nerds.” They were outstanding students in school.

Born into a free black family in the early nineteenth century, Josephine Silone Yates was a pioneering woman faculty member at the historically black Lincoln Institute (now University) in Jefferson City, Missouri, where she headed the Department of Natural Sciences. Yates later rose to prominence in the black women’s club movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, serving as president of the famed National Association of Colored Women (NACW) from 1901 to 1905. Josephine was born in 1852 in Mattituck, New York, to Alexander and Parthenia Reeve Silone. She was their second daughter. Her maternal grandfather, Lymas Reeves, had been a slave in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, but was freed in 1813. Lymas owned a house in Mattituck, and Josephine’s parents lived with him. 1 Josephine’s mother was well educated for the time, and she taught her daughter to read and write at home. Josephine’s earliest and fondest memories were of being taught to read from the Bible while snuggled on her mother’s lap. Her mother made her call out the words as she pointed to them. Josephine began school at age six, where her teachers immediately recognized her preparedness and advanced her rapidly through the elementary grades. At the age of nine, she reportedly studied physiology and physics and possessed advanced mathematical ability. Silone also advanced her writing career at the age of nine, by submitting “a story for publication to a New York weekly magazine. Though the article was rejected for publication, she received a letter of encouragement, which increased her ambition to succeed.” Josephine’s uncle, Reverend John Bunyan Reeve, was the pastor of the Lombard Street Central Church in Philadelphia. Because of his interest in the education of his niece, he convinced his sister, Parthenia, to send Josephine at the age of eleven to live with him in Philadelphia so that she could attend the Institute for Colored Youth directed by Fanny Jackson-Coppin. It was probably felt that Josephine’s education would progress better under the mentorship of Jackson-Coppin.

This chapter discusses the social inequalities in school choice and the racial disparities of college access. Utilizing the theories of social capital and social inclusion, the author provides a conceptual framework for developing a college-going school culture in charter schools. Through this lens, the author considers that the level of school support needs to be equitable to the varying stages of self-efficacy, academic behaviors, and post-secondary aspirations that students enter school with. The author suggests the importance of the RECIPE (rigorous curriculum, expectations, collegiality, interconnection, parental engagement, and exposure) to prepare African American students for college.