Date Approved

2020

Date Posted

2-16-2021

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department or School

Teacher Education

Committee Member

Wendy Burke, PhD, Chair

Committee Member

Sylvia Jones, PhD

Committee Member

Nancy Copeland, PhD

Committee Member

Yvette Colón, PhD

Abstract

This dissertation study aims to illuminate the creation of safe spaces for marginalized youth through mentorship initiatives. Likewise, the study examines the roles of mentorship programs in transforming the lives of Black adolescent girls by providing them with tools to change the narratives depicted by society. A qualitative design was employed that used phenomenological interviewing techniques and ethnographic observations to explore the experiences of the Black adolescent girls in one university-sponsored mentorship program. The findings illustrate what is coined through this research—a critical Black feminist mentorship model that emphasizes an intersectional identity development, the actualization of voice, the creation and preservation of sisterhood and solidarity, and consciousness raising. The results, implications, and future research possibilities are discussed.

Comments

Dr. Logwood is a poet, writer, and activist. Before becoming a professor, she was the first African-American administrative director of the Women’s Resource Center at Eastern Michigan University. Her current academic endeavors include providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to mentor youth at a local middle school through her Mentoring Youth in Urban Spaces (WGST 230L2/WGST 500) course and writing on Black feminist mentorship, belonging, and critical classroom practices. She is also the co-coordinator of the Annual Women of Color Feminisms and Leadership Symposium.

Read more about Dr. Logwood and the Department of Women's and Gender Studies.

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