This study explored the K-12 urban schooling experiences of four Blackgirls attending an alternative high school in New Jersey from their perspectives and in their own words. Through the use of focus group interviews, semi-structured individual follow-up interviews, participants’ compositions of life note entries, participatory data analysis, and the co-construction of a participatory ethnodrama, this qualitative study was grounded in Endarkened Feminist Epistemology. The research explored the participants’ rich, meaningful, and culturally indigenous ways knowing and conveying their lived experiences to provide educators insight into the ways in which Blackgirls encounter and navigate urban schools and the intersections of those experiences with their personal lives. Themes that immerged included identity development, invisibility, school trauma and failure, connectedness, and personal transformation, which expand understandings of culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches to urban schooling, anti-racism and racial literacy, educator sustainability, and prioritizing student voice in school improvement reform.

This qualitative dissertation explored the digital literacy practices of adolescent Black girls who actively engaged on social media in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory school shutdowns, and the aftermath of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. I employ the Black Girls’ Literacies (BGL) framework (Haddix & Muhammad, 2016) to analyze the TikTok accounts of two adolescent Black girl influencers, as well as six qualitative interviews I conducted with adolescent Black girls who avidly used video sharing social media apps during that time. The data analysis aligned with the following components of the BGL Framework: Black girls’ literacies are multiple; Black girls’ literacies are tied to identities; and Black girls’ literacies are intellectual, political, and critical. Moreover, the data analysis also revealed that Black girls espoused three different identities while using social media to address the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black violence. These themes were: Crafting Digital Narratives of the Self as Educators, Crafting Digital Narratives of the Self as Nurturers, and Crafting Digital Narratives of the Self as Digital Activists. My findings suggested that for English educators, prioritizing racial literacy in the English classroom, creating learning experiences that are informed by critical media literacy, and creating a space that honors and supports Black girls’ desires to be activists within their communities are critical for their success within and outside of the English classroom.