Article Information
- Published online October 3, 2017.
Author Information
- Tammy C. Owens,
Tammy C. Owens is Assistant Professor of Diasporic Youth Cultures in the School of Critical Social Inquiry at Hampshire College. Broadly, her research examines how Black women and girls in the late nineteenth through twentieth centuries critiqued homogeneous discourses of American childhood, and thus redefined Black girlhood in the United States. Correspondence to: Tammy C. Owens, School of Critical Social Inquiry, Hampshire College, 893 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, USA. Email: (towens{at}hampshire.edu).
- Durell M. Callier,
Durell M. Callier is Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University and Co-Curator of Hill L. Waters ( (hilllwaters.com)). His current research documents, analyzes, and interrogates Black youth lived experiences as they intersect with constructions of race and queerness. In his research and creative projects, he employs feminist and queer methodologies to research how Black and queer communities broadly defined make use of art and narrative towards knowledge creation, staging critical resistance, and actualizing freedom. Correspondence to: Durell M. Callier, Department of Educational Leadership, Miami University, 304 McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. Email: (calliedm{at}miamioh.edu).
- Jessica L. Robinsonand
Jessica L. Robinson is a doctoral student in the Institute for Communications Research at the University of Illinois. Her research is related to Black girlhood, Black feminist art practice, and new media art making. She works with the collective Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT) and is 1/4 member of the band We Levitate ( (https://soundcloud.com/solhot-next-level)). Correspondence to: Jessica L. Robinson, Institution for Communications Research, College of Media, University of Illinois, 119 Gregory Hall, 810 S. Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Email: (jlrobinson2{at}gmail.com).
- Porshé R. Garner
Porshé R. Garner is a PhD candidate in the Department of Education Policy Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois. Her dissertation investigates Black girlhood spirituality through her work with the collective Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT). She is 1/4 member of the band We Levitate ( (https://soundcloud.com/solhot-next-level)). Correspondence to: Porshé R. Garner, Education Policy Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois, 1310 S. 6th Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. Email: (porsheg{at}gmail.com).
The authors would like to thank the issue's guest editors for such a timely special issue. Black girls deserve our absolute best. This essay is a culmination of that sentiment and critical conversations sustained through our decision to be in community with one another. We specifically all met at Black Girl Genius Week 2014 (BGGW) at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. We would like to acknowledge the organizers of BGGW (2014) for carving out the space to recognize the importance of Black girls and Black girlhood, and for the fruitful conversations and generative insights fostered. Tammy C. Owens would like to thank the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies Fellowship Program at the University of Virginia for support to complete this research.