"I leave stuff better than how i find it": a case for Black girl joy

Abstract

Grounded in Black Girlhood Studies, this qualitative case-study examined how Black high school girls characterized and experienced joy both in and out of school, using the framework of Avenues of Joy (AOJ). The hope is that this qualitative case-study will ideally point researchers and practitioners to concrete ways that schooling cultures, policies, and practices can be amended to make schools a more joyous space for students, specifically Black girls. This research extends beyond exclusively academic spaces and is a call for Black people, in particular, to be intentional about the ways that we harness and cultivate joy for Black girls out in the world. The research question that guided my dissertation study was: (1) How do Black girls characterize and experience joy inside and outside of school? Largely for the girls, their characterizations of joy were framed by being unburdened and free, in addition to a sense of recreation. I found that the girls experienced joy in and outside of the context of school primarily through being in community with people that they loved; experiencing emotional safety; and when they found curated spaces to be and matter. Finally, a significant contribution of this Black Girlhood Study is the way in which this work provided a concrete and multi-faceted conceptualization of joy through my Avenues of Joy (AOJ) Framework.