Black Narcissus: The Role of the Suburban Othermother

Abstract

In recent decades, suburban communities and public schools have become more integrated (Diarrassouba & Johnson, 2014; Frey, 2003; Irvine & Irvine, 2007; Logan, 2003), which one could interpret as a success linked to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. However, as suburban demographics change, African American students are still at an academic disadvantage, facing an achievement gap (Chapman, 2014; Irvine & Irvine, 2007; Kafele, 2009; Ogbu, 2003). As involuntary immigrants, African American students often feel alienated in school settings where they are the minority (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Ogbu, 1990, 2003; Ogbu & Simons, 1998), and have a need to connect to the learning environment. One way to increase this connection is through hiring and retaining teachers of color, but through the years there has been a decline of African American educators entering the profession (Ingersoll & May, 2016; Irvine & Irvine, 2007). However, many Black female teachers who have been teaching a number of years are part of a phenomenon called “othermothering,” in which they care for children who are not blood relatives in a lovingly firm way (Case, 1997; Collins, 2000a, 2005, 2015; Foster, 1993; Guiffrida, 2005; James, 1993; Kakli, 2011; Lindsay-Dennis, Cummings, & McClendon, 2011; Loder, 2005; Wilson, 2010). Through qualitative methods, this study examined the role of Black female teachers identified as “othermothers” and their impact within suburban school settings.