SOLHOT: black girlhood celebration of love, literacy, hip-hop and motherhood

In order to create pedagogical methods and practices committed to educational attainment and healthy lifestyles one must recognize the impact of love as pedagogy. In my paper, I demonstrate how I utilize a concept I call “love practices” within a Black-girl-centered space entitled “Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths” (SOLHOT). When exploring the utility of love as practice among Black girls, in SOLHOT, at a local middle school in Champaign, Illinois, I ask the following: what is the relationship between love and Black girlhood? What is/are the impetus, motivation(s), and commitments of Black girls to a girl-centered space? What does it mean to be a part of a space for girls that foreground love? To assess Black girls in a context of love practices, I employ autoethnography, a method that permits me to openly discuss my experiences and research as self-reflective interpretations. My key findings, such as humility, listening, practice, imagining a critical space for Black girls, and recognizing complexities of love, are the critical lessons that have contributed to the process of organizing SOLHOT.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Lewis, Sheri

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brown, Ruth N.

• Black girls
• Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT)
• love practices
• pedagogy

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Sheri Lewis

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/44433

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/44433