Voices That Mother – the Lived Experiences of Blackmotherscholars in Doctoral Programs

Abstract

Electronic Thesis or DissertationBlack mothers navigating doctoral programs at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) experience a unique and often overlooked intersection of responsibilities, expectations, and systemic barriers. Grounded in womanist theory, this dissertation centers the lived experiences of BlackMotherScholars, a term that reflects the indivisible identities of Black motherhood and scholarship. Through a womanist lens that emphasizes wholeness, transformation, and community care as resistance, this qualitative study explores the ways in which BlackMotherScholars navigate academic spaces highlighting both the challenges and strategies of persistence, resistance, and community-building.BlackMotherScholar Methodology (BMSM) is a framework developed within this study to capture, honor, and validate the experiences of Black mothers in academia. As traditional Western Eurocentric qualitative research methodologies at times fall short of fully accounting for the cultural and communal labor experienced by Black mothers in academic spaces, BMSM builds upon existing qualitative approaches by integrating culturally grounded knowledge traditions and introducing "vibe sessions" as a data collection approach. Vibe sessions are an original methodological contribution, developed through this dissertation, that offers an alternative to traditional interviewing by creating a more relational and affirming space for Black mothers in doctoral programs to share stories. Vibe sessions embody womanist traditions of creating homeplace and collective wisdom-making, drawing from Black cultural traditions of rhythm, energy, and collective storytelling to honor intergenerational knowledge and spiritual grounding, alongside culturally responsive research practices, to create a new method for authentic and embodied engagement. Through these and other methodological choices, BMSM intentionally centers and amplifies the resistance and resilience demonstrated by Black mothers in academia, positioning research itself as an act of reclamation and liberation from traditional academic constraints.This study contributes to ongoing conversations about culturally sustaining qualitative approaches by offering both methodological and practical implications. Through the development and application of BMSM this research reclaims research as a space for liberation, validation, and communal knowledge-building. By centering storytelling, cultural traditions, and embodied ways of knowing, BMSM challenges dominant academic norms and affirms the lived experiences of Black mothers in doctoral programs