Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

Using Critical Thinking to Understand a Black Woman’s Identity 637
word and the world. I want to bring them to a “consciousness of self.” And, the knowledge that all
human interaction is politically inscribed should and must inform that consciousness of self. For
example, when I deconstruct my existence as a Black woman it both informs my understanding
of self and reframes my pedagogy. I am Black, female, and a teacher. Those three identities are
intricately connected; it is impossible to separate them from each other.
Oshun: Separating them is not an option if you want to become/remain a complete person. Tell me, how
do you negotiate between your identity as Black and as a woman? Do you feel torn as to which
struggle you align yourself with? And what is the connection between Rochelle as teacher and
Rochelle as Black woman?
Rochelle: Wow, too many questions at once. Haven’t you heard about the correct method of inquiry for a
teacher?
Oshun: Girl, I don’t pay much attention to the traditional “best practices” methodology. See, I want you to
struggle with articulating an answer that simultaneously addresses all the questions. Remember
you are writing about critical thinking, educational psychology, and teaching and you don’t want
to create false binaries. Use your critical thinking skills to figure it out.
Rochelle: Okay, let me situate myself in history: in my story. Critical thinking forces me to contextualize
my existence. As such, I need to view myself through the lens of race, class, and gender. It’s
difficult as hell to negotiate all my identities, especially race and gender. I understand the need
to fight in the war against racism as well as sexism and at the same time I also realize we are
often forced to choose between the two. Black women’s struggles have been framed within a
false dichotomy of race and sex. Often forced to choose between the fight against race or gender
oppression, we have to constantly reassert the need for a combined struggle. Black women
encounter a triple jeopardy where they must constantly negotiate the intersection of race, class,
and gender oppression which has forced us into a desperate struggle for existence and the search
for a “space” where the freedom to exhale is possible.
We are talking about power. Picture three boxes, each distinctively smaller than the one it is
within. The box which consumes and encapsulates the others is the large space of power where
White men, and to a lesser degree White women, experience varying degrees of domination
and control and is seen in the systems and structures of society. Sexism, an integral ingredient
in understanding relations of power and privilege in America, determines that although White
women function within this power discourse of men they are seen as powerless because of gender
which becomes the bind of sexism. Within this space is a significantly smaller box; the place
where Black people experience pain and isolation. But it is also the place where Black men
live, and although controlled by racism, it still offers a degree of control and provides Black
men with the tools to oppress Black women. Denied the power and the privileges of White
women, White men, and Black men, Black women are imprisoned in a still smaller box that
represents the narrow space of race and a dark enclosure of sex which has engendered a web
of pain where Black women strive for the right to be. Of course the binds of class exists in the
three boxes and its effects are experienced differently depending on race and gender. (Gloria
Wade-Gayles, 1984)
It is difficult to separate race from class from sex oppression because in our lives they are
most often experienced simultaneously. For example, I am not poor today, a woman tomorrow,
and Black the following day, but a poor Black woman everyday I breathe. It would be foolish for
me to think that all Black women are poor, and that’s not what I mean to imply. Instead, I assert
that regardless of class a Black woman’s existence—how she understands her life—is framed
within those three critical domains and to ignore one is to mystify all the others. That’s what
you meant about creating false binaries. In order to understand my existence as a Black woman
I need to be aware of the myriad forms of power. The skills of critical thinking, of a critical
form of cognition force me to constantly analyze my existence through the lens of race, class,
and gender. And when I use this example in my classroom it provides a visual representation for
students. I frame the entire discussion of Black women through the box analogy, which gives the
student a picture to hold onto. I try to open the lid on that tiny box, expose and make sense of
the realities of Black women. My consciousness as a teacher is framed by my consciousness as