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Abstract
Stories are ubiquitous, and they are powerful elements in the transformation and empowerment of communities who are constantly resisting oppression and making space to heal. Black women have often told stories as a way to develop knowledge, ask critical questions, and offer different perspectives. They have also told counterstories that challenge dominant discourses that attempt to misrepresent or silence them. However, even though the storytelling histories of Black women have been extensively examined, there is a paucity of research that centers the stories Black girls tell.
Guided by Womanism and Muted Group Theory, this study uses the features of fictional storytelling to communicate findings gathered from the oral and written stories of six Black girls who participated in an Afrofuturist writing workshop. Findings suggest that Black girls used their oral stories to analyze social justice issues, rejoice in their weirdness, and define their identities. Findings also suggest that Black girls used their written stories to metaphorically construct a vision of their realities, engage in cultural critique, and imagine possibilities beyond their realities. In lieu of communicating these findings traditionally, however, this dissertation utilizes the research data to generate a storied text. That is, the author generates character dialogue, creates the setting, and constructs a cohesive storied plot using data, and endnotes are given after each chapter to connect research and story.
In the Afrofuturistic story, set in the southern United States in the year 2085, people of color – the Endarkened – are restricted from dreaming. Their names, ancestry, and community practices are stripped from them, and they are forced to live a life of servitude under the oppressive regime of Girey Cuviems, better known as GC. Those who fight back experience violence in the form of detainment, harassment, and murder. Still, in the midst of state-sanctioned violence and modern-day slavery, groups of activists have formed Harbors, underground spaces where Endarkened people teach each other how to access their dreams and fight back against GC. One day, after years of living in the imagination gap, a young woman chooses to defy GC and find the Harbors.
Guided by Womanism and Muted Group Theory, this study uses the features of fictional storytelling to communicate findings gathered from the oral and written stories of six Black girls who participated in an Afrofuturist writing workshop. Findings suggest that Black girls used their oral stories to analyze social justice issues, rejoice in their weirdness, and define their identities. Findings also suggest that Black girls used their written stories to metaphorically construct a vision of their realities, engage in cultural critique, and imagine possibilities beyond their realities. In lieu of communicating these findings traditionally, however, this dissertation utilizes the research data to generate a storied text. That is, the author generates character dialogue, creates the setting, and constructs a cohesive storied plot using data, and endnotes are given after each chapter to connect research and story.
In the Afrofuturistic story, set in the southern United States in the year 2085, people of color – the Endarkened – are restricted from dreaming. Their names, ancestry, and community practices are stripped from them, and they are forced to live a life of servitude under the oppressive regime of Girey Cuviems, better known as GC. Those who fight back experience violence in the form of detainment, harassment, and murder. Still, in the midst of state-sanctioned violence and modern-day slavery, groups of activists have formed Harbors, underground spaces where Endarkened people teach each other how to access their dreams and fight back against GC. One day, after years of living in the imagination gap, a young woman chooses to defy GC and find the Harbors.