Chapter 1: Mentoring While Black & Female: The Gendered Literacy Phenomenon of Black Women Mentors

Black women’s positions in American society allow them to experience life in ways that are uniquely different than those of other groups of women and of men in general. Such variances are often clearly articulated not only in the personal but also in the professional province. In the world of academe, Black women, especially those who successfully navigate the ivory tower, call on a gendered literacy—a distinctive skill and practice that reflects Black female ways of knowing and acting.