Chapter 1: Heaven Help us: Insights into the Marginalization of Black Girls’ Giftedness

In this book chapter, Heaven, a fourth-grade student, shares her story of navigating giftedness and her lived experiences as a Black girl across educational learning spaces. Heaven participated in a community-based informal STEM program (I AM STEM) for three consecutive summers prior to this study and describes how she became involved, the lessons that were most meaningful to her in developing new skills and knowledge, and the ways in which she continues to nurture those skills throughout the formal school year. We begin this book chapter by first presenting Heaven’s complete counterstory, elevating her voice above that of the researchers and challenging existing master narratives that do not accurately portray the brilliance and giftedness of Black girls. The essence of Heaven’s lived experiences counters negative master narratives regarding Black girls’ capabilities (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Francis, 2012; Giroux, 1991; Morris, 2007). Counterstories as a research method, examines how race and racism shape the experiences of students of color, thus Heaven provides critical insights into the untapped giftedness of Black girls (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002a). Her counterstory is loosely organized into six sections/subheadings—1) Introduction to Heaven, 2) Responding to learning experiences in I AM STEM, 3) Responding to learning experiences in school, 4) Translating learning from I AM STEM, 5) Reflecting on the influence of race, class, and gender, and 6) Heaven’s final reflections. These subheadings directly correspond with questions from the semi-structured interview protocol, which were informed by this study’s research questions—To what extent is Heaven’s giftedness recognized and supported across (STEM) learning experiences in a community-based program and her formal school? What roles (if any) does Heaven perceive race, gender, and/or class play in her educational experiences?