Chapter 6: Channeling Queen Nzinga in the fight against Dysconsciousness at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have long been regarded as iconic cornerstones of African American education and lauded for providing nurturing environments that disproportionately produce African Americans in a wide array of academic disciplines and professions. These institutions have brilliantly done so while combating the increasing demands for accountability through student performance indicators such as retention, graduation, placement, and default rates. Because HBCUs have been staunchly committed to providing the broadest possible access to traditionally underrepresented and often underserved populations, these metrics have placed some institutions in the throes of enduring battles for viability and substantive recognition. The resulting organizational inertia has stifled curriculums, policies, and innovations, which has led some institutions to a state of dysconsciousness, concisely defined as an uncritical acceptance of the status quo. Such struggles beg the question of how can HBCUs construct transformative policies and practices that will bolster academic persistence and success? Building on the legacy of Queen Nzinga the fearless, warrior Mother of Angola, this chapter will discuss how two Black mother educators employ African Diaspora Literacy as a pedagogical tool to address institutional dysconsciousness at HBCUs in the service of improving student learning outcomes, but more importantly, student living outcomes.