Storying Change: Black Girls' Digital Narratives as Educational Advocacy

Autumn Griffin

Schools across the U.S. face several pressing crises, including academic disengagement and inequitable disciplinary practices that disproportionately impact Black youth. While research shows that student-led initiatives can improve school climate and engagement, the voices of Black girls remain significantly underrepresented. This is particularly troubling given their disproportionate rates of school exclusion, restricted access to advanced coursework, and differential treatment in areas such as dress code enforcement. Too often, Black girls are rendered invisible in curricula and adultified by teachers. Their perspectives are urgently needed to inform inclusive policies and practices that foster more supportive and equitable school environments. To understand how Black girls can contribute to school change, we must attend to the diverse ways they express their visions, especially through non-traditional and digital modes. Standard engagement strategies often overlook the lived experiences and meaning-making practices, missing how Black girls leverage technology to challenge marginalization and (re)imagine alternative educational futures. Thus, this qualitative study explores how Black girls use digital meaning-making practices to advocate for more just schooling. It is guided by two research questions: (1) How do Black girls envision and digitally represent desired changes in their schools? and (2) In what ways can their digital meaning-making processes contribute to more equitable educational environments? By illuminating the voices and visions of Black girls, I aim to provide insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers committed to cultivating school spaces where Black girls are fully seen, heard, and able to thrive.

About Autumn Griffin

Autumn Adia Griffin is an incoming Assistant Professor of Urban Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A former English Language Arts teacher, her research examines how Black adolescent girls use literature and literacy to name, (re)imagine and disrupt race-gendered violence in ways that center Black joy, love, and celebration. Grounded in Black Girlhoods studies, youth media studies, and critical literacies, Autumn's scholarship explores how Black girls' creative and intellectual contributions shape public discourse and educational possibility and what educators might learn from Black girls' storytelling, digital literacy, and student-driven inquiry. Her broader research agenda explores how educational institutions can be reimagined through the lens of Black youths' ways of knowing and being. Through her work she also examines the pedagogical wisdom and contributions of of Black women educators and how curriculum, school culture, and policy intersect to either sustain or disrupt justice-oriented teaching in urban contexts. Griffin's academic writing has been published in Research in the Teaching of English, Urban Education, and Equity & Excellence in Education. She is the co-author of Restorying Young Adult Literature: Expanding Students' Perspectives with Digital Texts with Joshua Coleman and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas and the co-editor of All About Black Girl Love in Education: bell hooks and Pedagogies of Love with Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz. Her current Spencer-supported project explores how Black girls use digital media to document their lives, build community, and advocate for educational justice.