Just because it don't look heavy, don't mean it ain't: An intersectional analysis of Black women's labor as faculty during COVID

ABSTRACT

The purpose of our scholarly personal narrative was to examine how COVID-19 and an increased awareness of anti-Blackness in the United States have exacerbated our labor as Black women faculty, with particular focus on teaching and service responsibilities. Dill and Zambrana's (2009) four theoretical interventions of intersectionality guided our study, and we situated our composite narratives within structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal power domains. Our four composite narratives included (1) Interest convergence, there is no real true investment in change;(2) Institutional intent versus impact, I don't know how it will be incorporated;(3) Perpetuation of Black women's labor, just because it don't look heavy, don't mean it ain't;and (4) Reclaiming my time, and it's not because I don't like them, but it's because I love me. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.