I Won't Let You Break Me: Black Feminism, Survivance, and the Emergence of Ontological Flexibility

Abstract

This manuscript explores the challenges faced by Black women in higher education. Despite the social, educational, and financial benefits of academia, Black women often encounter significant drawbacks, including limited support, mentorship, and funding, as well as experiencing pervasive anti-Black rhetoric and exclusionary practices. These experiences present as isolated experiences but are part of a broader pattern of systemic issues within higher education. This project aimed to provide language around Black women in academia, highlighting their resistance practices and liberatory journeys. The analysis is grounded in Black feminist thought and seeks to provide a conceptual framework for understanding Black women's survivance practices in neoliberal academic contexts. This framework, inspired by Gerald Vizenor's concept of survivance, emphasizes acts of survival and resistance against victimization. The study focused on how Black women navigate and negotiate barriers in predominantly white institutions (PWIs), addressing the psychological impact of toxic stress and developing strategies for reconciliation and healing.