An autoethnography of double consciousness and educational exclusion: Black womanhood, cultural erasure, and the search for belonging

Abstract

This autoethnography explores my experience as a Black woman navigating the Canadian education system from childhood to my current educator role. Grounded in critical race theory and the concept of double consciousness, the study examines how race, gender and class interest shape identity, belonging and academic possibility. Through personal narrative and scholarly engagement, I reflect on the internalized silences, shifting identities, and systemic inequalities that shaped my sense of self across educational spaces. While the educational trajectories of both my mother and daughter provide necessary context, this autoethnography centers my journey, illustrating how structural barriers, cultural erasure, and misrecognition defined my education and early academic career. My daughter’s experiences within today’s education system, including a health crisis nearly a decade ago, even more effectively illustrate how institutional practices continue to neglect the nuances of Black student life. Moreover, these experiences highlight an urgency for intersectional and humanizing approaches to student support. Through the interconnectedness of memory, critical self-awareness, and theory, this paper challenges the myth of meritocracy and calls for a more relational, humanizing, and responsible understanding of educational equity.