Our Steps Come From Afar

Black Women In Graduate School

Abstract

Racism is a structural problem that is reflected in institutions and interpersonal relationships in different ways, both explicit and hidden. In the educational context, one of the manifestations of racism is the low representation of black people in teaching staff and bibliographic references, and this racial inequality is accentuated when higher levels of education are verified. In order to give visibility to the production of scientific knowledge carried out by black researchers, this work presents the research of black women who completed postgraduate studies, linked to the Psychology and Education research line, in the study and research group Differences and Subjectivities in Education (DiS), of the Graduate Program in Education of the Faculty of Education (PPGE-FE) of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), between the years 2005 to 2024. To this end, a bibliographic and documentary research is carried out, with a survey of the dissertations and theses already defended in the research group, and the researchers’ Lattes CVs. This work highlights studies conducted by black women in this line of research and their contributions, reflecting on the access and conditions of black women in public universities. The social and scientific relevance of the research is highlighted, as most of it addresses racial relations and the resulting inequalities, presenting theoretical and methodological innovations. The low representation of black researchers and professors is also noted, which reflects institutionalized racism in graduate programs, even with the implementation of affirmative actions.