The Power of Sisterhood: For Black Girls in White Spaces

SISTERHOOD noun

sis·ter·hood /ˈsistərˌho͝od/: They met in the 4th grade and later became best friends; remained connected when distance and relocation separated them; traversed the self-defining trials of teenhood together; held each other accountable, making them upset with each other at times, but loved each other authentically, advocating for each other's needs all the way through high school graduation.  

 I didn't attend an all-girls high school, or any all-girls school for that matter. And while I absolutely loved my high school experience, I have come to recognize the power of an all-girls education through the transformation and grounding I have witnessed in my own daughter through her friendships, her sisterhood. With a brilliantly creative neurodivergent mind, she grew up as an only child in a divorced single parent home, blessed with both social and educational opportunities in awesome institutions, traveling to countries around the world, and simply sitting in the company of some of the most brilliant minds. While often housed in predominately White spaces, this Black girl, now a young woman, has flourished and is fully owning all of who she is with confidence and integrity. Even while studies cite that women are more likely than men to experience depression; Black teens possibly facing an average of five racially discriminatory experiences every day which predicts short-term increases in depressive symptoms; and suicide rates in Black youth ages 10-19 having increased by 54% since 2019, surpassing their White peers for the first time, she has been empowered to harness her essence as both a woman and a Black creative.

There is a wealth of research highlighting the benefits of an all-girls education, including heightened career aspirations and motivation, greater academic self-confidence—particularly in math and science—and a stronger sense of peer support which I like to refer to as the sisterhood. And this sisterhood, I believe, is the secret sauce that makes these environments so effective in shaping young girls into intelligently confident, self-aware leaders. 

Studies evidence that students feeling connected to school is associated with lower depression and behavioral issues, thus laying the groundwork for greater success in the classroom and overall school community.  And when in predominately White spaces both racially and culturally normed, this connection has been demonstrated to be even stronger for Black girls. The power of sisterhood is fostered through those feelings of being supported by other students, feelings of connection to and affirmation of a personal identity that adds value to not just the all-girl space, but the larger world. Girls, without competition for teacher attention or distraction sometimes caused by the male gaze, are able to lean into who they are and all of their purposefully-designed imperfections, exploring their intrinsic beauty, learning to confidently love it, and then walking in it so that they can use both their feet and voice to advocate for those who come behind them. Sisterhood breathes life into girls and this life giving power shows up in its loud cheering of the unrefined dancer as she performs a dance solo in front of her peers for the first time; in its standing ovation for the novice singer who sits in front of a filled auditorium, singing her first solo; in how it acknowledges and celebrates the presence of a socially awkward student who eagerly shares endless in-depth technical facts about her passionate interest. True sisterhood affirms and cultivates spaces where girls can fully be and boldly become--be themselves and become who they were meant to be. 

"For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real power is rediscovered."  ―Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider

The power of sisterhood also holds each other accountable. In these all-girl spaces where academic learning is happening both within and outside of the classroom, another type of lesson is being taught--accountability. Accountability in not just following through with assignments and group projects, but in being your authentic self and showing up for you, even when it's not popular or socially acceptable. How much further along would many of us be if we had learned this skill by 16 or 17 years old? Sisterhood not only makes space for you to be your full self, but it also celebrates it. So when you don't show up authentically, you are challenged and questioned as to why. And these self-defining moments of accountability are never easy nor comfortable, but they are necessary to knowing and loving who you are so that you can show up to the classroom, to the field or court, to the college dorm, to the office, to the male-dominated C-suite or engineering team and perform to the best of your ability without having to harm others in the process. Sisterhood is the type of friction where girls are met with a force that may temporarily slow them down, only to later propel them forward with power.  

And this sisterhood power for Black girls in White spaces is that much more critical. To combat the data that indicates that adults perceive Black girls as needing less nurturing, less protection, less comfort, less support, and are more adult-like, especially between the ages of 5–14, sisterhood allows for safety--safety  from a world that questions their inherent value and worthiness of protection, safety to simply be a kid. Sisterhood amongst Black girls is a redemptive process that operates "IRL" (in real life), nurturing those spirits that have been broken, hearts that may have been wounded, and minds that have caused dream paralysis because of its consumption of the world's criticism of women and black identity. Sisterhood for Black girls uplifts and offers healing, proving that it is so much more than just another positive interaction. It is transformative, sometimes serving as the difference between death of the little black girl's mind, body and spirit and renewed life.       

“When you wake up and find yourself living someplace where there is nobody you love and trust, no community, it is time to leave town – to pack up and go (you can even go tonight). And where you need to go is any place where there are arms that can hold you, that will not let you go.” ― bell hooks, Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery

As a Black mother and woman navigating through life's many challenges, I am thankful for my own life-sustaining sisterhood. And I am even more thankful for the sisterhood in my daughter's life. It truly does take a village, including those both young and old. And watching the power of an all-girls education in real-time has made me greatly aware of that. 

This is the power of an all-girls education, the power of sisterhood. 

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