ACES Colloquium Series: Dr. ArCasia James-Gallaway (TLAC) 10/5/2021
“I’m Black, and I Can Do This:” Black Cheerleaders and Homecoming Queens, Femininity, and School Desegregation in 1970s Texas
Meeting ID: 950 1786 2525
Password: ArCasiaJG
“I’m Black, and I Can Do This:” Black Cheerleaders and Homecoming Queens, Femininity, and School Desegregation in 1970s Texas
Virtual Event
Zoom Meeting information:
Meeting ID: 950 1786 2525
Password: ArCasiaJG
https://tamu.zoom.us/j/95017862525?pwd=a3lQVUxkdUdYWlgzdS9mM2xsanJkQT09
Dr. ArCasia James-Gallaway
Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Glasscock Affiliated Fellow (ACES), Texas A&M University
Abstract:
In desegregating Texas high schools, which Black girls became homecoming queens and cheerleaders? How did the Black girls who took on these roles influence conceptions of hegemonic femininity? What were their mindsets and formative experiences? James-Gallaway addresses these questions, drawing on a larger study about Black desegregating Texas students’ lived experience as simultaneously raced, gendered, and classed. Informed by archival research and oral history interviews, this interdisciplinary project highlights Waco, Texas, in the 1970s. Two themes thread this narrative: 1) Black girls’ preparation for and disposition toward homecoming queen or cheerleader and 2) Black girls’ proximity to hegemonic standards of beauty and femininity. Ultimately, James-Gallaway argues that as cheerleaders and homecoming queens, Black girls refashioned femininity as more inclusive and representative.
Please note that this is not a lecture, and thus, is not suited for class attendance. The Colloquium Series is intended to provide the presenter with a forum to discuss their research and receive feedback from colleagues.
PLEASE NOTE: Unlike our Faculty and Graduate Fellows’ Colloquia, we do not pre-circulate a draft paper of the work-in progress for ACES Colloquia.
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