Freedom dreaming: counterstories of Faculty Women of Color (FWOC) in Jesuit higher education in the U.S.

Freedom dreaming is the ability to put radical imagination into action, uplifting the joy and healing of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) educators, creating sites of compassion and spaces for BIPOC educators to thrive. Drawing from this aspirational framework, we introduce the Faculty Women of Color (FWOC) counterstories at Jesuit institutions, marking the first study ever to focus on this population. These narratives embody various forms of individual, collective, and collaborative resistance. FWOC illustrated the power, compassion, and peace inherent in the temporary and permanent withdrawals, disengagements from, and refusal to participate in colonial academic activity. This study reveals and advances decolonial possibilities for FWOC as they enact strategic forms of resistance that actively embrace freedom dreaming.