The ties that bind and the shackles that separate: Race, gender, class, and color in a research process

This manuscript explores the intricacies of researching within one's own culture and addresses conflictual and concordant issues that arose when an African-American woman researcher interviewed other African-American women. It is set forth that there is no monolithic group called African-American women and that tensions arose in the interview process relating to the differences in color and class. While the issues of race and gender were unifying issues, the participants often conceptualized them differently. The data used herein were situated in a larger study; the purpose of that study was to examine the educational narratives of reentry Black women in an effort to determine how the dynamics of the larger society, which often negatively impact their lives, were played out in higher education. The sample consisted of graduate and undergraduate African-American women between the ages of 34 and 54. This qualitative research project used narrative analysis as the methodological approach and Black feminist thought provided the theoretical framework.