At the Helm Black Women and Leadership

At the Helm is the fourth and final volume in the innovative series In Words of Our Own: Black Women and Being, by and about Black Canadian women, centring Black feminist perspectives. In this groundbreaking text, the authors explore how Black women lead, influence, and create change across multiple social contexts and spaces, including places of work, communities, academia, and family life. Through a diverse range of contributions, the collection examines both the systemic barriers Black women face and the acts of bold resistance, care, and leadership they employ while navigating institutions shaped by patriarchy, race, gender, sexuality, ability, and religious identity. It demonstrates how these intersecting forces both constrain and shape opportunities for leadership. As one of the few edited collections devoted to Black women's leadership in Canada, At the Helm challenges race-evasive narratives by centring Black women's experiences, knowledge systems, and ways of knowing and being. Offering timely scholarship and critical perspectives, this text disrupts the status quo on equity, leadership, and social change. This accessible text is well-suited for courses in women's and gender studies, critical race studies, black studies, African studies, and sociology courses in both universities and colleges.