Abstract
In the current moment of historical erasure—marked by book bans, curricular restrictions, and political efforts to sanitize discussions of race—(re)membering becomes a pedagogical imperative. Drawing on Morrison’s (1987) articulation of (re)membering and Black feminist theories of memory (Collins, 2000; Hartman, 2008; hooks, 1994), this paper uses narrative inquiry to trace the intergenerational educational journeys of a Black rural Southern woman born in 1914 and her granddaughter, a contemporary teacher educator. Through autobiography and lived experience, this paper examines how personal and communal histories counter disremembering (Trouillot, 1995) and the politics of being forgotten. By weaving together these two lives—rooted in a one-room North Carolina schoolhouse and a childhood in Pacoima during the 1980s–1990s—the paper argues that (re)membering offers essential benefits for educators committed to justice: restoring lineage, expanding curriculum, elevating Black women’s intellectual labor, and providing paths for healing.
Author Biography
Akilah K. Lyons-Moore
Akilah K. Lyons-Moore, EdD, is an associate professor of clinical education at the University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education. She teaches and leads courses in the MAT program and supports doctoral students in the EdD program’s Leading Instructional Change concentration. Her work explores how learning theories, cultural and racial knowledges, and critical pedagogies foster transformative learning. Raised in Pacoima, California, Dr. Lyons-Moore is a single mother of four who draws on the collective histories and knowledges of family and community to inform her work. She holds an EdD and MAT from USC Rossier and a BA from Occidental College.
Recommended Citation
Lyons-Moore, A. K.
(2026).
(Re)membering as resistance: Learning from my grandma’s story in a time of historical erasure.
Occasional Paper Series,
(56), 117-126.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1610
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons