Roaming the Halls with Daphanie Bibbs

Daphanie Bibbs’ perseverance, compassion and lived experience have taken her a long way already. Her early ability to connect with children, led her to the field of education. And her experience, being a Black girl, and then, at 20, a young Black mother, have honed her research interests to include the intersection of Black girlhood and Black motherhood.

Bibbs, now 29, is a PhD student in the Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning program. She holds a master’s in educational leadership and administration and has almost a decade of special ed and general classroom teaching experience. Bibbs survived the pandemic, but was feeling both burnt out and wanting more. She entered the PhD program in 2023 to explore and expand. “I'm still fine-tuning what I’ll do,” Bibbs said.

As a graduate assistant in the university’s Center for K–12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, her primary role is facilitator for an educator’s book club. Working with educators in this capacity brings her closer to another of her goals, to embed Black history education into school curricula.

“I’d love to train principals, specifically those identifying as Black, to encourage their educators to teach Black history all year long,” said Bibbs. “As a classroom teacher, I suggested schoolwide initiatives to integrate Black history. They were often met with resistance and microaggressions. But I always made sure at least my classroom touched on Black history throughout the year.”

Among her self-identifications—Chicago native, lifelong learner, reformative conversation facilitator—she is a Black feminist. “I was still a girl when I became a mom,” she noted. “I’m an advocate for women, and specifically Black women. Many of our accomplishments go unnoticed and uncredited; things happen to us that don't happen to all women.”

 LaGarrett King, associate professor and director of the center, has known Bibbs since she was an undergraduate student. “When we began talking about graduate school, she knew Black motherhood and Black girlhood was one of her topics,” he said. “For Daphanie, it encompasses what scholars call ‘me-search’ and ‘we-search,’ where the historicity of a phenomenon is both deeply personal, and expounds on a group’s collective experience.”

Bibbs agrees. “My ‘inner child’—my Black girl—still needs healing,” she said. “Historically, Black girls are often subject to ‘adultification’; the idea that they’re adults, that they should deal with things, not show emotion. And this has generational and cultural effects.”

She’s both seen and experienced how Black mothers are treated by their children’s schools, leading to her interest in schools’ policing of Black mothers. “Black mothers are greeted differently than white mothers. If a Black mother is presenting with emotion, anxiety or fear, it’s often misperceived as anger,” said Bibbs. “Instead of understanding or compassion, they are often met with resistance and maybe fear.”

Bibbs perspective on her goals also has roots in family support. “My twin sister is a doctor—a school psychologist. It was our long-time goal to get all the education that we could; to be a part of the decision-makers,” she said.

When she was admitted to UB, Bibbs was awarded the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship, which provides financial assistance for underrepresented UB students pursuing full-time graduate study.

“The fellowship affords me and my daughter the things we need,” said Bibbs. “More importantly, she and her friends, and the Black girls that I've taught, the Black women and Black mothers who I've mentored, are watching me. This accomplishment, gaining a doctoral degree, is to encourage them. They are learning that they can accomplish their goals, despite challenges and rejection.”

“One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that ‘no’—not passing a certification the first time, or not being offered that job—isn’t the end of the world. ‘No’ can just mean ‘not yet.’ You just have to keep going and pressing through.”