Lessons learned: research within an urban, African American district

For an African American female researcher whose race, class, and gender work as oppressive intersecting units shaping my contextualized experiences, meaning‐making, and self‐definition, the implications of my work with African American communities are complicated. In this article, I draw on culturally sensitive research practices, critical race theory, and Black feminist theory to deconstruct how race–gender–social class informed my own field experience. To these ends, I hope to advance the theoretical discussion of qualitative research with urban African American communities beyond abstraction to serious implications for practice and policy.