Mother as Mentor: The Leadership Legacies of Educator-Scholar Mothers

This chapter examines the lived experiences of two mother–daughter pairs, offering insight into their unique journeys and perspectives as Black women in the field of education. The focus is on the mothers, who are first-generation educator-scholars, and the daughters, who are second-generation educator-scholars. The research explores the mothers’ experiences in their roles as educator-scholars and the intergenerational mentoring practices that shape the mother–daughter dynamic. Over 10 months, the authors employed collaborative autoethnography (CAE) to share their narratives (Chang et al., 2013). The collective of women includes diverse perspectives shaped by various generations, geographic backgrounds, and professional experiences, highlighting how these leaders have achieved success across generations. Four main themes emerged from the exploration: maternal support, support networks, barrier navigation, and leadership values.