In my teaching life here in the USA, I often relate to the experience of feeling unseen in White academic spaces. I know as a teacher educator, that Black women have to fight against many fabricated perceptions of themselves in urban educational spaces. Their right to be seen and heard is not a given and they often do not get to identify themselves on their own terms, having to wade through false perceptions of who they are. The identities they and I carry on both sides of the Atlantic are saturated in the legacies of colonialism and slavery. It is a heavy load to carry.

It is my understanding that mentoring and teaching must go hand-in-hand. My models of good mentoring start with my own mother and aunts back in South Africa. I mentor by foregrounding humanity and ubuntu. Mentoring and/or teaching relates to (re)membering in that we cannot truly be our full selves if we do not have the ability to truly know who we are as individuals and as a collective community. My own understanding of mentoring and my teaching practice shifted through the years because of my interactions with Black women who positively shaped my life in the Academy.

How I am moving now in the Academy is as a seasoned educator and mentor who specifically looks out to support other Black women in the academy. I offer my mentorship and care so that the women know that I would be open to doing that; especially if I think they may be shy or anxious to ask me. Currently I am mentoring two doctoral students at two different universities. For one of them I offered and the other one cold emailed me and introduced herself, asking for mentorship.
I am aware and acknowledge that even though we are not monolithic there are different considerations for mentoring Black women in the academy.

I am very explicit about mentoring in ways that honor and value my mentee's own (re)membering and cultural identity as tools that support their academic succes. Some specific pedagogical practices or mentoring strategies that have emerged from this experience for me are journaling alongside my mentees. I also build in weekly reflections for my mentees which I commit to reading and offering thoughts and questions to individuals, and sometimes I will bring up issues to the greater group gathering as we process our learning and practice together. Often these groups are given guiding questions that can offer thoughts for deeper conversation.
My purpose is to grow the practice of collective work in teacher/student cohorts; moving away from isolation and building bridges we can all access. As Black Women in the Academy we have to save ourselves, we have to be our own muses, our own teachers, our own scholars.

Questions for consideration in the presentation:
- What does mentorship mean for Black women in the academy?
- Debunking the myth that there is only place for one Black woman on a team.
- My narrative of my own mentorship; what can we learn from my different experiences when being mentored by a Black woman?
- In Interviewing my previous and current mentees; what can we learn from the process of care and support? Where are shortcomings and how can they be addressed?
- What is a set of best practices we may follow as we mentor for academic success for Black women?

Keywords: Education, Mentorship, Black Women.