The Perpetual Outsider: Voices of Black Women Pursuing Doctoral Degrees at Predominantly White Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 210-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie C. Shavers ◽  
James L. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
White Institutions

Negotiations of Women’s Black and Activist Identity Through Dress on the College Campus, 2013–2019

2020 ◽  
pp. 0887302X2096880
Author(s):  
Dyese L. Matthews ◽  
Kelly L. Reddy-Best
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Black People ◽  
College Campus ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Women College Students ◽  
White Campuses ◽  
Embodied Practice

Black people, especially Black women, have used dress to reject racism and discrimination and as a means for negotiating their Black and activist identities. Building on past work, we examine how Black women use dress as an embodied practice to negotiate both their Black and activist identities. We focus on a particular space and time: campus life at predominantly White institutions during the Black Lives Matter movement era from 2013 to 2019.To achieve this purpose, we conducted 15 in-depth, semistructured wardrobe interviews with current Black women college students. Overall, we identified three themes relating to Black women college students: experiences on predominantly White campuses, negotiating Black identity through dress, and negotiating activist identity through dress. Examining how Black women negotiate identity through dress recognizes their stories as important through counter-storytelling, allowing Black women to write their own history in their own voices.

Authentically Me: Examining Expectations That Are Placed Upon Black Women in College

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachelle Winkle-Wagner ◽  
Bridget Turner Kelly ◽  
Courtney L. Luedke ◽  
Tangela Blakely Reavis
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
College Women ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Black College ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Faculty And Staff

Through analyzing critical life stories with Black alumnae from predominantly White institutions, this article offers a narrative, in-depth approach to explore the ways in which alumnae managed and resisted expectations and stereotypes that were placed upon them by peers, faculty, and staff during college. Findings suggested that participants grappled with assumptions of who they should be as Black college women. As they resisted stereotypes and expectations, they crafted unique pathways toward asserting their authentic selves. The findings emphasize heterogeneity among Black women and the need for varied support structures in educational institutions.

Finding a Voice in Predominantly White Institutions: A Longitudinal Study of Black Women Faculty Members’ Journeys toward Tenure

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Bridget Turner Kelly ◽  
Rachelle Winkle-Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Women Faculty ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Longitudinal Research Design ◽  
Black Women Faculty

Background/Context Amidst scholarship that underscores the importance of Black women faculty in higher education, Black women are often not being retained in faculty positions at research universities. There is a gap in the research relative to how Black women experience the tenure process at predominantly White institutions, and this may have important implications for both recruitment and retention of Black women faculty. Purpose This analysis attempts to fill a gap in the literature on the recruitment and retention of faculty of color by asking: What are the experiences of Black women faculty on the tenure track at PWIs who are the only woman of color faculty member in their academic program? Drawing on data from qualitative longitudinal research with Black women faculty who were on the tenure track at PWIs, the primary purpose of this analysis was to understand four Black women's longitudinal reflections on their journey toward tenure at PWIs where they are “othered” by gender and race. Setting and Participants This project was part of a larger study of 22 women faculty who were on tenure-lines in two predominantly White research universities. This study focused on four Black women from this larger study. Research Design This study employed a qualitative longitudinal research design. Data Collection and Analysis: As part of the qualitative longitudinal research design, interviews were conducted each year for five years with each participant. Findings The findings of this analysis with Black women faculty on the tenure-line suggests that despite being the only person of color in their academic programs, they found ways to use their voice in and outside the academy. Finding and using their voices in the academy became a way to push back and resist some of the isolation and racism that the women experienced in the academy, and often the women did so in collectivist spaces with other Black women. Conclusions/Recommendations These findings of this study call into question predominantly White and male spaces in academia and ways that these spaces should be challenged to change. The Black women in this study coped by creating collectivist spaces and finding/ using their voices. Rather than focusing on how to encourage Black women to cope and survive in academia, there should be more emphasis on how to change institutional and departmental structures to make these spaces more inclusive and collectivist.

Building Bridges

2015 ◽  
pp. 167-194
Author(s):  
Mahauganee Dawn Shaw ◽  
Modinat A. Sanni
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Women Educators ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Black Women Educators

In this chapter, research on the roles of mentoring and cultural nourishment within the institutional environment is used to contextualize the personal narratives of two Black women educators. The narratives come from the authors—women who were formally educated in predominantly White institutions and informally educated in a variety of African-centered community and family settings—and are used to highlight lessons gleaned from the authors' experiences as women of color within predominantly White educational settings, both as students and employees. Examples are provided to reveal how those lessons now guide their current work interacting with and advocating for students of color in similar institutional settings.

Examining Practices of Retaining Black Female Faculty and Staff in Independent Schools

2020 ◽  
pp. 002193472096703
Author(s):  
Shayna Marie Cooke ◽  
Kristina Bethea Odejimi
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Independent Schools ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Faculty Of Color ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Predominately White Institutions ◽  
Predominately White ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Group Interviews

K12 Independent schools have historically struggled with attracting and retaining faculty of color within their communities. This paper aims to explore the experiences of faculty of color, specifically Black women, in predominately White institutions and offer practical solutions to creating safe and equitable spaces where these individuals can feel seen, heard, and valued. The research for this paper relies heavily on focus group interviews of Black women in an independent school setting. The following themes emerged from these interviews: Perceptions and Stereotypes, Negative Experiences, Obligation to Others, and Institutional Support. These themes highlighted participants’ personal stories and experiences within various predominantly White institutions across their careers. The startling experiences of these women show how far we still have to go in terms of designing truly inclusive spaces for all faculty to feel that they are valued and welcomed members of the community.

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