"Black Elephant in the Room": Black Students Contextualizing Campus Racial Climate Within US Racial Climate

Colleges and universities across the United States tout the importance of racial diversity, yet highly public racialized incidents persist. Historically, Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) were created in the early twentieth century in response to the racism Black students experienced on college campuses. While previous literature provides evidence for the positive effects of BGLOs for Black members, less is known about if and how these effects of BGLO membership extend to non-Black members. Drawing on 34 in-depth interviews with non-Black members of BGLOs, we seek answers to three yet unasked questions: First, why do non-Blacks come to identify with BGLOs? Second, what are the responses and reactions to this identification process and experience? And finally, how does this identification relate to larger shifts in the United States’s racial hierarchy? We find that campus racial climate acts as a catalyst for BGLO membership and that BGLOs continue to serve their purpose as a necessary counter-space but that also, non-Blacks come to identify with these organizations in order to develop meaningful interracial solidarity and oppose their hostile campus climates.

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Campus Racial Climate and Student Academic Outcomes: A Critique of Prior Research and Recommendations for Future Study

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.2190/cs.14.2.g ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 265-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Edward L. Lascher ◽

Jeremy L. Offenstein

Keyword(s):

Future Study ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Racial Climate ◽

Campus Racial Climate

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Keeping Race in Place: Racial Microaggressions and Campus Racial Climate at the University of California, Berkeley

Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review ◽

10.5070/c7231021142 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Solóranzo ◽

Walter R. Allen ◽

Grace Carroll

Keyword(s):

Racial Microaggressions ◽

University Of California ◽

Racial Climate ◽

Campus Racial Climate ◽

The University

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Campus Racial Climate, Boundary Work and the Fear and Sexualization of Black Masculinities on a Predominantly White University

Men and Masculinities ◽

10.1177/1097184x211039002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1097184X2110390

Author(s):

Quaylan Allen

Keyword(s):

Predominantly White ◽

Black Men ◽

Social Relations ◽

Boundary Work ◽

Gender And Sexuality ◽

Racial Climate ◽

Campus Racial Climate ◽

Predominantly White Universities ◽

Predominantly White University ◽

The University

This article presents data from a study of Black men and masculinities at a predominantly White university. I argue that the campus racial climate on predominantly White universities are important sites of boundary work where fear and sexualization of Black masculinities are normalized in ways that shape Black men’s social relations on college campuses. In doing so, I will share narrative data of how Black male college students perceive the campus racial climate, with a focus on how they are feared and sexualized in predominantly White spaces. I also analyze the ways in which they managed race, gender, and sexuality within school spaces, and situate their gendered performances within the context of the boundary work of the university. Attention will be given to their agency in how they respond to White fears and sexualization of Black men.

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