“No CAP”: Reflections on the Intersectionality, Positionality and the Experiences of Navigating Race as a Black Male Criminologist

The arrest of respected Black professor and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., by the Cambridge Police Department in 2009 for allegedly breaking into his own home proverbially “set the table” for this discussion. Following his arrest, Gates noted: “There are one million black men in jail in this country and last Thursday I was one of them. This is outrageous and this is how poor black men across the country are treated every day in the criminal justice system. It’s one thing to write about it, but altogether another to experience it.” Regardless of social class or occupational prestige, Black professors at predominately White institutions are subjected to hyper-surveillance and racially bias policing in public spaces on campus. Using intersectionality and positionality as conceptual frameworks, this paper describes the lived experiences of a Black professor and criminologist at a predominately White institution and his encounters with the university’s police department and the carceral state. Using Armour’s (2020) N*gga Theory, which is framed by Critical Race Theory, I analyze the relationship between race, class, unequal justice, and the politics of respectability. I use Armour’s N*gga Theory (2020) to show solidarity between those vilified as a “crime prone” Black underclass, and the less “crime prone” Black bourgeoisie. Although, the Black bourgeoisie in the academy may embrace the politics of respectability, according to N*gga Theory there is no moral or political distinction between the those considered good Negroes and those considered bad.

After the Storm

This chapter describes the experiences of two Black women that have earned doctoral degrees from predominately white institutions, through their narratives. The authors described their experiences using the metaphorical backdrop of a storm. The beginning of their doctoral program represents the calm before the storm. Their experiences within their doctoral program symbolize the authors' movement through the eye of the storm. Finally, the description of the aftermath of the storm symbolizes their post-doctoral journey. They use Tinto's student integrations model as the lens to view their narratives. They describe their institutional experiences by elaborating on their goal and institutional commitments, and their academic and social systems. One of the social aspects of the institutional experience that helped them successfully navigate their doctoral program was inclusion in the Brown Gurlz. The Brown Gurlz is a group of Black women who need a space and place to collaborate and share experiences to benefit all that are in the group.

Longing to Belong: Mentoring Relationships as a Pathway to Fostering a Sense of Belonging for Racially Minoritized Faculty at Predominantly White Institutions

As predominately white institutions (PWIs) seek to support racially minoritized faculty, there is evidence that racially minoritized faculty members at PWIs experience isolating, hostile, and unwelcoming environments (Bonner et al., 2014; Stanley, 2006; Turner, 2003). Existing higher education research does not explore the significance of sense of belonging for racially minoritized faculty and ways in which sense of belonging can be cultivated in these neoliberal institutions. Through a critical race theory lens and phenomenological method, this study focuses on ways in which mentoring relationships develop pathways to sense of belonging for racially minoritized faculty members at PWIs. Findings reveal a robust network of mentoring relationships for racially minoritized faculty, including holistic and critically conscious mentoring by colleagues, supportive peer mentoring, mentoring students, and community-based mentoring relationships. Implications for research and practice are outlined to further explore how these crucial relationships can develop sense of belonging for racially minoritized faculty members at PWIs.

Latinx Students’ Knowledge of and Inclination to Attend Public HBCUs

This qualitative study explored Latinx students’ knowledge of and inclination to attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Current research on Latinx students at HBCUs primarily explores the experiences of current students. The study sought to understand what might interest Latinx students in HBCUs. The author conducted three focus group interviews of Latinx high school and community college students. Findings indicate that Latinx students are not as knowledgeable about HBCUs as they are about predominately White institutions in the same city. Academic programs and proximity to home can attract Latinx students to HBCUs. Admissions and diversity staff will benefit from the implications of this study.

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

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.

A qualitative study of microaggressions against African Americans on predominantly White campuses

Background Pierce’s (The Black seventies: an extending horizon book, 1970) conception of “subtle and stunning” daily racial offenses, or microaggressions, remains salient even 50 years after it was introduced. Microaggressions were defined further by Sue and colleagues (Am Psychol 62:271, 2007), and this construct has found growing utility as the deleterious effects of microaggressions on the health of people of color continues to mount. Microaggressions are common on campuses and contribute to negative social, academic, and mental health outcomes. Method This paper explores how Black college students’ experiences correspond to or differ from the microaggression types originally proposed by Sue et al. (Am Psychol 62:271, 2007). Themes were identified from focus group data of students of color (N = 36) from predominately White institutions (PWIs) of higher learning (N = 3) using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results We identified 15 categories of racial microaggressions, largely consistent with the original taxonomy of Sue et al. but expanded in several notable ways. New categories in our data and observed by other researchers, included categories termed Connecting via Stereotypes, Exoticization and Eroticization, and Avoidance and Distancing. Lesser studied categories identified included Sue et al.’s Denial of Individual Racism, and new categories termed Reverse Racism Hostility, Connecting via Stereotypes, and Environmental Attacks. Discussion While previous literature has either embraced the taxonomy developed by Sue and colleagues or proposed a novel taxonomy, this study synthesized the Sue framework in concert with our own focus group findings and the contributions of other researchers. Improving our understanding of microaggressions as they impact people of color may better allow for improved understanding and measurement of this important construct.

Championships and Civil Rights

This chapter explores how Black college football and FAMU reckoned with the civil rights movement. Gaither preferred interracial cooperation rather than direct action as a means for racial change. The civil rights movement, beginning with Brown v. Board of Education, and including the bus boycotts of the mid-1950s and the sit-ins of the early 1960s, undermined Gaither’s reputation with activists. Gaither’s opposition to immediate desegregation not only was an attempt to hold on to his powerful football program but also showed an understanding of how integration would perpetuate athletic dominance by predominately white institutions. Gaither’s experiences with structural racism in building Bragg Stadium provided an alternative perspective to the civil rights movement.