Micro-Protests as Co-cultural Communicative Practice

In this article, I utilize phenomenologically-based creative nonfiction to present a case study of what micro-protest looks like for an African American faculty member working in a predominantly white university. Drawing from observations and informal information-gathering techniques over a 20+ year period, I present a layered account to share snippets from a larger narrative that vividly capture the nuanced ways co-cultural group members navigate predominantly white organizational spaces in the margins. Ultimately, I introduce the various ways micro-protest—as a new conceptualization of co-cultural practice—is enacted to achieve the preferred outcome of separation. I conclude with a brief discussion of how this scholarly endeavor contributes to co-cultural research and theorizing.

Perceived Discrimination Among African-American Faculty and the Elliott Kemp Organizational Change Model

This chapter is relevant to the field of leadership psychology as the fundamental notions of psychology involve the study of how mental processes affect behavior. With perceived discrimination being a covert awareness experienced by some, it is important to obtain an in-depth understanding of how perceived discrimination may be the cause of lower employee engagement resulting in higher levels of intention to quit, and ultimately leading to overt job-seeking behaviors. Due to the limited research in these areas, the motivation for exploring gaps in perceived discrimination and intention to quit is an urgent need. This is also important because there is evidence suggesting that despite the advances of African Americans in obtaining the necessary education qualifying them for employment, very little progress has been made towards obtaining tenured, professor, or senior positions in academia.

“How Dare You!” African American Faculty and the Power Struggle With White Students

Higher education institutions are hiring more Intellectuals of Color to diversify their faculty. However, the diverse faculty presents an adverse dynamic between White male students and Black female professors. White students tend to exhibit disruptive, intimidating behavior toward Black faculty. Historical stereotypes, prejudices, biases, racism, oppression, and White supremacist attitudes and beliefs displayed in society express itself in the classroom. Black faculty face unique challenges in comparison with their White colleagues when teaching White students. White students more frequently disrespect and challenge the competency of Black faculty while disrupting the classroom learning environment. Meanwhile, Black faculty must display a high level of emotional labor to cope with the daily stressors.

African American Social Work Faculty

Purpose: This study explored the scholarship experiences of top-ranked African American faculty in schools of social work. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with N = 10 top-ranked African American faculty identified as achieving considerable productivity and impact of scholarship. Findings: Four major themes were identified, each of which had 2–3 subcategories. These included (1) mentorship, (2) collaboration, (3) time, and (4) strategic planning. The data revealed that of these identified themes, mentorship was the most prominent, and collaboration, although important, was the least. Implications: The noted experiences and strategies highlighted in this study could be of great utility for those seeking to enhance their scholarly productivity and impact, particularly for (a) junior faculty, (b) African American faculty, and (c) doctoral student researchers and candidates.