Stories of Savvy Queer Millennials of Color Making It Through School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Toward Necessarily Complex Research of Queer and Trans Youth Resistance and Survival

Abstract

This paper explores the social practices and lived experiences that queer millennials of color have identified as supporting their progress in school. Drawn from data findings of a narrative research dissertation study exploring how queer youth of color negotiate their intersectional identities and navigate formal school settings, this paper will focus on the ontological reflections and lived experiences of ten queer millennials of color who have thrived in school, while also exploring the purpose of formal education.
Amidst recent political progress in the gay rights movement, queer people of color continue to face social and economic disenfranchisement that threaten their ability to contribute to society .For example, queer people of color experience disproportionately higher rates of poverty than White queers (Albelda, Badgett, Schneebaum, & Gates, 2009). Given that schooling and education is often a necessity to gain upward social and economic mobility, a critical reflection of how queer youth of color experience formal school settings can offer insight on how to support their journeys through school. Identity--particularly race, class, gender identity, gender expression and sexuality--matters in mediating one’s experience in school and their access to resources available in school. A recent study detailing the inequalities that LGBT adults of color face in the workplace points to systemic educational barriers as a significant obstacle that undermines economic achievement (Human Rights Campaign, 2013). Students of color are six times more likely than White students to attend a low-performing school (Human Rights Campaign, 2013). Thus, a student’s academic career is potentially more vulnerable if the student identifies as queer and of color.
Consequently, critical examinations of access to quality education must be a priority concerning the survival of the next generation of queer communities of color. Amos (2008) shows that students and their respective communities stand to receive economic, social and health benefits when students complete secondary school. Students who complete high school are more likely to attend college, earn higher wages, live longer, are less likely to commit crimes, and are less likely to depend on government assistance programs (Amos, 2008).
This paper critically examines the narrated lived experiences of a diverse group of 10 queer millennials of color, ages 18-25, who have graduated from high schools in the United States and have lofty hopes, plans and dreams for their futures. With rigorous analysis of individual interviews, participant constructed life-maps and a focus group, the paper will offer wisdom and insights from queer millennials of color who have managed to make it through school and chart their own paths. And with guidance based on critical examinations of queer youth of color narrated conceptions of the purpose of education, the author will explore possibilities of queer participation and contributions to society.

Author

• Tomas Boatwright, University of Rochester