Racial Microaggressions and African American Students at Predominantly White Institutions: A Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: 25.084 - MTCC Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: 25.084-1 - Black Students Matter: Scholarly Perspectives on Black Student Achievement and Persistence

Abstract

African American students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) often view their campuses as hostile and not culturally affirming due to racial microaggressions. Using a critical race theory framework, this sequential mixed-methods study explored the relationships between racial microaggressions, coping, relatedness, and racial identity as well as how African American college students experience racial microaggressions. Quantitative findings suggested that experiencing racial microaggressions impacted students' racial identity. Also, relatedness was impacted by racial identity and coping with racism. Qualitative findings indicated that students often experience a variety of racial microaggressions, particularly microassaults and microinsults such as ascription to intelligence. The study has implications for researchers, educators, and administrators.

Authors

• Whitney N. McCoy, Duke University

• Stephen M Gibson, North Carolina State University

• Oriana T. Johnson, Duke University

• Jessica T. Decuir-Gunby, North Carolina State University