Segmented Solidarity: An Analysis of Black Students' Experiences of Social Life in a Predominantly White Institution

• In Event: Segmented Solidarity: An Analysis of Black Students' Experiences of Social Life in a Predominantly White Institution

Abstract

This ethnography examines how Black students experience social life in a predominantly-White institution, with an emphasis on their experiences with same-race peers. The author finds that while negative cross-racial experiences resulted in solidarity and norms of mutual support among Black students, individuals’ experiences of this solidarity varied based on the extent to which their identities aligned with the norms of the campus’ Black community. Based on these findings, the author identifies three types of solidarity experienced by the study’s informants: affirmed, discovered, and negotiated. The author discusses these findings in the context of theory on bounded solidarity—the emergence of norms of mutual support in contexts in which group members face common adversities and challenges—from the sociology literature.

Author

• Ahmmad Brown, Harvard University