"Coalition of the Willing": Promoting Antiracism Through Empowering Students

• In Event: Student Driven Organizational Change and Examining the Locus of Responsibility

Abstract

Racism permeates college campuses thereby adversely impacting students of color. As administrators wrestle with how to promote antiracism on college campuses there is limited scholarship on the topic of anti-racist empowerment especially from the perspective of university presidents of African descent. We utilized Critical Race Theory (CRT) to frame our case study towards understanding the lived experiences of six Black community college presidents about how they respond to racism on campus and seek to empower students to develop anti-racist practices and programs. Findings indicated presidents were active in developing antiracist processes, called out racism, held perpetrators accountable, and proactively empowered students by creating spaces for anti-racist conversations and increasing the representation of marginalized groups to support students.

Authors

• Bryan Hotchkins, Texas Tech University

• Jon McNaughtan, Texas Tech University

• Jarett T. Lujan, Texas Tech University