"Academia Just Isn't Equipped to Handle the Multiplicity of Our Identities": Exploring the Experiences of Black Woman in Doctoral Programs

• In Event: Navigating Marginality: Graduate Students of Color in Ivory Towers

Abstract

This research explores the educational experiences of middle-class Black women, specifically their academic identity, opportunities, and challenges in graduate school. While few scholars contend that class buffers Black individuals against racial prejudice, this work argues that class does little to reduce the negative impacts and experiences of institutional racism. The perspectives of Black women in academia have not been elevated in the research literature and are necessary to broaden knowledge and transform institutional practices. Therefore, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 10 Black women who are currently in graduate school (or recently graduated), this work will add to the literature by examining how middle-class Black women navigate and experience graduate school as a result of their race, gender, and class.

Author

• Antoinette J. Waller, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author