Somali Bantu Women Navigating Higher Education the United States

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Higher Education and Storying Educational Leadership (Table 2)

Abstract

This study examines the educational experiences of 20 Somali-Bantu women in higher education in the United States. Our research asks: How do Somali-Bantu young women, ages 18-30, currently or previously enrolled in institutions of higher education narrate and reflect upon their educational opportunities in the United States? We argue that participants developed strategies to overcome institutionalized obstacles including racism in college informed by previous experience with migration. More specifically, Somali Bantu women drew from community cultural wealth in order to negotiate their identities in higher education and within their cultural communities (Yosso, 2016).

Authors

• Maureen McCarthy, University at Buffalo - SUNY
  Presenting Author

• Isnino Iftin, University at Buffalo - SUNY
  Presenting Author