Pain We Inherit and Harm We Pass On: Rethinking Mentorship Through a Holistic Critical Lens

• In Event: “Bad Mentor”: Community Perceptions of “Qualified” Mentors in the Tower and the Block

Abstract

This paper interrogates the concept of "bad mentorship" in higher education by examining the often-overlooked harms that occur within well-intentioned mentoring relationships—especially in programs serving historically excluded populations. Drawing on data from my dissertation, I provide both empirical and autoethnographic perspectives on how power, race, and institutional pressures shape mentoring interactions and outcomes. This paper contributes to mentorship research by interrogating the false binary of “good vs. bad” mentors and positions mentorship as a relational and systemic practice with the capacity to reproduce harm or resist institutional oppression. By amplifying mentee voices, incorporating trauma-informed insights, and promoting an ethic of repair, this paper advocates for mentorship models that prioritize accountability, community, and institutional transformation.

Author

• Michael A. Hunt, University of Maryland - Baltimore County