Invisible and Undervalued: How College Students Perceive Privilege and the Positioning of Black Women

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 1:45pm
  In Poster Session: Black Post-Secondary Student Experience, Data, and Belonging Across Educational Spaces

Abstract

This study explores how Black and Non-Black undergraduates perceive who holds the most and least privilege based on a person’s race/ethnicity and sex. Intersectionality Theory (Crenshaw, 1991) provided a framework for analyzing how overlapping systems of oppression, such as racism and sexism that negatively impacts lived experiences. This scholarship examines privilege through the legacy of colonialism, imperialism, and structural oppression, understanding that present social hierarchies are deeply rooted in historical processes of conquest, enslavement, and racial classification. This research focuses on Black undergraduates, whose experiences with systemic oppression and anti-Blackness are often marginalized or misunderstood within academic settings. This study brings to light the realities of Black students, while acknowledging the structural forces that shape their educational experiences.

Authors

• Franklin Dickerson Turner, Kean University

• Zuri Gill, Kean University