Tokenism, Isolation, and Repression: Navigating Engineering and Computing as "the Only Black Guy"

• In Event: A Critical Exploration of Educational Experiences of Boys and Men of Color

Abstract

In 2018, out of the 78,715 people enrolled in engineering doctoral programs only 790 were Black males and of the 12,156 awarded that year only 140 were Black males (Roy, 2019). Black students who achieve academic success and assimilate into the STEM disciplines often face issues of tokenism and isolation (Ridgeway, 2018; Battey & Leyva, 2016). Burt et al (2018) highlight that Black male engineering students are situated in an isolating context wrought with racialized experiences. Drawing on 29 interviews with Black male engineering graduate students, this paper seeks to understand in what ways does Tokenism and Isolation impact the educational experiences of Black men in Engineering doctoral programs? Preliminary results highlight how long-term tokenism and isolation can lead to repression.

Authors

• Devin Thomas White, Vanderbilt University

• Ebony O. McGee, Vanderbilt University