Erased and Exhausted: Racial Battle Fatigue and the Invisibility of Pacific Islander Males in Higher Education

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session
  In Paper Session: (re)defining Masculinities: Race, Disability, and Visibility in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper extends the framework of Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) by centering the experiences of Pacific Islander males in U.S. higher education—an understudied group often rendered invisible by institutional data, research, and policy. Grounded in Critical Race Theory and counter-storytelling, this literature-based study examines how systemic racism manifests through racial opacity, miscategorization, and cultural erasure. Drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship, the paper explores the psychological, physiological, and behavioral impacts of RBF and analyzes culturally grounded, strength-based responses rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems, peer solidarity, and spiritual resilience. In highlighting both the unique and shared dimensions of racialized stress, this research challenges dominant diversity frameworks and calls for intentional, identity-affirming interventions. By naming what has been historically silenced, this study contributes to a more inclusive theory of RBF and reimagines pathways toward institutional justice.

Author

• Roberto Jacob C. Laanan, University of Utah