Mapping the margins and searching for higher ground: examining the marginalisation of black female graduate students at PWIs

ABSTRACT

The number of Black females enrolled in colleges and universities has grown in recent years, particularly at predominately white institutions (PWIs). Currently, research on the rise of Black females at PWIs is limited and fails to adequately address the emotional, social, and mental well-being of these students. Recent studies also largely ignore the critical roles that natural and formal Black female faculty play in serving as a buffer between Black female graduate students (BFGS) and PWIs more broadly. From a critical perspective using counter-narrative, we address the limitations of the scholarly literature on BFGS and other challenges faced by BFGS. We come to the disappointing – albeit unsurprising – conclusion that PWIs should do more to make the academy a welcoming place for BFGS, however, the ways in which PWIs function make support for BFGS unlikely. We conclude with a discussion about the implications of continued marginalisation of BFGS at PWIs for individuals, families, communities, disciplines, and for PWIs across the nation.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical race theory
• sociology
• higher education
• race and ethnicities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 We acknowledge that there are many pathways in the fight for equity and social justice and that many have fought the battles of this war without the benefit of tertiary education. We are merely suggesting that through higher education degrees Black women have some semblance of access that facilitates the fight for equity.