(In)visible men on campus: campus racial climate and subversive black masculinities at a predominantly white liberal arts university

TL;DR: There is an emerging body of literature examining the academic success of Black men attending predominantly white colleges and universities, though less is known about Black college men's experienc... as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: There is an emerging body of literature examining the academic success of Black men attending predominantly White colleges and universities, though less is known about Black college men’s experienc...

Summary

Theoretical Frameworks

• This paper draws upon poststructuralist theories of gender and critical race theory in an examination of Black men’s gendered experiences on predominantly White college campuses.
• Butler (1988) in particular posits that gender is brought into being performatively, that is to say gender is constructed discursively and involves the subsequent repetition, citation and iterability of particular gender norms that create the preconditions by which masculinities are produced.
• Critical race theory and its scholars assert that racism is endemic in American society.
• Black men are also agents in their gender socialization on college campuses and certainly learn and engage in an array of masculine performances (Harper and Quaye 2007; Harris, Palmer, and Struve 2011; Strayhorn and TillmanKelly 2013) including those that challenge hegemonic notions of Black male identity (McGuire et al.

Methodology

• Purposive and snowballing sampling strategies were used in recruiting participants who identified as Black, male and a current undergraduate or graduate student (Goetz and LeCompte 1984).
• Students talked about constantly “getting looks” from gazing peers as they walked through campus and explained how they often avoided walking through heavily populated student gathering locations.
• The students’ presence on campus and in the local community were regularly questioned by law enforcement and participants were often asked to present identification to prove their student status.
• For most of the men in the study, code switching was used as a linguistic presentation of self that distinguished them as different from larger Black male stereotypes.
• In schools and colleges, the behaviors of Black men are often interpellated as aggressive or intimidating by their teachers and faculty (Davis 2003; Shirazi 2016), and within predominantly White settings, these stereotypes serve as constraints to Black men’s emotional and gender expressions (Jackson and Wingfield 2013; Wilkins 2012a).

Conclusion and Implications

• Research shows that repeated exposure to microaggression events on college campuses contributes to a poor campus climate, negative academic outcomes, and other psychological stressors (Smith, Hung, and Franklin 2011; Landrine and Klonoff 1996).
• The particular subversive practices of code switching and repositioning, and the participants discussion of these practices, provides insight into the diversity of Black masculinities and sexualities on predominantly White campuses.
• While race plays a central role in the gendered expectations and socialization of Black men on college campuses, attention must be paid to the ways that queer and heterosexual Black men encounter and respond to the university’s racial climate in similar and divergent ways.
• Research shows that Black males with positive racial identity tend to be more resilient and have positive academic outcomes (Caughy et al.
• These initiatives are shown to foster student engagement, academic persistence, social integration, and research development of students (Wood and Palmer 2015).

Figures

Figure 1. Surveillance on campus

Figure 3. Apollo’s photo in the residence hall

Figure 2. Reg at a silent march for Trayvon Martin

Full text

Chapman University Chapman University
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Education Faculty Articles and Research Attallah College of Educational Studies
10-18-2018
(In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and (In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and
Subversive Black Masculinities at a Predominantly White Liberal Subversive Black Masculinities at a Predominantly White Liberal
Arts University Arts University
Quaylan Allen
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(In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and Subversive Black (In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and Subversive Black
Masculinities at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts University Masculinities at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts University
Comments Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in
Gender and Education
, volume 32, issue 7, in
2020, available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1533924. It may differ slightly from the
?nal version of record.
Copyright
Taylor & Francis

1
(In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and Subversive Black Masculinities
at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts University
Quaylan Allen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Attallah College of Educational Studies
Chapman University
One University Drive
Orange, CA 92866, USA
qallen@chapman.edu
714.455.9868

2
(In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and Subversive Black Masculinities
at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts University
Abstract
In this paper, I examine how Black male college students attending a predominantly White
liberal arts institution in the USA perceive the campus racial climate and make sense of their
(in)visibility at the university. Drawing upon poststructuralist theories of gender and critical race
theory, I analyze the ways in which they managed race, gender and sexuality within university
spaces, giving attention to their agency in performing a range of masculinities in response to and
in anticipation of campus-based racism and racialized discourses. By situating their gendered
performances within the context of the campus racial climate, I argue that universities are sites of
racial and gender socialization where dominant ideologies of Black masculinities are imposed,
and where ontological installments of gender play out in ways that can impact Black males’
inclusion on campus. Suggestions for the improvement of Black male higher education success
will be discussed.
Keywords: Black masculinities, microaggressions, campus racial climate, higher education,
visual research
Word Count: 8,990

3
(In)Visible Men on Campus: Campus Racial Climate and Subversive Black Masculinities
at a Predominantly White Liberal Arts University
Introduction
Black students in the United States currently make up 15% of the nation’s undergraduate
population, and though most Black college students (almost 70%) will attend public 4 or 2-year
institutions, over 14% of Black undergraduates attend private non-profit universities and colleges
(Musu-Gillette et al. 2017). Most Black college students obtaining a 4-year degree will attend
what is known in the U.S. as a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) and studies find that Black
students attending PWI’s are often immersed in campus climates that are racially hostile to
students of color (Feagin, Vera, and Imani 1996; Hurtado 2015; Johnson et al. 2014). Campus
racial climate refers to the overall racial environment of the university, which might include its
racial composition, curricular and co-curricular diversity, the frequency of racial incidents and
the institutions response to racial inequities (Harper and Hurtado 2007; Hurtado 2015;
Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso 2000).
A poor racial climate negatively impacts the academic opportunity and success of Black
students (Steele 1997; Shih, Pittinsky, and Ambady 1999; Smith, Hung, and Franklin 2011;
Landrine and Klonoff 1996), and Black students attending PWI’s are most likely to report the
most experiences with racial discrimination on and off campus (D'Augelli and Hershberger
1993; Harris 2003). The racial discrimination that Black students report are largely within the
taxonomy of racial microaggressions, which are defined as the subtle forms of discrimination
that denigrate marginalized communities (Pierce et al. 1978). Racial microaggressions on college
campuses are felt through environmental cues and verbal or non-verbal hidden messages that
serve to invalidate Black men and their presence on campus. For example, many Black students

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions mentioned in the paper "(in)visible men on campus: campus racial climate and subversive black masculinities at a predominantly white liberal arts university" ?

In this paper, I examine how Black male college students attending a predominantly White liberal arts institution in the USA perceive the campus racial climate and make sense of their ( in ) visibility at the university. Suggestions for the improvement of Black male higher education success will be discussed. 

Q2. What are the future works in "(in)visible men on campus: campus racial climate and subversive black masculinities at a predominantly white liberal arts university" ?

Future research should continue to examine Black males attending liberal arts institutions as this is an understudied population but also one that tends to graduate at higher rates than their public university peers ( Musu-Gillette et al. 2017 ). 

Q3. What is the effect of a positive racial climate on Black students?

a positive racial climate has shown to contribute to a higher sense of inclusion and community for Black students, increases self-efficacy, higher academic performance and overall positive effects for all students on campus (Fischer 2010; Park, Denson, and Bowman 2013). 

Q4. What are the outcomes of the race-gendered microaggression events?

Many of the race-gendered microaggression events experienced rely on hegemonicperformativities of Black masculinity, and they are instances in which ontologies of Black male deviancy, sexuality and otherness are installed. 

Q5. What is the effect of a poor racial climate on Black men?

In other words, a poor racial climate not only impacts Black male’s sense of inclusion, engagement and educational opportunity, but also contributes to the gender socialization of Black college men. 

Q6. What are the specific ways Black men make sense of the campus racial climate?

White universities are contested sites of gender socialization,where dominant ideologies of Black masculinities are imposed, the students in this study demonstrate the specific ways 

Q7. What can be done to support the positive racial identity development of all of their Black?

Universities can support the positive racial identity development of all of their Black male students through the use of Black male initiatives. 

Q8. What is the rise of Black student activism on the campuses?

The rise of Black student activism on the campuses like the University of Missouri and Evergreen State, for example, are responses to a poor racial climate and to what scholars refer to as institutional negligence regarding a university’s racial commitments (Harper and Hurtado 2007; Jones and Reddick 2017). 

Q9. What are the outcomes of racial and gender socialization on college campuses?

In a society where racism is endemic,microaggression events on college campuses are then moments of racial and gender socialization where Black men learn how they are viewed and what they are assumed to be. 

Q10. What are the characteristics of Black students?

Black students often have their presence on campus questioned by their peers, they are made to feel invisible in campus spaces, and are expected to assimilate into White culture (Turner 1994; Lewis, Chesler, and Forman 2000; Smith, Yosso, and Solórzano 2007). 

Q11. What are the characteristics of predominately white college campuses?

White college campuses in particular, are precarious locations in which Black men learn and perform gender, and many Black men will do so within inimical campus racial climates. 

Q12. What is the effect of racial microaggressions on Black students?

the cumulative effect of racial microaggressions contributes to a range of psychological stressors and trauma related symptoms that limit the academic and social success of Black students (Smith, Hung, and Franklin 2011; Landrine and Klonoff 1996). 

Q13. What does the research show about Black students?

Black students report having negative interactions with faculty, and research shows that White faculty tend to hold lower academic expectations for Black males (Harper 2009; Smedley, Myers, and Harrell 1993; Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso 2000), and avoid contact or limit their interactions with Black male students (Feagin 1992; Kim 2010; Comeaux 2013). 

Q14. How did the students respond to the racial climate?

In most cases, the students were proactive in their responses and chose to respond through direct confrontation or education in order to achieve a resolution. 

Q15. What is the definition of code switching?

Code switching is generally defined as the process of using two or more languages or linguistic repertoires in conversation (Greene and Walker 2004). 

Q16. What is the impact of a poor racial climate on Black students?

a poor racial climate has shown to negatively impact the sense of inclusion and community of Black students, academic self-concept, academicperformance and graduation rates (Steele 1997; Shih, Pittinsky, and Ambady 1999).