Table Of ContentLEARNING AND LIVING WHILE BLACK: BLACK STUDENTS, WHITE
UNIVERSITIES, AND THE AGE OF POST-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND POST-
RACIALISM
by
ROSALIND REAVES
DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Graduate School
of Wayne State University,
Detroit, Michigan
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
2013
MAJOR: EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
AND RESEARCH
Approved by:
________________________________________
Advisor Date
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
DEDICATION
Dedicated to the memory of Latasha Harlins & Trayvon Martin
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is often said that “it takes a village to raise a child.” In my case, it has taken a village
to help nurture this dissertation to fruition. I wish to thank, first and foremost, my most
amazing advisor and dissertation committee chair, Dr. Karen L. Tonso. I appreciate Dr. Tonso
for always setting the bar high and expecting nothing less than my best work; for her time and
unfaltering support of my research and development as a scholar; for her encouragement and
reassurance when the going got tough, and for her passion for social justice, which continues to
inspire. Without a doubt, I am the better student, scholar and activist for having had Dr. T. in
my corner. My many, many thanks.
And to my equally awesome dissertation committee, Drs. Phyllis Vroom, Monte
Piliawsky and Gail Fahoome: My utmost gratitude for taking time out of your exceptionally
busy schedules and lives to assist with this dissertation. Your insightful comments and
constructive feedback at different stages of my research were invaluable. Many thanks for your
support, and for the opportunity to work with such a distinguished group of scholars. I am
deeply humbled.
I am also profoundly thankful for the love and support of so many individuals who
have been a part of my journey. Much respect to my fellow cohort members and graduate
students: Drs. Andree Sampson, Donna Coulter, Michele Weber, and Sibyl St. Clair. I
appreciate and will always treasure the many study sessions, prayers, phone calls, emails and
milestone celebrations along the way. Dr. Charlla Allen: Many thanks for the best, most
inspirational advice an overwhelmed doctoral student could ever receive! Oh, the time and
grief that it saved! Ms. Lisa Fuller: Much gratitude for lending your ear, sharing your wisdom,
iii
and reminding me to appreciate all the milestones along the way. Dr. Charline Barnes: I
cannot thank you enough for blazing the trail and setting the best possible example for
balancing work, school, and life. And lastly, my many thanks to Ms. Monequa Williams and
Mr. Gary Davis, two very instrumental members of the “village,” whose support was so critical
to this study. Your efforts on my behalf are appreciated beyond measure.
Closer to home, my profound love and thanks to my parents, whose many life lessons and
sacrifices made all of this possible. To my beloved sisters, nieces and nephew: Thanks for
teaching me to not take everything, especially myself, so seriously. A million thanks as well to
my aunt Bell, whose support remains one the blessings in my life. And to Keith, my dear, late
brother: You are my journey’s and this dissertation’s inspiration. Thanks, big brother, and may
you rest in peace. This dissertation is for you, too.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge, with my utmost appreciation, the ten
amazing women and men who helped to make this study possible. I am profoundly thankful and
honored for their time and support of this research, and I wish them all the best in their future
endeavors, which no doubt will make this world a better place.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi
Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1
Affirmative Action .............................................................................................................. 3
Post-Racialism .................................................................................................................... 4
Significance......................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 9
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 9
Framing the Study ............................................................................................................... 9
Blacks at PWIs: The Continuing Significance of Race ........................................ 10
Context of Choice ..................................................................................... 13
Racialized Spaces...................................................................................... 15
Faculty-Student Relationships .................................................................. 16
Lack of Recognition/Visibility ................................................................. 17
The Scourge of Race/Racism .................................................................... 18
Acting White ............................................................................................. 22
Stereotype Threat ...................................................................................... 24
Negotiating the Predominantly White Campus .................................................... 25
Historical Overview of Critical Race Theory ................................................................... 29
Critical Race Theory Defined ........................................................................................... 32
v
The Centrality and Permanence of Racism. .......................................................... 32
Debunking Meritocracy and Colorblindness. ....................................................... 33
Interest Convergence. ........................................................................................... 33
Whiteness as Property. .......................................................................................... 34
Emphasis on Experiential Knowledge/Counterstorytelling. ................................. 35
Praxis: Social Action and Change. ........................................................................ 36
Critical Race Theory in K-12 and Higher Education ........................................................ 36
Ensuring Equity and Equality of Educational Opportunity .............................................. 39
Interpretations of Equality of Educational Opportunity ....................................... 41
Deliberative Participation and Nonrepression ...................................................... 44
Implications for Higher Education ........................................................................ 49
Critique of Nonrepression and Defense of Nonoppression .................................. 50
Five Faces of Oppression ...................................................................................... 54
Exploitation ............................................................................................... 55
Marginalization ......................................................................................... 56
Powerlessness ........................................................................................... 57
Cultural Imperialism ................................................................................. 58
Violence .................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 3 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 62
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 62
The Naturalistic Paradigm ................................................................................................ 63
Researcher’s Perspective .................................................................................................. 66
vi
Site Selection .................................................................................................................... 69
Participant Selection ......................................................................................................... 72
Protocol, Ethics, and Protection of Human Subjects ............................................ 73
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 73
Semi-Structured Interviews .................................................................................. 73
Focus Group Interviews ........................................................................................ 74
Artifacts................................................................................................................. 75
Data Analysis Strategies ................................................................................................... 75
Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research .......................................................................... 77
Chapter 4: Learning And Living At Selective University— The More Things Change, The More
They Remain The Same .......................................................................................................... 80
College-Going Deliberations ............................................................................................ 83
Choosing Selective................................................................................................ 83
On Not Choosing a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) ............... 85
Choosing Selective Amid Challenges to Affirmative Action ............................... 88
First Encounters: Meeting the Predominantly White Campus ......................................... 92
Culture Shock: Black Meets White ....................................................................... 92
Academic Shock: Black High School Meets the White University ..................... 96
Summer Bridge Program: Buffering Culture and Academic Shock ................... 101
Problematic Experiences with White Students ............................................................... 103
Contending with Anti-Affirmative Action Views/Rhetoric ............................... 103
Racial Stereotyping ............................................................................................. 108
vii
Academic Incompetence ......................................................................... 108
Loud and “Ghetto” .................................................................................. 110
The Angry, Violent, Criminal Black Male ............................................. 111
Black Male Student As Athlete ............................................................... 112
Stereotyping the Predominantly Black City ........................................... 114
Other Racially Offensive or Insensitive Experiences ............................. 115
Characterizing the Campus Environment ............................................... 119
Negative Effects of Anti-Affirmative Action Rhetoric and Racial Stereotyping ........... 122
Self-Doubt and Fear of Speaking Up .................................................................. 122
Representing the Race and Assimilating ............................................................ 124
Withdrawal/Self-Sabotage .................................................................................. 126
Persevering at Selective .................................................................................................. 128
Friends and Family ............................................................................................. 128
Social Student Organizations .............................................................................. 133
Academic and Civic Student Organizations ....................................................... 134
Black Student Organization ................................................................................ 137
Faculty and Staff of Color................................................................................... 140
White Faculty ...................................................................................................... 145
White Staff .......................................................................................................... 149
Reimagining Selective .................................................................................................... 153
Fairness at Selective: Separate and Unequal ...................................................... 154
Towards Greater Equity: Re-Making Selective .................................................. 158
viii
Academic and Social Support Programs ................................................. 159
Black Faculty .......................................................................................... 160
Mentoring ................................................................................................ 161
Culturally-Inclusive Curriculum and Programming ............................... 162
Orienting Black Students: Participants Offer Advice ......................................... 166
Summary ......................................................................................................................... 169
Chapter 5: Discussion Of Findings—The Persistent Significance Of Race ............................... 172
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 172
Black Students' Decision to Attend a Predominantly White University......................... 173
Black Students Learning and Living in a White University ........................................... 175
Impact on Black Students’ Sense of Well-Being and Academic Achievement ............. 179
Coping With Learning and Living at a Predominantly White University ...................... 179
Race and Racism in the Experiences of Black Students at PWIs ................................... 181
Educational Opportunities Afforded Black Students Compared to Whites.................... 182
Experiences of Black Students Exemplifying Forms of Oppression .............................. 185
Exploitation ......................................................................................................... 185
Marginalization. .................................................................................................. 185
Powerlessness. .................................................................................................... 186
Violence. ............................................................................................................. 186
Cultural Imperialism. .......................................................................................... 187
Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 188
Possibilities for Future Research .................................................................................... 188
ix
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 191
Appendix A Institutional Review Board Approval Form ........................................................... 193
Appendix B Behavioral Research Informed Consent ................................................................. 194
Appendix C Semi-Structured Interview Protocol ....................................................................... 197
Appendix D Participant Contact Form ....................................................................................... 201
Appendix E Group Interview Protocol ....................................................................................... 202
References ................................................................................................................................... 206
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 220
Autobiographical Statement........................................................................................................ 222
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