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Exploring Racialized Experiences of Black Resident Assistants at Predominately White Institutions
Johnson Jr, Steven
Johnson Jr, Steven
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Abstract
This study explored the racialized experiences of Black Resident Assistants (RAs) at predominately White institutions (PWIs) in the central region of the United States. The research questions inquired what motivated Black RAs to pursue the RA role, how they navigated racialized experiences in their role, and how they sought support. Racialized experiences were defined as events, incidents or interactions that surround issues of race, or situations that Black RAs might have encountered that elicited a heightened sense of awareness about their own racial identity. To better understand the phenomenon of interest, 13 Black RAs participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Findings from the study suggested that Black RAs pursue the role not just simply for the housing and meal plan, but also to build supportive networks for themselves and to continue their education. When encountering racialized experiences, Black RAs explained that they felt most affirmed through supportive departmental relationships and connections with other Black peers and professionals. Though the RA role came with compensation that enabled continued college attendance, participants in this study also shared the challenges with maintaining additional employment to meet their financial needs, aligning with current literature about the growing need for student employment and disproportionate impacts on underrepresented communities. Black RA shared the struggle of navigating their racial identity in predominately White spaces and minimizing their own needs for the comfort and expectations of others, experiences that can be explained by both racial battle fatigue (Smith, 2004) and emotional labor (Hochschild, 2012). Future research is recommended to explore the racialized experiences of Black RAs at different institution types and across various socioeconomic backgrounds.
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Date
2022-01-01
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University of Kansas
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This item contains archived web content.
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JohnsonJr_ku_0099D_18372_DATA_1.pdf
Adobe PDF, 773.9 KB
- Embargoed until 2172-05-31
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Keywords
Higher education administration, Higher education, Black Resident Assistants, Campus Housing, Emotional Labor, Help-Seeking Behaviors, Racialize Experiences, Student Employment