This Is My Story: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry of The Lived Experience of African American Faculty Members at Predominantly White Institutions

Abstract

With the continued rise in the call for more diversity, equity, and inclusion in society, colleges and universities are not exempt. Specifically, Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) face the urge from students, faculty/staff, and administrators to answer this call. Unfortunately, while many institutions of higher learning are adjusting to attend to diversity, equity, and inclusion, they miss a key factor – their African American (AA) faculty. Having AA faculty helps AA individuals feel that representation does matter, and supporting AA staff aids in recruitment, retention, and overall wellbeing. While there have been many studies on the impact that microaggressions have on AA faculty, none have been conducted to explore the impact of microaggressions and microaffirmations on AA faculty.

This qualitative phenomenological study focused on filling the gap in the literature by exploring the lived experience of AA faculty at PWIs and looking at the microaffirmations and microaggressions they experience from students, peers, and administrators. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather the participant’s perceived experiences at it relates to microaffirmations and microaggressions, in the hopes of painting a fuller picture of their experiences. The results found that AA faculty experienced varying levels of microaggressions and microaffirmations at past and current PWIs, which dictates how they feel about themselves, their abilities, and trust with peers. It was further noted that there is a level of emotional labor disparity experienced by AA faculty, due to what has been coined as assumptions of dynamism.