Black in White: Black Students at White and Black Colleges
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In this article, we consider the experiences of African-American students attending both historically white and historically black colleges and universities. By examining the challenges confronting black students in their pursuit of higher education, we chronicle the educational challenges, psychological consequences, and other everyday realities of black students within these institutions. In the system of higher education, African-American students are often faced not only with the dilemma of coping with the university setting, but also often with the unsettling racial environment outside of the university. Oftentimes, African-American students encounter the predicament of managing their identities as a method of surviving and coping with a system that at times can appear intolerant if not openly hostile. By examining black students attending a historically black university, we also examine how the university can serve as a safe space, especially in reference to the setting around a campus that often contributes to their experiences and feelings of marginalization and discrimination. As institutions of higher education often face the responsibility of educating students as well as preparing them for future endeavors, we examine how the continuing legacy of racism can become an additional liability to the already-difficult process of gaining an education. With all this in mind, we share some student experiences from research in these educational settings as a means of promoting a more positive and multicultural education on college campuses. Finally, we examine and connect the consequences of racism on and off college campuses to the larger society and its institutions and then discuss the implications of these racist climates and acts on the system of higher education and on African-American students. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
