Matriculation at a Southern Predominantly White Institution in the Current Racially Charged Social Climate

The Foundation

Racial injustices have permeated the American fabric since the establishment of this great country. From the genocide of Native Americans to the brutal enslavement of African Americans to the police brutality people of color sustain today, this type of mistreatment has never dissipated. The injustice simply evolved to ensure that the oppression and dehumanization continued, even if the laws of the land were peddled as means to prevent this horrendous stain in the great American fabric.

The Historical Reference

As one would expect, racial injustice has infiltrated the environment of the American collegiate system as well. One of the most recent events that support this truth is the stand that the University of Missouri football team took against the racial discord on that campus. The leadership, specifically the university president, seemed to discount the issue by a lack of acknowledgment and action (CBS/AP, Nov. 8, 2015). The football team’s leverage was that its refusal to play that following weekend’s game would have cost the university one million dollars (Bump 2015). This collective stand by the team, which was supported by the team’s coach, resulted in the university president having to resign (CBS/AP, Nov. 9, 2015).

There are various other racial issues that have occurred on college campuses that are additional indications that racism is a continuous problem in higher education. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education detailed various instances of campus racism nationwide (“Racism Rears Its Ugly Head” 2017). At the University of Texas, racist flyers were posted. “At American University in Washington, D.C., bananas were hung by nooses from trees and lampposts on campus” (ibid.). Racist notes were left around the campus at St. Olaf ’s College, and a noose was found in a fraternity house kitchen at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The appointment of Betsy Devos, the less-than-experienced, or downright incompetent, United States secretary of education, could be seen as a pinnacle of the academic racism issue. Secretary Devos has been plagued with a lack of acceptance and respect for her appointment by academia in general, but more specifically by the diverse constituents within the field to include instructors and students alike. Devos’s ignorance regarding the origination of historically black colleges and cniversities is astounding (Strauss 2017). She has faced adamant resistance while attempting to attend different events in fulfilling her position (Green 2017). A significant display of the disdain for Secretary Devos was the student body’s open disapproval of her as the commencement speaker at Bethune-Cookman College (Svrluga and Rozsa, 2017). And, on a personal level, the experiences I sustained while attending a Southern Baptist university further substantiate the presence of racism in higher education.

The Experiences of a Doctoral Student in a Racially Challenged Higher Education Environment

I attended a Southern predominantly white institution (PWI) from the spring 2014 semester to the summer 2017 semester. I was in a cohort that consisted of nine students, of which four were African American. While I appreciate the commitment to academics and accreditation this university displayed, there was and still is room for improvement within the diversity arena at this institution. One of my earliest memories during my matriculation was after my presentation at a summer seminar. Two of the instructors, who were later appointed as my dissertation committee, stated to each other right in front of me that they were “surprised” that a black person could write as well as I could.

Many in the academic arena, particularly those that have limited experience with diversity, feel that they can give an educated opinion regarding the racial construct of America. One of my Caucasian cohort members, who was only in his mid- to late-twenties and had earned his bachelor’s and master’s, and was in the process of earning his doctorate at this same Southern PWI we were attending, took it upon himself to discredit the idea of white privilege. He was young and had no experience outside that one university. His white privilege, which he denied, gave...