Impact that Transcends Proximity: Black College Students Traversing Multiple Pandemics

While there have been several Black joys reflected in mainstream media (e. g., election of the first Black president and Black/Asian vice-president), Black college students also witness the mainstream visibility of anti-Black violence through police brutality, inequitable health outcomes, and political rhetoric denouncing racial/social justice movements (e.g., Black Lives Matter, overturning of Roe v. Wade). Within this qualitative study, 45 Black undergraduate and graduate students discussed how they made meaning of contemporary racial issues in U.S. society, particularly within the global COVID-19 health pandemic, and how they formed ideologies of their Black identity on their campuses. This study utilized Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) to elucidate how anti-Blackness impacts institutional practices, policies, and actions.