Black Coffee

Abstract

Thirty-five years of formal education has left me feeling isolated. Daily encounters of racism, sexism, and microaggressions have led to difficulty with academic and professional achievement. All of these matters have affected me as a person who identifies as a Black female/woman in academic settings. In this autoethnography, I engage symbolic narrative prose and core components of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to provide an analysis of my personal experiences in educational settings across my lifespan. I bring forth my individual perspective and analysis that encompasses emotional and physical responses that occur while in academic settings as a Black female. Reflective autoethnography offers an opportunity to explore key themes, potential challenges, strengths, and future strategies for creating spaces in education that are supportive and encourage growth while also nurturing Black women to remain grounded in what feels natural and intrinsic to their cultural heritage and identity and expression of self. “Black coffee with no sugar and no cream” is a colloquial phrase used to describe a Black woman who exudes her individual persona without apologies. Positive development of Black females who present as “Black coffee with no sugar and no cream” is unpropitious without intentional culturally responsive interventions. The addition of strong Black coffee to academic settings is crucial to continue efforts in creating a socially just educational system and society. Using reflexivity and metaphors, I describe my matriculation process in the Midwest region of the United States of America within a dichotomy of African-centered and Eurocentric education practices. Providing concepts to promote efficacious attainment of education, I hope to connect with readers who may have similar experiences or be in a position to reduce the adverse encounters a Black woman has in an academic environment at various levels.