Deniece Dortch, Ijeoma Njaka, Qi Chen, Joy A. Jack
{"title":"Black Taxes: African-American Doctoral Students Experiencing Tokenism at a Predominantly White Institution","authors":"Deniece Dortch, Ijeoma Njaka, Qi Chen, Joy A. Jack","doi":"10.1353/rhe.0.a931457","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the experiences of African American doctoral students with tokenism at a Midwestern predominantly White institutions (PWI), revealing both advantages and disadvantages, including the toll of “Black taxes” in academia. Tokenism offers benefits like visibility and resources but brings increased racial stress, loneliness, and extra service demands. These “Black taxes” have physical and emotional effects, leading to racial battle fatigue. Tokenism influences students’ professional development and identity, perpetuating characteristics like hypervisibility and imposter syndrome. Transforming PWIs requires challenging white supremacist structures and prioritizing equity. By addressing tokenism, we may pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive higher education environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":47732,"journal":{"name":"Review of Higher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Review of Higher Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.0.a931457","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the experiences of African American doctoral students with tokenism at a Midwestern predominantly White institutions (PWI), revealing both advantages and disadvantages, including the toll of “Black taxes” in academia. Tokenism offers benefits like visibility and resources but brings increased racial stress, loneliness, and extra service demands. These “Black taxes” have physical and emotional effects, leading to racial battle fatigue. Tokenism influences students’ professional development and identity, perpetuating characteristics like hypervisibility and imposter syndrome. Transforming PWIs requires challenging white supremacist structures and prioritizing equity. By addressing tokenism, we may pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive higher education environment.
期刊介绍:
The official journal of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), The Review of Higher Education provides a forum for discussion of issues affecting higher education. The journal advances the study of college and university issues by publishing peer-reviewed articles, essays, reviews, and research findings. Its broad approach emphasizes systematic inquiry and practical implications. Considered one of the leading research journals in the field, The Review keeps scholars, academic leaders, and public policymakers abreast of critical issues facing higher education today.