Understanding Black students beyond resistance: the tensions of centering Black life

ABSTRACT Much of Black student life, understandably, is seen through a lens of resistance. Black people, given their societal position, are resistant in context. Yet, one cannot use resistance, by itself, to understand the expansive, dynamic nature of Black student life – even in otherwise constricting contexts. In this paper, I wrestle with the central question of how might we understand Black life beyond resistance? This is not to suggest that racism somehow does not exist or has less of a grasp on society. Rather, I argue that to understand Black students’ lives primarily through resistance is limited. As such, in this paper, I elaborate upon three tensions to meditate upon that may provide a reorientation for how stakeholders go about their work and provide pathways for a more expansive analysis of Black students’ experiences.