Employing critical race feminism, this article explores how black and Latina women faculty alter the teaching and learning environment at a predominantly white, research institution (PWI). The limited research on faculty of color at PWIs focuses on barriers to career success, yet places less emphasis on how these faculty negotiate barriers and facilitate structural change. Furthermore, higher education literature links faculty of color to a climate of inclusion, yet there is minimal empirical literature on how the presence of diverse faculty affects the well-being of campus communities. This study, then, aims to examine how black female and Latina faculty navigate and contribute to the classroom environment at a premier public institution. Though not mutually exclusive, the key findings from this qualitative study are that the participants navigate and contribute in two key ways: enacting legitimacy and employing equity-based pedagogy. Both strategies reflect oppositional positions, an awareness of being part of a socially marginalized group, combined with resistance against individual and collective subordination.In response to public angst about affirmative action practices in higher education, diversity has been heralded as a panacea. Research has established the value of diversity by showing how it positively affects problem solving skills, interracial interaction, civic engagement, intellectual self-confidence, complex thinking, and satisfaction (Antonio et al.. Despite evidence demonstrating the educational benefits of campus diversity, the literature on women of color faculty is replete with accounts of marginalization within the academy (L.

No abstract

What happens to race in public discussions about “race-neutral” college admissions policies? This article shows how race disappeared from elite political debate during hearings on Texas Senate Bill 175 (2009), the Top Ten Percent Plan (the Plan), which guaranteed college admissions to high school graduates from the top 10% of their classes. Findings indicated that race disappeared from the discussion of college admissions policy in Texas. Instead, policy makers emphasized students’ opportunity to compete for college admissions ignoring that the opportunities for and impediments to success at different high schools varied widely across the state. The implication of these findings is that as policy becomes race neutral, discourse also becomes “colorblind” potentially disguising structural and secondary school inequalities.

Sense of belonging is recognized as a factor contributing to persistence to graduation. Furthermore, interactional diversity is associated with learning and civic outcomes—touted higher education goals. Hip-hop culture, one of the most influential cultural creations of the mid–20th century, has succeeded in attracting devotees from diverse backgrounds. However, very little higher education research exists on the role of hip-hop culture in higher education institutions. As colleges seek ways to promote diversity and respond to diverse student experiences, members of hip-hop enclaves may provide insight into how to facilitate sense of belonging and interactional diversity.

Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework that unapologetically asserts how and why race matters in the maintenance of U.S. policies and practices. In doing so, CRT counters discourse that situates discrimination and disparities within the realm of individual behaviors or psychological deficits. Therefore, racism is seen for what it is—a willful, institutionalized, and dehumanizing way of being. Though racism prevailed as the quintessential problem of the 20th century, the 21st century has revealed that the color line remains remarkably undisturbed. Whether one is focusing on housing, education, employment, wealth, health, safety, or justice, racial disparities and inequities exist to the disadvantage of racially minoritized people. Born out of discontent for legal remedies for inequality, CRT speaks to the universal way that racism immobilizes minoritized people—thereby providing an almost unwavering advantage to white people. This review provides an overview of the tenets of CRT and how those tenets connect with social work values and practice.