Black Women Resident Assistants: Seeking and Serving as Bridges, Mentors, Advisors, Filters, and Community Builders

Understanding Influences of Development on Black Women’s Success in U.S. Colleges: A Synthesis of Literature

“…Black women understood who they were in relation to White students and consciously engaged in irrelation to survive the predominantly White environment. Example categories in our analysis for this theme included the following: persistence toward graduation despite disconnection on/to campus (Sims, 2008), deliberate behavior changes Black women had to make between campus and home (Winkle-Wagner, 2009), seeking support to assist with navigation of leadership responsibilities (Hotchkins, 2017; Roland & Agosto, 2017), and navigating spaces and majors dominated by White students (Corbin et al, 2018; Gibson & Espino, 2016; McPherson, 2017; Porter et al, 2018).…”

“…Black women grappled with and gained a deeper understanding of their identities (and their “place”) through interactions with White students, other students of Color, specifically Black women, and faculty and staff on campus. Black women’s development influenced how and to what extent they successfully navigated the matrix: Some felt it necessary to exist on campus in isolation (Bonner et al, 2015) or irrelation (Sims, 2008); some experienced outsider within status as resident assistants (Roland & Agosto, 2017); some felt less academically prepared because they lacked adequate career advisement and counseling (Russell & Russell, 2015); some negotiated pressure to make family proud (Winkle-Wagner, 2009); some defined success for themselves (Porter et al, 2018); and others took advantage of institutional resources accessible to them as student athletes (Cooper et al, 2017). Among 19 of the 38 articles, Black women’s developmental processes included whether and to what extent they felt they mattered and belonged in their respective smaller communities and broader campus communities.…”

“…Researchers examined experiences of Black women across institutional types—community college (Blevins, 2018), PWIs (Gibson & Espino, 2016; Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014; Roland & Agosto, 2017; Russell & Russell, 2015), historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs; Jackson, 2013; Porter et al, 2018), and a HSI (Bonner et al, 2015). Black women navigated educational matrices and their sense of belonging within institutional spaces that often failed to provide necessary holistic support.…”

“…Black women navigated educational matrices and their sense of belonging within institutional spaces that often failed to provide necessary holistic support. Example categories in this theme included the following: systematic (mis)identification and/or erasure (Blevins, 2018; Bonner et al, 2014; Lewis et al, 2012; Russell & Russell, 2015), career guidance for STEM majors (Jackson, 2013), religiously diverse students (McGuire et al, 2016), and social status within their respective campus environments (Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014; Roland & Agosto, 2017).…”

“…Literature has also included Black women’s developmental experiences concerning physical and psychological well-being (Flowers et al, 2012; Hesse-Biber et al, 2010; Jones et al, 2016; Jones & Sam, 2018; Szymanski & Lewis, 2016), leadership development (Domingue, 2015; Hotchkins, 2017; Roland & Agosto, 2017), and racialized and gendered experiences on campus (Blevins, 2018; Corbin et al, 2018; Croom et al, 2017; Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014; Henry, 2010; West et al, 2016). While scholarship on Black women has increased over the past decade, a comprehensive analysis and “pulling together” of scholarship to enhance institutional practice was missing.…”