The Room Where It Happens: Reflections on Being a Black Woman in the Academy
The Room Where It Happens: Reflections on Being a Black Woman in the Academy
Race and Justice, Ahead of Print.
The Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013 as a result of George Zimmerman being acquitted for the death of Trayvon Martin. Until recently, the movement was mostly limited to violence inflicted on Black and Brown bodies at the hands of the police. More recently scholars, have extended the movement to include the experiences of minorities in academia with the purpose of addressing the institutional biases along with the racial and ethnic micro-aggressions that result from them. The purpose of this essay is to explore micro-aggressions and how they have impacted my life as a Black female scholar in the academy. In my discussion, I provide direct accounts of racialized and gendered experiences that have shaped me. The experiences highlighted in this essay reflect the broader challenges that minority faculty experience when they attempt to be gain visibility and respect in their disciplines.
The Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013 as a result of George Zimmerman being acquitted for the death of Trayvon Martin. Until recently, the movement was mostly limited to violence inflicted on Black and Brown bodies at the hands of the police. More recently scholars, have extended the movement to include the experiences of minorities in academia with the purpose of addressing the institutional biases along with the racial and ethnic micro-aggressions that result from them. The purpose of this essay is to explore micro-aggressions and how they have impacted my life as a Black female scholar in the academy. In my discussion, I provide direct accounts of racialized and gendered experiences that have shaped me. The experiences highlighted in this essay reflect the broader challenges that minority faculty experience when they attempt to be gain visibility and respect in their disciplines.
Patricia Y. Warren