During his tenure, Dr. Daniel Black has played a pivotal role in educating and mentoring countless students, fostering their academic and spiritual development. He has intentionally cultivated a tradition of scholar activism in Black Studies, thereby cementing his intellectual legacy. In May of 2024, Black delivered his widely acclaimed…

This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the challenges faculty have experienced in mentoring Black women faculty and whether mentors receive adequate support from their colleges and universities to assist their mentees. Although there are several mentoring theories, the theoretical foundation used for this study is the relational…

This text, like many, accepts that the academy (and more specifically the PWI) is rife with an enduring phenomenon found to continuously bedevil Black faculty. However, unlike other investigations this text uniquely identifies and articulates that that which plagues Black faculty can be described as religious in nature and can be read through…

Black women faculty members at institutions of higher education in the United States are rare. By examining the unique experiences Black women faculty members in community colleges endure, this project aims to acknowledge, assess, and affirm the distinctive experiences of this cadre. Its intent is to disseminate the findings and advocate for…

There is currently a dearth of research on the creation and the implications of Black educational space, even with the increased awareness raised by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to the individual and structural antiblackness inherent in the United States. This essay aims to share the BLM history that helped to motivate and inform two…

Using Black feminist thought as a theoretical lens, authors explore their experiences as Black women faculty navigating the COVID-19 pandemic amid the resurgent epidemic of racialized violence in the U.S. We conclude with implications for Black women's enactment of radical self-care and institutional responsibility in humanizing higher education…

This study explores the tenure-track experiences of two junior faculty Black men in higher education, while growing still remains vastly unexplored in higher education. Using an autoethnography approach with a critical race theory lens, the authors explore how race and institutional expectations shape their experiences along the primary components…

The author believes he won in many ways but may never gain employment in academia again. With this chapter, the author hopes to help other Black male academics to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes he made. [For the complete volume, "The Beauty and the Burden of Being a Black Professor. Diversity in Higher Education. Volume 24," see…

Christopher Travers and Na'eem Allen-Stills discuss Communion for Black Men (CBM), a Black Male Initiative (BMI), which is a community gathering for Black college men to combat feelings of loneliness, isolation, and unbelonging. The bi-weekly Saturday Zoom sessions last between 75 and 90 minutes. On average, about 7--10 Black male higher education…

While community colleges benefit from an increase in African American (AA) male students enrolling at their institutions, a disproportionate number of AA males enroll in college and do not complete a certificate or degree compared to those who earn a certificate or degree. This qualitative study explored how AA male students at community colleges…

This critical qualitative research study examines how Black tenure-track faculty at predominantly White Research 1 (PWR1) institutions describe and enact their personal and professional commitments while navigating their institutions priorities and reward structure. Using a purposive and snowball sampling methodological approach, I interviewed 17…

This paper considers the relationship between Black women and literacy and how our pedagogy is embodied through our stories. The stories we share, live, make, and remake, contribute to our positional locations in the world and our physical bodies. I explore connections between emotional scars Black women carry caused by societal and academic…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how Black faculty describe their experiences of belonging and how those experiences influence employee engagement and intention to stay at the community college. The theoretical framework focused on the belongingness theory and used a conceptual framework of belonging and the Black…

This article reports findings from semi-structured, individual interviews with 14 Black women faculty and administrators to decipher the ways Black feminist thought (BFT) informed and was evident in their work with students.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived work experiences of African American/Black male full-time faculty at Midwestern community colleges. Narrative inquiry was used as the design in this study. The data reflects the national statistics indicating the low number of African/American Black male full-time faculty employed at…