Many graduate students have and are suffering from, a mindset that questions their abilities and belonging in graduate programs. Some researchers have argued that this mental state is hindering many students from persisting in graduate school and completing their degree programs (Clance and Imes, 1978). This questioning and self-doubt are called…

This book focuses on the lived experiences of underserved student and faculty populations at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and the implications these experiences have for higher education policy. Contributors discuss the contexts and experiences of students and faculty who navigate the political and social spaces of HBCUs…

College rankings have become a ubiquitous part of American higher education. As the popularity of rankings has increased, so have the number of research studies attempting to better understand the impact rankings have on college/university admissions outcomes. In the past, these studies have focused almost exclusively on elite national…

My major purpose in studying Caryl Phillips's widely acclaimed novel "Crossing the River" is to examine, through a close textual analysis, the severe identity crisis inflicted upon slaves under the three-century long slavery institution. I explore how slaves' tragic rift of separation from their African homelands led to a disastrous loss…

Purpose: We examined language samples of young children learning African American English (AAE) to determine if and when their use of auxiliaries shows dialect-universal and dialect-specific effects. Method: The data were longitudinal language samples obtained from two children, ages 18 to 36 months, and three children, ages 33 to 51 months.…

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the experiences of first-year African American males who participated in a Living Learning Community (LLC) while attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), to understand how, if at all, the program had any impact on the participants' retention. The conceptual framework for this…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influenced African American doctoral students at HBCUs to persist toward degree completion. Despite the minimal gains experienced in the success of attracting minority students to graduate programs, problems graduating African American doctoral students still linger (Council of Graduate…

Purpose: To assess the perceptions and practices of presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) regarding carrying concealed handguns on their campuses. Methods: This study is a multi-wave national survey of all (n=103) HBCU presidents. Because of the homogenous small sample size valid parametric tests of significance could…

Given that research in language and literacy studies proffers multilingual and translingual literacy studies as central to contemporary English studies, English studies can benefit from increased attention to hip-hop language practices. While some linguists have argued for closer analysis of hip-hop nation language (HHNL) because of its relevance…

This study examines how directors of Black culture centers (BCCs) address Black students' intersectional identities. We highlight the challenges that directors of BCCs face as they attempt to preserve a race salient agenda, while accounting for other critical facets of students' social identities. Findings explore how directors hold differing…

When it comes to higher education, finding the right school is only one obstacle in the lives of most African-American males. Studies show that even out of the number of enrolled African-American males in the nation, about one-third of them will actually complete an undergraduate degree. A lack of experience in higher education may affect the…

Purpose: This article provided a comprehensive overview of select challenges that oftentimes prevent minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in the United States (i.e., historically Black colleges/universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and American Indian tribal colleges/universities) from participating optimally in the federal research…

Purpose: To evaluate a peer-to-peer mentor research team model (PPMRTM) in building investigators' research skills (i.e., research methods and grant writing) at a historically Black college/university (HBCU) in the United States. Method: Three different theories (i.e., planned change, critical mass, and self-efficacy), contemporary study findings,…

Author S. Tay Glover describes two instances of having seen Sara Ahmed give her talk about institutional diversity, racism, and the "immense labor of being queer, a feminist killjoy, and a willful subject". The first was during Glover's time completing her MA Degree in a women's studies program where Ahmed delivered the keynote. The…

The media's overrepresentation of Black men in entertainment often portrays that the only Black males who are successful are those who are either professional athletes or entertainers. Therefore, at an early age, many Black boys aspire to capitalize on what society speculates to be their best attributes--physical ability. African American male…