Kayon Hall, assistant professor of Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs in the School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration, was awarded a $1,000 grant from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Foundation in support of her study, “Black But Also Undocumented/DACAmented: Examining Anti-blackness in Higher Education."
Scholars have demonstrated that marginalized communities have a wealth of knowledge to improve policies and practices. Hall believes the same is true for undocu/DACAmented Black collegians as they recount their experiences with anti-blackness in higher education.
The purpose of Hall’s exploratory qualitative study is threefold:
1. To share the stories of anti-blackness to inform administration, faculty, and staff on the specific needs of undocu/DACAmented Black collegians.
2. To contribute to the lack of literature focused on undocu/DACAmented Black collegians.
3. To create a space for undocumented/DACAmented Black collegians to dream of Black liberation and a world where they feel safe.
Over 619,000 Undocu/DACAmented Black individuals, including collegians, live in the United States. Many come from countries in Africa and the Caribbean, with most hailing from Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, and Nigeria. However, due to the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism, undocu/DACAmented Black immigrants are three and a half times more likely to be criminalized than other groups.
Despite this racial and ethnic diversity, most of the ACPA scholarship highlights the educational experience of undocu/DACAmented collegians who are Latinx and Asian. Of the 427,000 undocu/DACAmented collegians enrolled in higher education, undocu/DACAmented Black collegians account for 12.5 percent of the population. Like their peers, undocu/DACAmented Black collegians face similar challenges with higher education. For example, they navigate restrictive policies that impact access to higher education, experience social and psychological challenges like fear of exposure and deportation, and they face economic barriers due to low-income status.
However, Hall’s research shows a distinct difference in the experiences of undocumented/DACAmented Black collegians because of the anti-black racism Blacks face from all people, including white and other non-Black People of Color.
Hall believes more research is needed to examine the lived realities of undocu/DACAmented Black collegians so education scholars and practitioners can better support them. Therefore, two research questions guide her study: How do undocu/DACAmented Black collegians confront anti-black in their educational experience? How would Black collegians re-imagine the world/future (including educational spaces) for the undocu/DACAmented?
This project is significant due to implications for research and practices based on:
- Educating faculty and staff on anti-blackness: Mandatory, anti-black trainings for administration, faculty, staff, and students can be implemented based on findings from this study that will call attention to the anti-blackness in schools and its impact as narrated by undocu/DACAmented collegians. Additionally, working closely with dream centers and multicultural centers to incorporate and share the existence and unique needs of undocu/DACAmented Black collegians.
- Community and support: Research that alerts administration, faculty, and staff of the presence of undocu/DACAmented Black collegians, which can lead to the formation of community spaces for undocu/DACAmented Black collegians, such as community events and activities.
- Equitable and inclusive learning environments: Research shows that undocu/DACAmented Black collegians and Black collegians navigate racist campus climates. The study will highlight the various ways undocu/DACAmented Black collegians experience anti-blackness in higher education in ways that can help create an inclusive learning environment (i.e., curricula changes) for undocu/DACAmented Black collegians and for collegians, faculty, and staff who are not undocu/DACAmented.