Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2019 Dark on Campus: A Phenomenological Study of Being a Dark- Skinned Black College Student Kiara Lee Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5752 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dark on Campus: A Phenomenological Study of Being a Dark-Skinned Black College Student A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. By Kiara Shanay Lee M.Ed, Social Foundations of Education, University of Virginia, 2014 B.A., Sociology, University of Richmond, 2012 Directors: Bill Muth, Ph.D. and Adai Tefera, Ph.D. Assistant Professors, Foundations of Education, School of Education Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA April, 2019 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I must first thank the Lord above, for without Him and His word, none of my work would be possible. Won’t He do it! I would also like to thank my village of family and friends for their love and support throughout my research journey, for without it, there would be no journey. I’m very grateful for the faculty and mentors who have pushed me and believed in me even more than I’ve at times believed in myself. I want to especially thank Dr. Derrick Alridge, my advisor at University of Virginia, who first planted the seed, suggesting that I should and that I could pursue a doctoral degree. I also would like to thank my dissertation co-chairs, Dr. Bill Muth and Dr. Adai Tefera, who have not only spent numerous hours of their time on my behalf, but have also provided me invaluable guidance, direction and encouragement throughout this process. I am eternally grateful for my mother, my ride or die, Brenda Lee, as she taught me to never apologize for being a dreamer while helping me to achieve my dreams, with a loving vengeance, and my father, Winfort Lee, who is one of my loudest cheerleaders. 2 ABSTRACT DARK ON CAMPUS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF BEING A DARK-SKINNED BLACK COLLEGE STUDENT Kiara Shanay Lee A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018 Directors: Bill Muth, Ph.D. and Adai Tefera, Ph.D. Assistant Professors, Foundations of Education, VCU School of Education As recent research finally starts to recognize colorism, a form of discrimination where light skin is valued over dark skin within an ethnic group, as a legitimate form of discrimination in the Black community, research on colorism in higher education still wanes. A limited amount of scholarship focuses on the manifestation of colorism in education and even less research examines the implications of complexion on Black college students and their intersectional identities. As empirical studies describe how complexion often denotes institutional degradation for dark-skinned Black students in K-12 and beyond -- from teacher perceptions, to the school- 3 to-prison pipeline, to social dynamics with peers and more, this study privileges the voices of these marginalized students. This qualitative study uses phenomenology to detail the experiences of dark-skinned Black college students at a PWI (predominately white institution) to illustrate their lived experiences, the often intricate relationships between dark skin and intersectional identities like gender and ethnicity, and the unique phenomenon of being dark-skinned on campus. This work aims to complicate, adding rigorous research and thick qualitative description to burgeoning scholarship on colorism in education. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………7 Background………………………………………………………………………………..9 A Brief History of Colorism in the Black Community……………………………9 Brief Overview of Literature …………………………………………………………....11 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………………......12 Rationale of Study……………………………………………………………………….13 Overview of Methodology………………………………………………………………15 Overview of Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………16 Positionality………...……………………………………………………………………18 Research Question.………………………………………………………………………19 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE…………………………………………………….20 Defining Colorism……………………………………………………………………………….20 Colorism and Race……………………………………………………………………………….22 White Supremacy, Blackness and Anti-Blackness………………………………………22 A Structural Look at Colorism and Race………………………………………………...24 Institutional Racism, Internalized Racism and Colorism………………………………..26 Colorism in Society……………………………………………………………………................29 Employment……………………………………………………………………...............30 The Criminal Justice System…………………………………………………………….31 Family and Relationships………………………………………………………...............33 The Predominately White Institution…………………………………………………………….35 Intersectionality in Black College Experiences…………………….……………………………38 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….43 CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK………………………………………………..45 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………45 Historical Beginnings of Intersectionality……………………………………………………….45 Black Feminism during the Slavery Era and the Early 20th Century……………………46 Antecedent Concepts…………………………………………………………………….48 Double jeopardy and triple jeopardy…………………………………………….48 Metaphors and Intersectionality………………………………………………………………….51 The Traffic Intersection….………………………………………………………………51 The Basement…………………………………………………………………………….52 Intersectionality and Implications for the Current Study………………………………………...53 Advantages of Intersectionality as a Theoretical Framework……………………………53 Intersectionality as Fluid, Evolutionary and Revolutionary…….……………………….54 Inter-categorical Intersectionality…………………...…………………………………...55 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………56 CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………….57 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………57 5 Research Question.………………………………………………………………………………59 Design……………………………………………………………………………………………59 Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………………..60 Individual Interviews……………….……………………………………………………60 Focus Group……………………………………………………………………………...61 Sampling and Recruitment……………………………………………………………….62 Setting……………………………………………………………………………………63 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………….64 Phenomenological Parts…….……………………………………………………………64 Reflexivity……….……………………………………………………………………….65 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………….66 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….66 CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS AND GIVINGS……………………………………………………..68 A Phenomenon of Not Being…………………………………………………………………….68 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………68 Lived Experiences of Not-Being………………………………………………………...69 Intersectionality………………………………………………………………………………..…80 Dark Skin and Gender Lines……………………………………………………………..80 Dark Skin and Sexuality…………………………………………………………………81 Dark Skin, Pride and Socioeconomic Status……………………………………………..84 The PWI………………………………………………………………………………………….87 The Classroom…………………………………………………………………………...88 The Social Scene…………………………………………………………………………89 Supportive Spaces………………………………………………………………………..90 The PWI: Discomfort, Dysmorphia and History………………………………………...92 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….93 CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………………….95 A Closer Look at the Lived Experience of Not-Being…………………………………………..95 Invisibility and Hypervisibility…………………………………………………………..96 Not Being Good Enough and Not Being Authentic Self………………………………...97 Lived Suppression………………………………………………………………………..99 Racism, Colorism and Space…………………………………………………………...100 Recommended Interventions for the PWI...……………………………………………………104 Recommendations for Future Study……………………………………………………………105 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...106 References………………………………………………………………………………………107 Appendix A……….…………………………………………………………………………….114 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………..115 Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………………..116 Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………..120 6 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Among the many forms of discrimination, a few that come to the minds of many may include racism, sexism, ageism and ableism. Colorism, a form of discrimination that marginalizes people of color based on complexion, where light skin is widely valued over dark skin, is lesser known. Despite this, colorism and its effects on society are prevalent as ever. Although burgeoning scholarship on colorism has slowly come to pass as of late and the word itself has recently been included in the Oxford Dictionary, there remains a great deal of fairly uncharted territory, particularly in regard to colorism in education. There are numerous ways in which colorism produces inequality in education – from graduation rates, to teacher perceptions, disproportionate discipline, social dynamics and more, dark-skinned students of color constantly receive the short end of the stick (Hunter, 2007; Monroe, 2017). Colorism persists throughout primary, secondary and higher education, making it harder for dark-skinned students of color to succeed, due to preconceived notions of whiteness and privilege, which tend to favor light- skinned students. Overall, academic scholarship on colorism lacks a sufficient