Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations May 2019 Calling All the Sisters: The mpI act of Sister Circles on the Retention and Experiences of Black Womyn Collegians at Predominately White Institutions Courtney Allen Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Allen, Courtney, "Calling All the Sisters: The mpI act of Sister Circles on the Retention and Experiences of Black Womyn Collegians at Predominately White Institutions" (2019). All Dissertations. 2374. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2374 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CALLING ALL THE SISTERS: THE IMPACT OF SISTER CIRCLES ON THE RETENTION AND EXPERIENCES OF BLACK WOMYN COLLEGIANS AT PREDOMINATELY WHITE INSTITUTIONS A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Educational Leadership by Courtney Allen May 2019 Accepted by: Dr. Robin Phelps-Ward, Committee Chair Dr. Natasha N. Croom Dr. Tony Cawthon Dr. Kendra Stewart-Tillman Dr. Cynthia Deaton i ABSTRACT The experiences of Black womyn collegians (BWC) at predominately White campuses (PWC) is one of isolation, lack of support, and combating oppressive incidents regularly (Commodore, Baker, & Arroyo, 2018; Porter, 2013). Along with the challenges of being a BWC on campus and in society, there is lack of formal safe spaces for BWC to unpack and manage the weight of microaggressions and the chilly campus climate many of them endure at PWI (Croom, Beatty, Acker, & Butler, 2017; Porter & Dean, 2015; Winkle-Wagner, 2010). For BWC to develop, succeed, and persist at PWI, they need intentional support (Rosales & Person, 2003). This case study examined how institutions create climates that nurture sister circles for BWC to develop, succeed, and persist at PWI. The purpose of this study was to examine one institution’s sister circle program and its impact on the experiences of the BWC at the institution. The sister circle program at Hope State University was the selected research site for the case study. The data sources were interviews, sister circle general meeting observation, artifacts, and a questionnaire. The participants were 10 BWC (general and executive board members) involved in the sister circle program and four administrators directly connected to the program. Thematic analysis was utilized to make meaning of the experiences of the 10 BWC and four administrators within the sister circle program. The emergent themes were Spaces for Sisterhood, Sense of Belonging, Campus Agents, and Intentional Institutional Inclusion. The implications for practice and future research were discussed for BWC and sister circles, including the institutional responsibility PWIs have to the experiences of BWCs. ii DEDICATION We Black women are the single group in the West intact. And anybody can see we’re pretty shaky. We are, however (all praises) the only group that derives its identity from itself. —Nikki Giovanni I dedicate this dissertation to all the Black womyn collegians at predominantly White institutions who feel isolated, lost, and silenced. I wrote this with you in mind because I was you many years ago, and I understand your pain, strength, and desire to break free! My hope is this dissertation will serve as a step in the right direction to positively impact the experiences of Black womyn collegians at predominantly White institutions. I ask current Black womyn collegians to stay strong and persist because there are so many of us rooting for you and working to dismantle the system so you can exist as your full, authentic selves. We have your back—keep pushing and spreading your Black girl magic all over campus! iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank God, for opening the doors I didn’t know existed for me in my life. Through this journey, you have been by my side and have given me the motivation to know I was enough! To my Mommy, there are not enough letters in the alphabet to explain how much I love and appreciate you and all you have done for me. You have always been the strict Trinidadian mother that all my friends and others loved because of your fun spirit and your amazing and right-on-time punch lines! I am because you are! I know you scarified so much for me to be where I am today. Please know that none of your hard work has gone unnoticed. I will always remember you dragging me every Saturday morning to Saturday school, and you always had a summer enrichment camp, EVERY SUMMER! When I was younger, I did not understand your logic, but I get it now because you were building my educational foundation. Thank you for all your support, encouraging words, prayers, and tough love on the days I wanted to give up. I could never repay you for all of the love and dedication you have given me. All I can say is thank you, I love you, and I hope I make you proud! To the rest of my family, Crystal, you are the best big sister ever! You are always there for me and listen even when you have so much going on. Thank you for inspiring me and uplifting me always. I love you! To my other big sister, Tatiana, thank you for always being there to support and encourage me and for making sure I had a home- cooked meal before I headed back to Clemson from Virginia. I love you! Lana, you are the best big cousin, and I love how much you support and big me up all the time! Your morning phone calls always make me laugh and brighten my day. Love you to the moon. Ms. Pam, thank you for always checking in on me via Messenger and for our late-night phone calls. I always look forward to them and appreciate it more than you know. To Dr. Phelps-Ward, my chair and Black girl magic mentor, your belief in me is unwavering! You challenged and supported me to be the best and made me feel I could achieve anything. From the beginning, you nurtured my thoughts and never shot down any idea but helped me develop and figure out my path. I will always remember this iv journey and know it was amazing and manageable because of you. You have taught me how to be a future faculty who cares and serves others, all while being an intentional mentor and bomb critical scholar. As a Black womyn scholar, I thank you for setting an exceptional example for me to follow as I become a faculty member. You will always be my chair, mentor, friend and ultimate example of Black girl magic! To the rest of my dissertation committee, Drs. Cawthon, Croom, Deaton, and Stewart-Tillman, thank you so much for your support and patience along the way. Each of you checked in on me and provided helpful and critical feedback for me to complete my best work. Your mentorship throughout this journey is so appreciated, and I cannot express my gratitude. To Dr. Croom, thank you for pushing me to be more critical in my work and for supporting me. I will always appreciate all of the encouragement you provided during this journey. To Dr. Wagner, thank you so much for allowing me to TA with you; it was an amazing experience, and I learned so much from you. Thank you for allowing me to cry in your office when the weight of it all was just too much. Your mentorship and guidance have been so appreciated. To Dr. Fleming, thank you so much for supporting me as a supervisor and scholar while at Clemson. You always encouraged me to grow as a scholar and a leader on campus and within my assistantship with Goal Post. Dr. Dumas, thank you for always checking in on me and providing words of comfort and resources. Each time I left your office, I had something to look up, and I appreciate your assistance with GSG and as a leader. Thank you for your mentorship and encouragement. To my “Just Call Me Dr.” crew: Drs. Garrett, Hall, Howard, Kenney, and soon-to- be Lange, thank you for always being there to write, laugh, or cry with. Your friendship is priceless, and I would not have made it without all of you. I love you all dearly! To Dr. Fine, thank you for helping me when I first got to Clemson and throughout my process here! You are always ready to road trip, concert trip, and just be so positive, thank you for your friendship. To the soon-to-be Dr. Smith, you are amazing, and we bonded from the beginning! Thank you for your support and work in GSG and in general. I appreciate your drive and your work ethic, I cannot wait until you are an HBCU President! Byron, v thank you for just being you and bringing calmness and appreciation into my life. Your work ethic is unmatched, and you are so humble about all you have accomplished and have yet to do. Thanks so much for always reminding me to mediate and for always being the calm energy needed. To Jumah, Pauline, Matt, and Jason, your friendship is so amazing I do not know if I deserve it! From the daily texts of empowerment to our get-togethers, they always feed my spirit and make me so happy to have met each of you. Throughout this journey, you have each been so significant, and I want to thank you with everything within me.
Details
-
File Typepdf
-
Upload Time-
-
Content LanguagesEnglish
-
Upload UserAnonymous/Not logged-in
-
File Pages193 Page
-
File Size-