“Can’t I be Black and smart?”: Examining the experiences of Black high-achieving college women inside and outside the classroom

Abstract

This study examines the experiences of high-achieving talented undergraduate Black women inside and outside the classroom at a predominantly white urban university. Much of the higher education research studies how college affects students and how they develop psychosocially during their undergraduate experience. Using a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with undergraduate honors students, this study examines how Black women make meaning around their experiences in their social and academic lives at college. Intersectionality is used as a theoretical framework to analyze participants’ experiences and to consider the salience of their intersecting racial, gender, and academic identities. Results indicated that inside the classroom participants were spotlighted and felt they were the representatives for their identity groups. In campus life, they were isolated and faced microaggressions from peers. Participants described their intersectional race x gender x academic identity as most salient in their experiences at college. Implications discuss strategies for creating more inclusive academic and social environments and future research for high-achieving undergraduate Black women.