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The Urban Review

, Volume 49, Issue 2, pp 347–367 | Cite as

“We All We Got”: Considering Peer Relationships as Multi-Purpose Sustainability Outlets Among Millennial Black Women Graduate Students Attending Majority White Urban Universities

  • Danielle L. Apugo
Article
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Abstract

This article explores the use of peer relationships among graduate millennial Black women (GMBW) in majority white urban universities as methods of mentorship and sustainability. Though informally constructed, the women in this study purposed their peer relationships to fill a void often satisfied through formal mentor relationships. Findings from this study also suggest that GMBW leverage their peer relationships as academic, professional, and emotional support entities that play a significant role in helping them to process instances of perceived negative race-related behaviors. Data revealed peer relationships as support mechanisms responsible for participants’ overall well-being as graduate students. A womanist epistemological perspective was applied to the research process in order to frame and interpret the participant’s experiences and existence within the aforementioned educational setting.

Keywords

Sustainability Peer relationship Urban university Millennial Mentorship 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Division of Heath, Education & Social WorkUniversity of the District of ColumbiaWashingtonUSA

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