Abstract
The experiences of a Black Female academic, working at a Predominately White Institution (PWI), is explored in this work. The author suggests that Black women have been historically marginalized within most PWI’s and historically this has been viewed in a negative light. Here it is suggested that Black women in academe view this position as one of power which can be used to propel them towards the goals of tenure and promotion. This work uses Black Feminist Theory to examine these experiences and to provide a proper context for analysis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Butner, B. K., Burley, H., & Marbley, A. F. (2000). Coping with the unexpected: Black faculty at predominately white institutions. Journal of Black Studies, 30(3), 453–462.
Collins, P. (1986). Learning from the outsider within: The sociological significance of Black feminist thought. Social Problems, 33(6), s14–s32.
Collins, P. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness and the politics of empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge.
Harley, D. A. (2008). Maids of academe: African American women faculty at predominately white institutions. Journal of African American Studies, 12, 19–36.
hooks, B. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center. Boston, MA: South End Press.
hooks, B. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking black. Boston, MA: South End Press.
hooks, B. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender and cultural politics. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Huddleston-Matta, B. (1995). The black female academician and the “superwoman syndrome”. Race. Gender & Class, 3(1), 49–64.
Jones, C. (1995). An end to the neglect of the problems of the Negro woman!. In B. Guy-Sheftal (Ed.), Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought (pp. 108–123). New York, NY: The New Press.
Jones, C., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2003). Shifting: The double lives of Black women in America. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Morgan, J. (1999). When chickenheads come home to roost: A hip-hop feminist breaks it down. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Padilla, A. M. (1994). Ethnic minority scholars, research, and mentoring: Current and future issues. Educational Researcher, 23(4), 24–27.
Takara, K. W. (2006). A view from the academic edge: One Black woman who is dancing as fast as she can. Du Bois Review, 3(2), 463–470.
Thomas, G. D., & Hollenshead, C. (2001). Resisting from the Margins: The coping strategies of Black women and other women of color faculty members at a research university. Journal of Negro Education, 70(3), 166–175.
Turner, C. S. (2003). Incorporation and Marginalization in the academy: From border toward center for faculty of color. Journal of Black Studies, 34(1), 112–125.
Williams, D. G., & Evans-Winters, V. (2005). The burden of teaching teachers: Memoirs of race discourse in teacher education. The Urban Review, 37(3), 201–219.
Willis, A. I., & Lewis, K. C. (1999). Our known everydayness: Beyond a response to white privilege. Urban Education, 34(2), 245–262.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hinton, D. Creating Community on the Margins: The Successful Black Female Academician. Urban Rev 42, 394–402 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-009-0140-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-009-0140-3