Campus Counterspaces: Black and Latinx Students’ Search for Community at Historically White Universities

A Black feminist study of freedom, community care, and self-definition among Black college women attending predominantly White institutions.

“…Hunter et al, 2016). Thus, while physical places and spaces such as Black cultural centers (BCCs), affinity housing, and Black studies courses are important counterspaces (i.e., microcommunities that provide students with essential identity-affirming support that may help their college adjustment; Keels, 2020) for Black college women's experiences of freedom, it is also useful to consider the relationships that Black women build within these settings and amongst one another. Thus, we review research on Black-centered spaces, Black women's friendships, and Black women's self-definition, to situate our study within the broader history of Black women's agentic navigation of PWIs.…”

“…Black-centered spaces refer to physical spaces on campus where Black women feel comfortable and "free," because the spaces and the people within those spaces positively embrace and welcome them in the fullness of their identities. Within higher education literature, scholars often point to BCCs at PWIs as unique, safe spaces that help shield or offset the harm from Black students' experiences of bias and discrimination within the broader campus community (Hypolite, 2020a;Keels, 2020;Strayhorn, 2018;Tichavakunda, 2021). BCCs offer the physical space for students to establish relationships with supportive staff, faculty, and administrators who can help them develop a stronger sense of belonging to the broader college community (L. D. Patton, 2006), facilitate their engagement on campus as student leaders (Domingue, 2015;Leath, Ball, et al, 2022), and participate in recreation and celebration activities that promote and strengthen their joy on campus (Tichavakunda, 2021).…”

“…Examining freedom by centering on Black college women's perspectives may encourage scholars to reimagine what is possible, useful, and necessary in how we approach the purpose and desired outcomes for students in higher education (hooks, 1994;Porter et al, 2020;Tichavakunda, 2021). Moreover, exploring freedom among Black women attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs)-institutions with social cultures, traditions, and policies that systematically benefit and privilege White students (Cabrera et al, 2017;Gusa, 2010;Leath, Scott, et al, 2022)-provides a critical and intersectional lens on how they claim the time, space, and supports necessary to invest in their freedom amidst the omnipresent realities of capitalism, misogynoir, 3 patriarchy, and White supremacy (Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014;Keels, 2020;Onuoha et al, 2023;Tichavakunda, 2021;Volpe & Jones, 2021). In the present study, we explore Black college women's freedom through a critical thematic analysis of interview data with Black women attending PWIs who describe how they understand and cultivate freedom for themselves.…”

What does it mean to belong? An interdisciplinary integration of theory and research on belonging

“…Institutional efforts can include recognizing the social capital that marginalized students already possess, including deep ties to home communities, and leveraging these ties for enhanced learning (Covarrubias, 2021;Rios-Aguilar et al, 2011;Tachine et al, 2017;Takimoto et al, 2021;Yosso, 2005). They can also include creating opportunities for marginalized students to build more social capital by connecting with others, like through counterspaces (Keels, 2020).…”

“…The stories themselves also serve as a historical record charting pain, joy, hope, agency, and resistance that can foster belonging for others who engage the stories (hooks, 1999;Fernández et al, 2022;Muñoz & Maldonado, 2012;Tachine et al, 2017). Indeed, in sharing these stories in community with others who have overlapping and distinct experiences of marginalization, also known as counterspaces, there is great potential in fostering belonging to that relational space (Case & Hunter, 2012;Keels, 2020;Nuñez, 2011;Solórzano et al, 2000). For example, building multicultural learning communities where students author and share their own stories combats campus alienation through social connection, cultivates an opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning, and helps them to make sense of and validate their transition experiences (Jehangir, 2010).…”