Racial Microaggressions and Sense of Belonging at a Historically White University

Abstract

This study applied critical race theory to explore the racial microaggression experiences of students of color (i.e., African American, Asian American, Latinx, and Multiracial students) at a historically White university. Using quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey (N = 1,710), we explored the relationship between the frequency of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging using multiple regression analysis. In addition, we analyzed qualitative open-ended responses to better understand students’ perceptions about how the racial microaggressions they experienced affected their sense of belonging. The findings indicated that African American students reported experiencing a significantly greater frequency of racial microaggressions than Asian American, Latinx, and Multiracial students. In addition, students who reported a greater frequency of racial microaggressions also reported lower sense of belonging. We highlight implications for future research on students of color at historically White universities.

Keywords

racism racial microaggressions campus climate higher education sense of belonging

Today, historically White colleges and universities (HWCUs) find themselves in a paradox. Although universities no longer utilize overt exclusionary practices, and now actively boast the importance of diversity in higher education, HWCUs remain racially polarized spaces (Allen, 1992; Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; McCabe, 2009; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solórzano, 2009). Although HWCUs have seen an increase in students of color since the 1960s, empirical research suggests that racism and discrimination still persists at these institutions (Feagin et al., 1996; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; McCabe, 2009; Rowe, 1990; Solórzano et al., 2000; Sue, 2010).

Negative experiences with discrimination at HWCUs affect the campus racial climate, which is associated with educational inequities that exist between students of color and their White counterparts (McCabe, 2009). An unsupportive campus climate can negatively influence the academic performance and psychological well-being of students of color (Smith, Allen, & Danley, 2007; Worthington, Navarro, Loewy, & Hart, 2008). In addition, students of color who feel lower sense of belonging or feel less connected to campus life might be less likely to thrive in predominantly White institution (PWI) environments. Research shows that students of color at HWCUs who report negative campus climates have lower rates of academic persistence and retention (Chang, 1999; Reid & Radhakrishnan, 2003; Worthington et al., 2008). The mechanisms associated with these lower rates often involve the enormous amount of time and energy that students of color must spend to cope with racial microaggressions (Feagin, 2006).

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between subtle forms of interpersonal racism, such as racial microaggressions, and sense of belonging among students of color. In the present study, we seek to understand how despite rhetoric and policies to diversify higher education, we continue to have racial inequality in institutions of higher education. To explain this paradox, we apply critical race theory (CRT) as an alternative framework that allows us to theorize racial microaggressions as a reflection of the permanent nature of racism in U.S. society (Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Hughey, Embrick, & Doane, 2015; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). Specifically, we build on the growing body of racial microaggression research by asking the following question: What is the relationship between experiences of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging among students of color at a HWCU?

In this study, we utilized a convergent mixed methods design to explore the racial microaggression experiences of students of color (i.e., African American, Asian American, Latinx, and Multiracial students) at a historically White university. Using quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey, we explored the relationship between the frequency of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging using multiple regression analysis. In addition, we analyzed qualitative open-ended responses to better understand students’ perceptions about how the racial microaggressions they experienced affected their sense of belonging on campus. Findings from this study support the hypothesis that students of color who experienced a greater frequency of racial microaggressions in the classroom and on campus also reported decreased sense of belonging. Next, we highlight the importance of using CRT as a framework to study racial microaggressions and briefly review the literature on racial microaggressions and sense of belonging among students of color.

Applying Critical Race Theory to Racial Microaggressions

CRT provides a tool to explore the phenomena of racial microaggressions and better understand what facilitates and hinders sense of belonging among students of color at HWCUs. As a conceptual framework, CRT was developed in the 1970s in critical legal studies as a theory to critique the analysis of race, racism, and the gradualism of racial reform. Many critical race legal scholars highlighted specific issues about race and racism in the United States, including: the permanence of racism in U.S. society; the limitations of civil rights law to facilitate racial progress; the challenge to concepts of color-blindness, meritocracy, and objectivity in American society; the reformulation of legal scholarship to focus on targets of racism; and the importance of first-person narratives and “counterstories” (Bell, 1980; Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Over time, CRT’s explanatory power as a theory has been used by scholars in a variety of disciplines, including sociology, African American studies, ethnic studies, gender and women’s studies, history, education, and psychology (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Jones, 1972; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Valdes, 2003).

In this article, we draw on the CRT scholarship in sociology, education, and psychology to explore the racial microaggression experiences of students of color at HWCUs. Within the field of sociology, scholars have developed a sociological theory of race in the United States and argued about the ways that racialized systems are continually reproduced through the “permanent political contestation” of the concept of race (Omi & Winant, 1994). Many historical and contemporary CRT scholars in sociology have articulated the ways that race and racism are perpetuated in U.S. society through an examination of institutional, structural, systemic, and color-blind racism (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Bracey, 2015; Feagin, 2006; Golash-Boza, 2016). For example, Feagin (2006) argues that systemic racism and dominant racial ideologies exist inside U.S. institutions of higher education, which historically have excluded Black people and other people of color as they fought for full citizenship (Feagin, 2006). In the context of education, CRT scholars have articulated the social–structural foundation of race and racism in educational institutions (Dixson & Rouseseau, 2016; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano et al., 2000). For example, Ladson-Billings and Tate’s (1995) foundational article applied CRT to critique racial inequality in the primary and secondary school system in the United States. More recently, CRT has been applied to examine racism and structural inequalities in the context of higher education (Baber, 2016; McCoy & Rodricks, 2015; Huber & Solórzano, 2015). Specifically, Solórzano’s (1998) research on racial microaggressions in higher education is considered foundational work that applied CRT to higher education. Within the field of psychology, scholarship on racism was initially focused on individual racism and prejudice (e.g., Allport, 1954; Clark, 1955; Jones, 1972), but has been broadened to focus on the impact between micro-level (individual) and macro-level (institutional, structural) manifestations of racism (Jones, 1997; Neville, Spanierman, & Lewis, 2012; Thompson & Neville, 1999). For example, Neville et al. (2012) developed a psychosocial model of racism, which articulates the link between racist structure and ideology as the macro-level factors that shape institutional (e.g., economic, legal, health), cultural (e.g., aesthetics, values, art), interpersonal (racial microaggressions), and individual racism (e.g., prejudicial attitudes and beliefs). It is with these historical and contemporary racialized systems in mind that we are applying CRT to research on racial microaggressions.

Using a CRT perspective requires a focus on counterstories, lived experiences, and the complex and intersecting ways that racial microaggressions manifest in the lives of students of color at HWCUs based on their racial and ethnic backgrounds (and other intersecting identities). It is important to theoretically comprehend the mechanisms of racism and their roles in historical and current U.S. society (Pierce, 1988). Although the focus is on racial microaggressions and everyday racist acts, using a CRT perspective provides insight into how they function and represent material and structural aspects of White supremacy (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Carter, 1988). These racial microaggressions are rational elements, even if at times unconscious, that facilitate the “reproduction of racialized social systems” (Hughey et al., 2015, p. 1347). Thus, racial microaggressions constitute a larger structural mechanism of racism on campus that provides further evidence for the permanence of racism at HWCUs.

Racial Microaggressions in Higher Education

Psychiatrist Chester Pierce (1970) developed the term microaggression to describe the subtle forms of racism expressed by Whites toward African Americans after the Civil Rights era. He defined microaggression as “subtle, stunning, often automatic, and nonverbal exchanges which [exemplified] ‘put-downs’ towards people of color” (Pierce, Carew, Pierce-Gonzalez, & Willis, 1978, p. 66). Derald Wing Sue, Capodilupo, et al. (2007) expanded Pierce’s concept of microaggressions and defined racial microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color” (p. 273). Sue, Capodilupo, et al. (2007) are clear that racial microaggressions are interpersonal manifestations of overt and structural racism in society and typically involve three forms: microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations. They define microassaults as the blatant racism that is meant to hurt a person of color. Microassaults are the conscious and intentional form of racism that occurs in society. Examples of microassaults include using racial slurs, displaying White supremacist signs and symbols, and refusing to work with someone because of their race. Microinsults, which are often unconscious, are demeaning expressions and putdowns toward others because of their race (Sue, Capodilupo, et al., 2007). An example of a microinsult includes crediting affirmative action for prestigious positions given to people of color. Microinvalidations, similar to the often-unconscious nature of microinsults, are statements or behaviors that ignore the experience of people of color (Sue, Capodilupo, et al., 2007). Examples of microinvalidations include denying the existence of racism in our society and endorsing a color-blind racial ideology (Bonilla-Silva, 2006; Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Brown, 2000).

Much of the empirical research on racial microaggressions has focused on the experiences of African American (Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008; Watkins, LaBarrie, & Appio, 2010), Latinx/Hispanic (Huynh, 2012; Nadal, Mazzula, Rivera, & Fuji-Doe, 2014; Sanchez, 2019), and Asian American individuals (Choi, Lewis, Harwood, Mendenhall, & Browne Huntt, 2017; Nadal, Wong, Sriken, Griffin, & Fujii-Doe, 2015; Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007), across a range of contexts. The majority of studies on racial microaggressions do not investigate the experiences of White individuals because although they might experience prejudice, racial microaggressions represent interpersonal forms of racism, which are rooted in structural and systemic racism experienced by people of color (Sue, Capodilupo, et al., 2007). Some studies have also explored specific contexts of racial microaggressions, such as the experiences of students of color in predominantly White university environments. For example, Solórzano et al. (2000) utilized CRT to study the racial microaggression experiences of African American college students at a HWCU. They found that students experienced racial microaggressions in academic and social spaces on campus. Specifically, African American students reported experiencing indirect demeaning and stereotypical comments made about them and others. Students also recalled moments where they were expected to automatically defend their race when others critiqued it. These situations made the students feel uncomfortable because they were unable to definitively recognize the acts as racist (Solórzano et al., 2000). Students of color were often at a loss about how to address these types of discriminatory experiences because they did not know if they were being “too sensitive” about certain situations (Solórzano et al., 2000). In addition, students responded to these experiences of invisibility and marginalization by creating counter spaces to connect with other students of color and seek refuge from the daily onslaught of racial microaggressions they experienced in their everyday lives.

Often, students of color receive both subtle and overt messages that they do not belong in these environments. This often leads to what Collins (1990) describes as an outsider-within status. Students of color experience environmental racial microaggressions such as a lack of students, faculty, and staff who look like them, and an overall sense of invisibility on campus. They also experience racial microaggressions through interpersonal interactions in the form of racial jokes, insults, and verbal comments (Harwood, Mendenhall, Browne Huntt, & Lewis, 2012). These racial microaggression experiences occur in various aspects of campus life including within the classroom, in the residence halls, and in social spaces, which may be associated with the connection students of color feel toward the university. Thus, there are ways that subtle forms of racism, such as racial microaggressions, may be related to the sense of belonging that students of color feel to campus life.

Sense of Belonging

There is a growing body of research on the sense of belonging of students of color at HWCUs. Sense of belonging refers to the extent to which students feel connected to or a part of the campus community (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Johnson et al., 2007; Strayhorn, 2008). It is a subjective evaluation of the quality of relationships with others on campus. According to Hurtado and Carter (1997), “sense of belonging contains both cognitive and affective aspects in that the individual’s cognitive evaluation of his or her role in relation to the group results in an affective response” (p. 328). Recently, there has been an increase in research focused on factors that influence the sense of belonging of students of color, such as campus racial climate, interactions with diverse peers, and student engagement. For example, Strayhorn (2008) explored the relations between cross-racial interactions and sense of belonging for African American men in college. He found that African American men who engaged in greater interactions with racially diverse peers reported higher levels of sense of belonging than those that did not. Research has also found that students who report greater student engagement also report higher levels of sense of belonging. Despite efforts from the university administration, students of color often have lower levels of sense of belonging than their White peers as a result of these racial microaggressions (Smith et al., 2007; Solórzano et al., 2000). However, there has been relatively little research on the relations between experiencing subtle racism and sense of belonging among students of color. Additionally, most of the research does not center the voices of students of color and assess how these racial microaggressions are negatively related to their sense of belonging on campus.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to utilize a convergent mixed methods design to explore the racial microaggression experiences of students of color (i.e., African American, Asian American, Latinx, and Multiracial students) at a historically White university. Based on prior research, the following research questions and hypotheses are as follows:

Research Question 1: Are there racial/ethnic group differences based on racial microaggressions and sense of belonging?

Research Question 2: Do racial microaggressions predict sense of belonging among students of color at a HWCU?

Research Question 3: What are the types of racial microaggression experiences in academic settings and how are these experiences related to students’ sense of belonging?

Our research hypotheses are that there will be racial/ethnic group differences on racial microaggressions and sense of belonging. In addition, we expect racial microaggressions will be significantly associated with sense of belonging, such that a greater frequency of racial microaggressions will be negatively associated with sense of belonging for each racial/ethnic group. Last, we hypothesize that students of color will experience various types of racial microaggressions in academic and classroom spaces.

Method

Racial Microaggressions at Illinois Project

The Racial Microaggressions at Illinois Project utilized a two-phase mixed methods research design. We applied CRT to the study of racial microaggressions as a part of a larger project on the experiences of race and campus climate among students of color at a predominantly White university. Initial qualitative data using focus group methodology was collected in 2008 and 2009. Drawing on these findings, we developed the Racial Microaggressions Online Survey in 2011, which included both quantitative and qualitative open-ended questions to study the impact of racial microaggressions on students of color. For the current study, the researchers operated from a pragmatism paradigm to reflect the diverse approaches utilized and to value different ways of knowing (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011; Small, 2011). We used a mixed methods convergent design where we simultaneously collected the quantitative and qualitative data using an online survey (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Each of the research team members had experience conducting research on race and racism using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods prior to the start of this project. The research team met weekly during the time period of data collection and biweekly during the time period of data analysis.

Participants

Participants were recruited from a stratified random sample of all students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional students) who self-identified as Black/African American, Asian/Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. This survey excluded international students and students who identified as White. A total of 3,850 surveys were sent and a total of 1,710 participants completed the survey, which is a 44.4% response rate. Our response rate is acceptable, and much higher than the typical response rate for online surveys, which is approximately 30% (Shih & Fan, 2009). However, given the self-selected nature of the survey, we acknowledge the possibility that only individuals who had experienced a racial microaggression decided to participate in the study. Out of the 1,710 participants, 39% of the sample identified as women, 40% men, and 21% who did not report their gender. The mean age of the students was 22.51 (SD = 4.41) years with a range of 18 to 56 years. The students of color were racially diverse, with 21.8% Black/African American, 45.6% Asian/Asian American, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 0.4% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.5% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 6.7% Multiracial. The survey included 14.5% first-year students, 17.1% sophomores, 18.7% juniors, 30.9% seniors, and 18.8% graduate or professional students (e.g., law and medicine).

Measures

Racial Microaggressions

Racial microaggressions were measured using the Racial Microaggressions in Higher Education Scale (Lewis, Mekawi, Harwood, Mendenhall, & Browne Huntt, 2017), which was developed as a part of a larger study on racial microaggressions experienced by students of color. This 14-item scale measures the frequency of various types of racial microaggressions found in previous research (e.g., Nadal, 2011; Torres-Harding, Andrade, & Romero Diaz, 2012). This scale has three subscales, which assess three types of racial microaggressions including: Invisibility Microaggressions (four items; e.g., I have felt excluded by others on this campus because of my race), Microinsults (five items; e.g., I have experienced someone making offensive jokes to me on this campus because of my race), and Intellectual Inferiority Microaggressions (five items; e.g., I have had my contributions minimized in the classroom because of my race). Frequency of racial microaggressions were assessed by asking participants to rate how often they experienced each event during their time at the university, ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (once a week or more). Items were scored such that higher scores indicated a higher frequency of racial microaggressions, whereas lower scores indicated a lower frequency of racial microaggressions. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scale was .92.

Sense of Belonging

Sense of belonging was measured using the Perceived Cohesion Scale (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990), which is a six-item scale that assesses a student’s perceived cohesion and sense of belonging. The items focus on both a sense of belonging and feelings of morale in relation to the university, which measure both strong and weak connections to the larger campus community. The Perceived Cohesion Scale has shown strong reliability and validity in previous research (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990). Sample items include the following: “I feel like a member of the college campus community” and “I feel like I belong to the campus community.” Participants responded to items on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). We calculated a total mean score by adding all of the items to create a total score and dividing by the total number of items. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was .94.

Procedure

After we obtained institutional review board approval, participants were recruited via an online survey. Students were sent information about the survey and a personalized link to complete the survey. We also sent follow up e-mails in 1-week intervals to those participants who had not completed the survey. Participants’ responses were sent to a password-protected server in SurveyGizmo. When students started the survey, they were informed that their survey responses were confidential and would not be linked to their names or e-mail addresses. The three open-ended questions asked students to describe situations: (a) when they felt uncomfortable, insulted, invalidated, or disrespected by a comment that had racial overtones; (b) when others subtly expressed stereotypical beliefs about one’s race/ethnicity; and (c) when others have suggested that they do not belong at the university because of their race/ethnicity. Participants had the option to respond to the three open-ended questions about their experiences of racial microaggressions on campus. We received approximately 8,000 open-ended responses for all three questions. The survey took approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Qualitative Data Analysis

The research team incorporated aspects of grounded theory into our analysis by coding the data by using line-by-line analysis (open coding) to develop themes or categories (Creswell, 1998). We coded the open-ended responses and compared our codes to determine consistency in our results and to develop a consensus on the key themes. We engaged in constant comparison between the categories and created more abstract themes about context, conditions, strategies, and consequences (axial coding). We identified main themes about student’s experiences with racial microaggressions and how they affected their sense of belonging on campus (selective coding).

Integrating the Quantitative and Qualitative Data

We mixed the qualitative and quantitative findings by examining whether qualitative themes were identified that were similar to the quantitative findings. Specifically, we focused our qualitative analysis on the racial microaggression types that were most significantly related to sense of belonging, including invisibility and intellectual inferiority microaggressions. We used the qualitative data to provide information about processes and interactions that seemed to be negatively associated with students’ sense of belonging on campus. Thus, we did not match the qualitative and quantitative responses at the individual level by participant. Instead, we only analyzed the qualitative responses that were specifically related to aspects of sense of belonging. We also used the qualitative data to highlight processes that were not evident by only an examination of the quantitative data. This approach draws on the strength of qualitative data with its ability to give voice to marginalized groups in ways that quantitative data often cannot. We used pseudonyms for participants to protect confidentiality and anonymity.

Quantitative Results

Descriptive Statistics

For the full sample, the bivariate correlation indicated that racial microaggressions were significantly and negatively associated with sense of belonging (r = −.39, p < .001), which indicates that a greater frequency of racial microaggressions were associated with a decreased sense of belonging to the university.

Racial/Ethnic Group Differences

To examine Research Question 1, we used a series of analyses of variance to explore whether there were significant racial/ethnic group differences on frequency of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging. Racial microaggressions differed significantly among the four racial/ethnic groups, F(4, 1488) = 17.94, p < .001. Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that racial microaggression scores among Black students (M = 1.34) were significantly higher than Asian (M = 0.92), Latinx (M = 0.96), and Multiracial (M = 0.81) students. There were no statistically significant differences between the other racial/ethnic groups. In addition, sense of belonging differed significantly among the four racial/ethnic groups, F(4, 1333) = 6.74, p < .001, and Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that sense of belonging scores among Latinx students (M = 3.97) were significantly higher than the Asian (M = 3.76) and Black (M = 3.60) students, which were statistically equivalent. The sense of belonging scores for the Multiracial students (M = 3.78) were not statistically different compared with the other racial/ethnic groups.

Multiple Regression Analyses

To examine Research Question 2, a simultaneous multiple regression analysis was conducted to explore the relations between racial microaggression types (microinsults, intellectual inferiority, and invisibility) and sense of belonging for each racial/ethnic group (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Multiple Regression Analyses of Racial Microaggressions Predicting Sense of Belonging by Racial/Ethnic Group.

Variable	B	SE B	β
Black students
Invisibility	−.27	.06	−.38***
Microinsults	.08	.07	.09
Intellectual inferiority	−.14	.07	−.17*
Latinx students
Invisibility	−.24	.06	−.34***
Microinsults	.06	.06	.07
Intellectual inferiority	−.16	.07	−.18*
Asian students
Invisibility	−.12	.06	−.15*
Microinsults	−.05	.06	−.05
Intellectual inferiority	−.13	.08	−.12
Multiracial students
Invisibility	−.35	.07	−.43***
Microinsults	.10	.08	.11
Intellectual inferiority	−.17	.10	−.15

p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Black Students

The simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that the overall model was significant; racial microaggressions significantly predicted sense of belonging, F(3, 307) = 27.91, p < .001, and accounted for 21% of the variance. Specifically, invisibility microaggressions contributed the most to the model (β = −.38, p < .001). In addition, intellectual inferiority microaggressions marginally contributed to the model (β = −.17, p = .05). Microinsults did not significantly contribute to the regression model.

Latinx Students

The simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that the overall model was significant; racial microaggressions significantly predicted sense of belonging, F(3, 305) = 25.04, p < .001, and accounted for 20% of the variance. Specifically, invisibility microaggressions contributed the most to the model (β = −.34, p < .001). In addition, intellectual inferiority microaggressions also significantly contributed to the model (β = −.18, p < .05). Microinsults did not significantly contribute to the regression model.

Asian Students

The simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that the overall model was significant; racial microaggressions significantly predicted sense of belonging, F(3, 360) = 10.71, p < .001, and accounted for 8% of the variance. Specifically, invisibility was the only type of racial microaggression that contributed to the model (β = −.15, p < .05). Both intellectual inferiority microaggressions and microinsults did not significantly contribute to the regression model.

Multiracial Students

The simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that the overall model was significant; racial microaggressions significantly predicted sense of belonging, F(3, 341) = 23.59, p < .001, and accounted for 23% of the variance. Specifically, invisibility was the only type of racial microaggression that contributed to the model (β = −.43, p < .001). Both intellectual inferiority microaggressions and microinsults did not significantly contribute to the regression model.

Qualitative Results

This section analyzes the open-ended responses from students of color about their experiences with racial microaggressions and how these experiences were negatively associated with students’ sense of belonging on campus. Key themes that emerged from the data included perceptions that students of color are intellectually inferior and can be dismissed in the classroom, and a lack of empathy that is associated with the “othering” of people of color.

Perceptions That Students of Color Are Intellectually Inferior

Academic spaces, such as classrooms, laboratories, academic departments, professors’ offices, advisors’ offices, and the library, are places on campus that students of color must frequently navigate to obtain knowledge and succeed in college. If these spaces are not properly navigated, students can face serious consequences such as poor grades, limited social capital, academic probation, and failure to graduate. Unfortunately, these spaces are often where students of color received subtle and blatant messages that they are “stupid” and where contributions that they try to make to academic discussions are dismissed. Bailey, an African American male student, discussed his experiences in one of his classes and his reluctance to critique the messages about inferiority:

A student gave a speech in class on affirmative action. He made it seem like African Americans who were able to matriculate into institutions were all inferior to the White students who were unable to. It made me feel like he thought I was stupid and did not deserve to be here. I couldn’t do anything about it. No one wants to be the person to pull the race card.

Bailey describes how his classmate’s speech on affirmative action made him feel that he did not belong at the university. Bailey felt silenced because he felt that if he critiqued his classmate’s speech, he would have been playing the “race card.” An undergraduate student named Taylor stated that the “conversations about affirmative action and illegal immigration” became so intense that she questioned whether to leave the university.

African American and Latinx students frequently reported that White students made assumptions about their intellectual capabilities and disregarded their ability to contribute to class discussions and group work. Students of color repeatedly discussed being the last ones picked for group projects, being given “easy” tasks to do, and being excluded when teams met to work on projects. Jordan, an undergraduate African American student stated:

As an African American on this campus, and having my race represent such a small percentage on this campus, I feel I face racism all the time. For instance, I am a prehealth major and in classes where there are few Black people, and other races tend to overlook or brush off my opinions when the class is assigned to pick groups for projects. Situations like that makes me feel less than an individual, emotionally, intellectually, and academically.

Jordan discussed the lack of diversity in his major and argues the small number of students of color creates an environment where he feels that his contributions are minimized or ignored by White students. He also highlighted the ways that experiencing racism all the time negatively affects his emotional, intellectual, and academic abilities.

Assumptions about intellectual inferiority in the classroom are not only perpetrated by students; faculty also send both subtle and overt messages. Yinka, a Black woman graduate student stated:

I am a teaching assistant, and I was in a class where a Black student athlete got a perfect score on an exam. All the other students did poorly. When the professor found out, he began to laugh and said something like “Wow are you serious? It must be a fluke.” I knew it was because of the student’s race, because other athletes had done well in our class before and there were no comments made about them. I told the professor that the student was smart, but I felt intimidated by the power dynamic of the professor and TA relationship.

Yinka’s perception that the professor’s comments were motivated by race is based on his lack of surprise when White student athletes did well on exams. It is important to note that students in the class also witnessed this exchange. For some students, the professor’s comments may have reinforced their assumptions about the intellectual inferiority of Black male student athletes. For other students, it may have sent a message that racial exclusion can be reinforced by professors and key administrators at the university, which may have structural inequality implications (e.g., grades, writing letters of recommendation, offering positions in labs, publishing with students, etc.).

Yinka attempted to counter what she perceived as the professor’s assumptions about intellectual inferiority by saying that “the student was smart.” It appears that her comment was in front of all the students. However, similar to Bailey who did not want to “pull the race card,” she reported feeling “intimidated by the power dynamics.” Therefore, she stopped short of explicitly telling the professor what she told us, that his surprise at the students’ achievement may be due to racial biases that he may consciously or unconsciously hold. According to students of color, faculty express these assumptions to undergraduate and graduate students.

Hui, an Asian American male graduate student, told a story about a faculty member who asked a question about his intellectual abilities:

A professor once asked me if I have ever written a paper before. I felt it was a stupid question, since I was in fact admitted to graduate school and had completed 4 years of college. It would be impossible for me not to have written before.

Hui expressed irritation because he felt that his professor’s comment was demeaning since he successfully completed his undergraduate training, was accepted into a competitive graduate program, and performed tasks at a graduate level.

Assumptions that students of color are intellectually inferior do not only occur in the classroom. Other academic spaces, such as the library, are also places where students experience racial microaggressions. Blair, an undergraduate student of color told a story about working with her class group, which consisted of three White men. She stated that while they were working on their project, they began to talk about the price of tuition, and assumptions about race and intellectual inferiority soon followed. According to Blair, one White male student stated:

All the money [for tuition] was going to Black and Latino students. Then he expressed how it was ridiculous because he was smarter than them and that scholarships should be based on merit, not skin color. He also said it was a waste of resources because a majority of these students would end up flunking out of school.

Blair noted that the other two White men in her group agreed with him. She expressed her feelings of discomfort and annoyance. However, they were not acknowledged by the group. Peer-to-peer learning is an important experience in college. Students of color report many experiences where these learning opportunities are over shadowed by assumptions of their intellectual inferiority.

Lack of Empathy and Othering of People of Color

Another opportunity where students can learn from each other in peer-to-peer interactions is during classroom discussions. Unfortunately, these open discussions often reflect White students’ lack of exposure to the lived experiences of people of color, which results in a lack of empathy and othering. Students of color report instances when the lack of empathy and othering is conscious and unconscious. Aubrey, a Latina undergraduate student shared her experience with a lack of empathy and othering in the classroom:

In one of my classes . . . we were discussing race within society and the different stereotypes that different races have. I enjoy discussions about race; however, this one made me feel uncomfortable. We talked about the Latino/a community and stereotypes in my community. One White female student inferred that certain stereotypes are true. She gave an example of how Latina students in her old high school were pregnant, and inferred that all Latina women get pregnant at an early age. Although I was aware of the open class discussion, I felt it was a wrong assumption to make. I then challenged the student’s view. I asked her if she thought that all Latina women get pregnant young. She responded “No, not all of them, but the majority of them, yeah!”

Like many students of color, Aubrey enjoys critical thinking and intellectual exchanges around the topic of race in America. However, students of color often report that when their White peers make comments that they perceive to be untrue or uninformed, the majority of the time faculty do not correct them. Aubrey made the choice to challenge the student’s attempt to generalize certain experiences to an entire group of individuals. Even after confronting assumptions, Aubrey felt that her efforts were ignored when the White student said that the “majority of them” [Latinas] get pregnant in high school. Students of color expressed resentment when faculty members do not engage in these discussions and often leave it up to students of color to correct White students. Students of color report that their efforts to counter the narrative are frequently dismissed.

In Aubrey’s encounter, she took a more proactive approach in the situation, but not all students of color want to or feel prepared to be an emissary for their race. Charlie, an Asian American undergraduate student, reflects on his encounter with racism in the classroom:

During a classroom discussion, a group was giving a presentation and the issue of race came up. A female student presenting began making slightly negative comments about Asians. I don’t think she realized her comments were racist. As I was the only Asian American, or person of color, in the class, the comments [were] automatically directed towards me. Everyone in the classroom then looked at me for my reaction. I felt uncomfortable, and singled out. I did not say anything, and ended up letting the matter go. At the time, I felt it was unfair that I was being forced to represent my entire race and defend it. I regret not saying anything now.

Charlie’s experience with being “singled out” and made hypervisible because of the negative comments made him view the classroom situation as “unfair.” He also reported feeling “uncomfortable” because all the students looked at him to respond to the “othering” taking place that no one else, including the faculty instructor, attempted to engage. Charlie reported regretting his lack of action. Students of color report second-guessing themselves often because it is difficult to respond to these racial microaggressions while they are happening.

Lee, an Asian student, also shared an incident when a faculty member did intervene to interrupt othering that took place in the classroom. Lee stated:

In a lecture at the beginning of the academic semester, the professor was introducing the teaching assistants to the class. Two of the TAs were foreign students from China and Korea, and their names were direct translations of their Chinese and Korean names. After the introduction, a student raised his hand and asked the professor, “Do all the TAs speak English?” to which the professor answered, “Yes and I would say that they speak English better than I do.” While this did not [happen] to me personally, I found it insulting. Just because of their names, the TAs were deemed “not fluent” in English. Growing up as an American-born Chinese, I found it even more insulting because many of my friends had English names that were a direct Chinese translation. It seemed extremely unfair that they would be judged as illiterate in English by their names. I shared this story with my friends, and they were shocked that this would occur, particularly at this university where there is a significant number of Asian students on campus.

The level of othering around Asian names and language at the university “insulted” Lee and “shocked” his friends when he told them the story. The White student appeared to lack empathy around how the teaching assistants, who are authority figures, would feel to have their ability to speak English questioned openly in the class. The professor interrupted the othering and sent a message to the entire class when he stated, “ . . . they speak English better than I do.”

The last quote represents how some White students make jokes that students of color feel are inappropriate based on content or the fact that they are not close friends that can share such humor. Avi, a Latinx student, created a study group for his class, and they met at the library. A White male student who asked Avi if he could be in the group said, “[It’s] ironic. The Mexican was the one taking initiative [to form this group].” Avi reported experiencing disbelief at this level of othering based on his proactive approach to start a study group. He also stated that he and the other White students were not “close enough” for them to joke like that. Students of color frequently report how White students do not respect their boundaries, which results in jokes and comments that are inappropriate based on the superficial nature of the relationship. Students of color often report withdrawing from these relationships, which negatively affects their sense of belonging and may lead to a lack of resources and social capital after graduation.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between experiences of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging for Black, Latinx, Asian, and Multiracial students. In addition, we also wanted to uncover how students of color perceived that their experiences of racial microaggressions in the classroom influenced their sense of belonging on campus. In keeping with the findings from previous research, we explored whether racial microaggressions were related to sense of belonging separately for Black, Latinx, Asian, and Multiracial students in order to examine how these associations might differ by racial/ethnic group. In addition, we analyzed open-ended qualitative responses about students’ racial microaggression experiences and how these experiences influence sense of belonging among students of color. Below, we highlight each of the significant findings and how these findings extend the current research literature.

Findings indicated that Black students reported experiencing a significantly greater frequency of racial microaggressions than Asian, Latinx, or Multiracial students on campus. These findings extend the extant literature on the experiences of Black students at HWCUs. Specifically, there is a large body of research on the unique experiences of Black and African American students at PWIs. Due to the historical legacy of institutions of higher learning legally excluding African American students, many Black students continue to experience both overt and covert forms of racism on college campuses (Feagin, 2006). In addition, there are often environmental microaggressions in addition to interpersonal racial microaggressions that serve to communicate directly to Black students that they do not belong in a predominately White university environment (Sue, 2010; Watkins et al., 2010). For example, Solórzano et al. (2000) found that African American college students experienced demeaning and stereotypical comments made about them at a PWI. Contrary to expectation, we also found that Latinx students reported a greater sense of belonging to the university compared with Asian, Black, and Multiracial students on campus. This finding might be due to the conflation of race and ethnicity in our sample. It is possible that some of the Latinx students in our study (self-identified as Hispanic through the university system), might also identify as White. Thus, it is possible that some of these students may have a different experience with racism on campus than other students of color.

We also found that racial microaggressions significantly predicted sense of belonging for Black, Asian, Latinx, and Multiracial students, such that, experiencing a greater frequency of racial microaggressions was associated with lower sense of belonging on campus. These findings support our hypothesis and extend the previous research literature. Specifically, previous research suggests that students of color report lower sense of belonging on campus (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Smith et al., 2007). However, this study is one of the first to examine the role of racial microaggressions as one of the possible underlying reasons for these racial disparities. Basically, students of color may feel less of a connection to their university as a result of the frequent encounters with racial microaggressions in the classroom by peers and faculty, as well as in social spaces on campus. Another unique finding of our study was that for all students of color, invisibility microaggressions contributed the most to the variance in explaining students’ sense of belonging on campus. Thus, for many students of color, experiences of being excluded on campus and being made to feel invisible, even in subtle ways, are negatively related to one’s sense of belonging.

The qualitative stories of students of color not only supported the quantitative findings but also provided unique insights into the specific ways in which racial microaggressions are associated with sense of belonging for students of color. Overall, experiences of racial microaggressions decreased the level of comfort and sense of belonging among students of color. Although the quantitative findings found that invisibility microaggressions were the most significant type of racial microaggression that was negatively related to sense of belonging, the qualitative findings revealed that the experience of being perceived to be intellectually inferior, demeaning comments, and “othering” comments in the classroom (e.g., microinsults), were also ways that students of color were made to feel inferior, which students reported as being linked to their sense of belonging on campus. These types of racial microaggression experiences have a particularly detrimental impact because students of color may withdraw from developing interpersonal relationships with their peers, which could lead to greater social isolation.

These findings are consistent with Feagin’s (2006) description of PWIs as a “one-way assimilation” model favoring White society’s perception of culture that has the potential to be discouraging and harmful to students of color who do not relate or are not willing to assimilate. Since students of color at HWCUs come from various backgrounds and environments, it is imperative to have different initiatives to ensure that students of color feel like they belong to the campus community. The continued presence of these racial microaggressions at HWCUs serves to reproduce racialized social systems in higher education and highlights the permanence of racism in U.S. society through educational institutions (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Hughey et al., 2015).

Our findings also highlight the limitations of the narrative about diversity and inclusion in higher education given the ways that racial microaggressions serve to produce new (and often invisible) boundaries to institutional access (Moore & Bell, 2011). Racial microaggressions can reproduce social inequality in ways that are often hidden from university administrators, such as the lack of students of color applying to certain schools or majors and poor retention rates. Based on the students’ experiences, if racial microaggressions are continually ignored or invalidated by administrators, they could lead to a more hostile campus climate, students withdrawing from HWCUs, and a decrease in the number of students of color applying to HWCUs, which seems counter to the diversity and inclusion goals of most institutions of higher education.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

Although this study has several strengths, there are a few noteworthy limitations. First, our research was conducted at one university in the Midwestern United States. Thus, we cannot generalize our findings to various university settings. Future research should explore the racial microaggression experiences among students of color at various HWCUs in different geographical regions, which might uncover unique findings. Second, there is an inherent limitation in using self-report surveys. As a result, our study is focused on self-reported perceptions of racial microaggressions and sense of belonging. Future research could employ experimental designs to more directly investigate the influence of experiencing racial microaggressions on sense of belonging. However, we argue that it is important to study the subjective experience of students of color at HWCUs because these findings help us uncover the underlying reasons for why some students of color have a more negative experience at HWCUs than at other types of institutions. Another limitation of the study is the cross-sectional nature of the study design. We are unable to specifically determine whether experiencing a greater frequency of racial microaggressions causes lower sense of belonging. We are only able to conclude that there is a significant correlation between greater racial microaggression experiences and lower sense of belonging. Future research could conduct a longitudinal survey to be able to assess the cumulative impact of racial microaggressions on students of color during their time at the university. Qualitative findings allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the ways that students of color perceive their racial microaggression experiences, which helps better illuminate the ways that students of color feel everyday racism is associated with their sense of belonging on campus. Thus, there are unique benefits to the mixed methods study design that allowed us to explore the convergence and divergence of the qualitative and quantitative findings in a meaningful way. Future research should seek to develop more mixed methods studies to be able to develop a more in depth understanding of the various race-related factors that may be negatively associated with experiences of students of color at HWCUs.

Conclusion

Recent studies have indicated that there has been a sharp increase in the number of hate crimes and racist incidents, particularly in light of the 2016 election of Donald Trump (Cohen, 2017). In addition, a recent report indicated a 258% increase in White supremacist propaganda on college campuses within the past year (Anti-Defamation League, 2018). Given the hostile racial climate nationally, and at HWCUs specifically, more research is needed to explore both covert forms of racism as well as the resurgence of overt racism on college campuses. Specifically, it is important for researchers to center the voices of students of color to better understand the negative effect of a hostile racial climate for students of color. In addition, it is imperative for higher education administrators to develop more robust and targeted programs to retain students of color at HWCUs if they are really committed to creating a more inclusive university environment.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was funded by grants from the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society (now closed), University Housing, and the Graduate College Focal Point Grant at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Author Biographies

Jioni A. Lewis, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is also affiliate faculty in the Africana Studies Program and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. Her research is focused on the impact of racism for people of color, with a specific focus on the influence of gendered racism on the health of women of color, as well as resilience and protective factors.

Ruby Mendenhall, PhD is an Associate Professor of Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, Gender and Women’s Studies and Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology; Women and Gender in Global Perspectives; the Cline Center for Advance Social Research; Epstein Health Law and Policy Program; Family Law and Policy Program and the Institute for Computing in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Mendenhall is the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Ashley Ojiemwen, MA is a Middle School Math Educator at BakerRipley’s Promise Community School District in Houston, Texas. Her research interests include educational equity, S.T.E.A.M. exposure for adolescents of color, and restorative justice practices.

Merin Thomas, MA is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. Her research interests include race and ethnic relations, racial inequality, immigration, and mental health.

Cameron Riopelle, PhD is a Librarian Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. His research interests include research methods, racism and colonialism, and climate change.

Stacy Anne Harwood, PhD is Chair and Professor in the City & Metropolitan Planning Department at the University of Utah. She is an urban planning scholar and educator on immigration, community development, racial justice, and local public policy.

Margaret Browne Huntt, PhD is the Assistant Director for Strategic Research Initiatives and Chief Diversity Officer at the Cancer Center at Illinois and an affiliate of the Epstein Health Law and Policy Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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