Exploring racial battle fatigue and interrogating white supremacy in the academy

This critical ethnographic single case study explored the lived experiences of Black student activists and racially/ethnically minoritized staff administrators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign during a particular social phenomenon in November of 2015. This phenomenon was the anonymous creation of an “Illini White Student Union” Facebook page. The “Illini White Student Union” was developed in response to Black student activism and other anti-racist movements taking place on the campus. The “Illini White Student Union” Facebook page served as a mechanism for white students at the university to form a community and organize against the alleged terrorism faced by Black Lives Matter activists on campus (Salinger, 2015). To understand the physiological, psychological, and behavioral stress responses of Black student activists and racially/ethnically minoritized staff administrators, this study utilized Critical Race Theory and Racial Battle Fatigue as the conceptual framework. Participants of this study were purposefully sampled. Data was collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven Black student activists and seven racially/ethnically minoritized staff administrators who responded to this social phenomenon. Furthermore, multiple artifacts were collected and analyzed. This study is most beneficial for faculty and staff administrators employed in all sectors of American higher education whose responsibility is to engage and respond to occurrences of Black student activism. This study also benefits educational policymakers invested in cultivating a sense of belonging for Black students enrolled in higher education by dismantling institutionalized systems of oppression (e.g., racism, gendered racism, and white supremacy).

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Georges, Colvin Terrance

Contributors dc:contributor

• Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni M
• Dyson, Anne H
• Ward Hood, Denice
• Smith, William A

• Activism
• Black Student Activist
• Critical Race Theory
• Racial Battle Fatigue
• Racial Microaggression

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Colvin Georges

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115729

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115729