STUDYING WHILE BLACK: A BLACKCRIT COUNTER-STORY OF BLACK UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH ANTI-BLACK RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of Black undergraduate students whoencounter anti-black racial microaggressions at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Framed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit), the research employs narrative inquiry and centers counter-storytelling as both method and analytic framework (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002; Dumas & ross, 2016). The study foregrounds the voices of eight Black undergraduate students through two rounds of semi-structured interviews, capturing how anti-blackness manifests interpersonally and institutionally across academic and social contexts. Four interrelated themes were documented: (1) Counter-stories of Invisibility and Hypervisibility, (2) Counter-stories of Assumed Intellectual Inferiority, (3) Counter-stories of Cultural Erasure and Stereotyping, and (4) Counter-stories of Resistance, Protest, and Racial Battle Fatigue. Participants described being marginalized in classrooms, burdened by stereotypes, and often tokenized or silenced in both peer and faculty interactions. Simultaneously, they demonstrated resilience through affirming community spaces, strategic resistance, and narrative agency. These stories reflect how anti-black racial microaggressions serve as mechanisms of systemic racism, often masked by institutional rhetoric of diversity and inclusion (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). This study contributes to scholarship by centering Black student stories as critical sites of knowledge production. It highlights the emotional, cognitive, and cultural labor that Black students perform in order to navigate predominantly white educational settings. Implications include the need for race-conscious pedagogies, targeted mental health and cultural support services, and institutional accountability frameworks that address anti-blackness structurally rather than superficially. By elevating counter-stories, this research underscores the need for transformative equity work in higher education and challenges institutions to reimagine their commitments to racial justice beyond performative gestures.