Abstract
In this chapter, the authors discuss the effects of working from home amid two pandemics. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) struck hard in March 2020, shifting what we know as higher education and magnified racial and income disparities in America. Higher education institutions quickly decided to close their doors to hundreds of thousands of students and send them home to their families across the country. Students, faculty, and administrators alike all scrambled to persevere and complete the Spring 2020 semester. Simultaneously, the untimely and gruesome murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Abury, and Breonna Taylor were watched in real-time and magnified racial tensions and violence in America. The authors use anti-Black womanism to introduce the tale of two professionals who work in higher education. This chapter aims to detail the experience of working in higher education while being Black women professionals during two pandemics. Throughout this chapter, they have the goal to share narratives of being Black women professionals.
TopMain Focus Of The Chapter
This chapter focuses on the praxis of Black women in higher education amid two pandemics. While racism is alive and well and is a form of oppression that has existed for over 400 years in American history, modern society is witnessing brutal racist events for the first time rather than reading about them in the history books. The threat of Coronavirus has changed what is considered normal; people are no longer able to gather in large groups, hugs are prohibited, wearing a mask is mandatory, and we must maintain social distancing by staying at least 6 feet apart. Collective spaces like in-person study groups or potlucks became extinct. Students and professionals lost their sense of community, as kitchen tables turned into virtual offices and the classrooms. Higher education institutions have now lost their marketability and have demanded Black women to continue to bear the brunt of institutional keeping and preservation. Higher education institutions appealed to students by providing amenities that created a social life for them. Sporting events were canceled, on-campus housing features like residence halls and dining centers cut back on services, which all features that attracted students to enroll at some higher education institutions. As the authors reflect on their experience as professionals in higher education, they adjudge the reality that Black women have sacrificial roles in society. In this chapter, the authors will tell their stories using the theoretical frame of anti-Black womanism. The authors will also share their “how-to’s” of overcoming the institution baggage that comes along with nationwide events.
Key Terms in this Chapter
COVID-19 or Coronavirus: Is defined by the CDC as a novel coronavirus is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified. The virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is not the same as the coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.
Research I (R1) Institution: According to The Carnegie Classification of Higher Education Institutions, R1 are defined as institutions that awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees during the update year and also institutions with below 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees that awarded at least 30 professional practice doctoral degrees in at least 2 programs. R1 institutions have very high activity levels of research.
Administrator: Administrator consists of office staff members and administrators, regardless of their rankings.
Faculty Associate: Non-tenure-track higher education classroom/academic instructor.
Black: Is intentionally spelled with a capital B as a form of resistance. Furthermore, Black is a form of racial and ethnic identity for people who are a part of the Africa diaspora.
Anti-Blackness: as defined by Carruthers (2018) anti-Blackness as “a system of beliefs and practices that destroy, erode, and dictate the humanity of Black people” (p. 8).