This chapter narrates the journey of three women through their early education into the unfamiliar realm of college, while fitting together their educational and professional pursuits within the context of their hairstyle choices. The telling of these women's stories is layered in deeply rooted connections to the socio-cultural history and experiences of Black people in American society. Each segment of the chapter begins with an overview of the history of a Black hair style and then moves on to chronicle pivotal common episodes and experiences across all three women's lives. Within the chapter, the women explore: how they felt about education early on, when and why they realized college was the next step, their college experiences, their pursuit of advanced degrees, and finally their professional lives. This exploration is narrowly focused on commonalities across the women's experiences allowing for an account of the inequities, microaggression, and racism that complicated their journey and making their triumphs all the richer.
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According to Poulos (2021), an autoethnography is an autobiography shaped from the author's analysis, interpretation, and connection of personal lived experiences into a formulated self-identify. Jones et al. (2016) affirm
That autoethnography is a qualitative research method that: 1) uses a researcher’s personal experience to describe and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and experiences; 2) acknowledges and values a researcher’s relationships with others; 3) uses deep and careful self-reflection—typically referred to as “reflexivity”—to name and interrogate the intersections between self and society, the particular and the general, the personal and the political; 4) Shows people in the process of figuring out what to do, how to live, and the meaning of their struggles; 5) balances intellectual and methodological rigor, emotion, and creativity; and 6) strives for social justice and to make life better. (p. 2)
The purpose of this chapter is to share the lived experiences of two women during their pursuit of higher degrees and careers amid the complex emotional and social issues they faced.
It has been nearly 50 years since Pierce’s (1970) seminal study where he coined phrase “microaggression” defined as “subtle stunning, often automatic, and ‘non-verbal’ exchanges which are ‘put downs’ of blacks” (Pierce et al., 1978, p. 66). Sue et al. (2007), later redefined the term as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults towards people of color" (p. 271). Several studies have confirmed and expounded on the nature, experiences, and consequences of microaggressions (Pierce, 1970; Sue et al., 2007; Dittman, 2002) as well as the discriminatory and racist encounters Blacks experience on college campuses (Kim, 2016; Lewis et al., 2012; Dittman, 2012). Moreover, according to Dittman (2012), the result can be a taxing effect on Black students’ sense of belonging and emotional stability. Additionally, Black students usually do not directly combat microaggression when they find themselves a target for discrimination, microaggression, and racism. Many develop low self-esteem and can become so distracted by microaggression that their academic performance and grades suffer. Given the harm of microaggression and the impact on the likelihood of Black students’ attaining advanced degrees, we must understand the experiences Black students encounter in college and later in the workplace if we are to create environments that support their success.