Assistant professors of color confront the inequitable terrain of academia: a community cultural wealth perspective

Abstract

This qualitative study adopted Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) framework to examine how 16 assistant professors of color (APOC) drew upon various forms of capital (navigational, aspirational, social, resistant, linguistic, familial) to deal with racism and marginalization in academia. Findings revealed how APOC: dealt with students’ stereotypes of them, maintained their authentic selves to make academia more accessible and relevant, persevered with integrity despite hostility or marginalization, self-advocated for quality mentorship, and engaged in strategic service while avoiding cultural taxation and tokenism. Findings highlighted the positive cultural assets APOC enact within the academy while reiterating the need to address racist and marginalizing policies and practices in higher education. Variations in experiences based on gender and international status that can be explored further in future research also emerged. Working at a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) also did not eliminate or lessen racist or marginalizing experiences for participants.