Being Black at a Predominantly White University

Abstract

hese African American students' stories surprised us, as did Calvin, Kenneth, and Ron's matter-of-fact demeanors as they sat in David's office calmly telling us stories about racism on campus. The shock was greater for David, a White English professor, than for Annissa, an African American honors student in education, but both of us were surprised to hear that the campus we found tranquil and rather friendly was rife with instances of racism for these African American men. For them, walking across campus risked calls of nigger from a passing truck. Waiting for an elevator might mean covert appraisal by a White woman-unsure whether she should risk riding up three floors alone with a Black man. Such things