Haley Love

HEA 753 - BA 3
Analytical Question
How does race impact how African American women experience being a student and a
professional in their career?
Purpose
The purpose of this analysis is to gain a better understanding of the unique challenges
African American women face in academia and in the professional realm. Each of the three
documents used in this analysis focus on a specific aspect of the analytical question. The first
document, BA 1, focuses on addressing racism as a system of power. The second document, BA
2, details the experiences of an African American woman who is studying to obtain her Master
of Public Health Education degree from a predominantly White institution (PWI). The final
document used in this analysis focuses on the burden that Black women take on as
professionals in their field, constantly scrutinized and stereotyped despite their proven
capabilities to achieve. These documents were chosen because each one describes a different
way race or institutional structures which are based on a system of power affect how African
American women experience navigating their professional careers or life as a student seeking
higher education.
Vertical Memo

BA 1 – Field Notes from Racial Equity Training at Cone Hospital

What I learned:

In various settings (i.e. public health, education, law enforcement, etc.), different terms are
used to describe the same phenomenon - differences in health outcomes. The common factor
of these terms is race as a determinant of differences in health. This highlights the
significance of effective communication between all sectors of society.

“Raul says he remembers how public health used to talk about health disparities and racial
health disparities, but now the language has begun to change. Raul asked what race in health is
called, and someone says health disparities. Raul says “Right,” and mentions how Nora says
that health disparities are worse for Black people and Latino people and other minorities. Raul
asks, “Does that happen where the performance of Whites is significantly different than
children of color?” or he may have asked what this phenomenon is called. A White man says,
“achievement gap”. People were nodding. Raul says, “So we have health disparities and an
achievement gap. Hmm, hmm.” Raul asks, “What about in law enforcement?” and someone
says, “DMC,” and Raul replies, “Yes, DMC, Disproportionate Minority Contact.” Then Raul asks,
“What is the common factor in these situations (or concepts?)?” And someone or multiple
people say, “Racism.” Raul says that “We are at a disadvantage, (institutionally?).”

“The first observation is all systems produce racial inequities, but we don’t call it the same
thing. We’re often at the colleges and we are with the public health students where they call it
health disparities, then in the education (department?), they are calling it achievement, but
there is no communication.”

“Suzanne says that SES doesn’t explain racial inequities, it is impactful, but when SES is
controlled for, which is not really a (good?) thing to do, race is the reason. Suzanne says for 10
years a mountain of research has been conducted and the number one predictor of health
outcomes is race…”

So far, American society has been taught to address intrapersonal behaviors related to
health, instead of identifying and addressing systemic racism that creates individual health
behaviors.

“There’s an analogy we use called the fish and the lake…Imagine that you’re walking by a pretty
lake. You see a dead fish you get curious, then you see another dead fish. What might you do if
you were curious about how this fish died?” Then a White woman says, “Test the water.” Raul
says, “What if 50% of the fish are dead, what would you do?” It seems like a unanimous
agreement from everyone in the circle to test the water. He says “Yes, but is this what we’re
trained to do in our professions? No, we have been trained to fix fish instead of fixing water.”

“Raul says an epidemiologist says you can conceivably cure all fish, all people of a disease but
reintroduce them or have another generation come into that toxic environment and they will
suffer in the same way. So these systems and institutions are all related.”

“Suzanne then says, ‘We know that systems contribute to racism. We know that when children
enter the Department of Social Services, children of color are far more likely than White
children to have a substantiated case. Should both cases be substantiated, the Black child is less
likely to have sibling placement or family reunification and not to be adopted then the White
child. Children of color are most likely to stay in the system until they age out. So we have to
ask ourselves what are we doing that is causing this? An analysis that doesn’t include race has
far different outcomes than an analysis that does include race.’
Dismantling racism is a lengthy endeavor, especially given pushback from individuals who are
uncomfortable with acknowledging these differences in health related to race. However, to
rewrite the current narrative which says that certain people are more important than others,
racism must be acknowledged as a system of power.

“Then Suzanne asks if we have a narrative in this country, (silence). “Do we have a narrative
about who is important?” There are some sounds of agreement, and Suzanne says, “We do. It’s
important that we change this. Now, it’s also important that we respect our own stories…Just
keep in mind that all experiences are real. So we need to be willing to be uncomfortable.”

Suzanne then tells a story about a prisoner of war who was asked during an interview, who
were the first people to die (in a prison camp?). The prisoner of war said that the people who
gave up right after being captured died first, then the optimists. The prisoner of war said we
were optimistic, but we were optimistic with the brutal facts.”

Why this is important:

In all sectors of society, Black and Latino people experience the worst outcomes, whether it be
in health, education, job salary, etc. To decrease these differences in outcomes, race must be
analyzed and addressed as a system of power. Relating to African American women in
education and in their careers, race determines what type of education they receive, how much
said education will cost, what type of job they will get as well as how much their salary will be.
Race combined with gender discrimination also negatively impacts the type of healthcare
African American women receive and indirectly affects their health.

BA 2 – Field Notes from Grand Tour Interview with Breana Floyd

What I learned:

First-generation college students who are African American women may be

disproportionately impacted by the bureaucratic process of applying for and receiving
financial aid.

“The trouble came with the actual financial aid office, itself.” She mentioned the financial aid
office might wait a long time to notify her if she had missing documents, “…sometimes at the
last minute”. She also saw issues with being transparent about credit hours, “how many credit
hours you need to get financial aid.” Breana mentions a specific situation concerning the last
semester of her MPH program. “All we take is our internship course where we…we have six
credit hours, where you have to have at least nine credit hours in order for you to qualify for
financial aid. And that was something that kinda like, I felt like was blind sighted, like they
weren’t up front and clear about that. Especially since a lot of, some people have (sigh) ya
know, tuition waivers in our department, but a lot of us do not (I - Ok). So I thought was
something that coulda been better.

“…as a first-generation student in undergrad, she had to figure out the application process on
her own, which prepared her for graduate school. [I am assuming that Breana meant she was
prepared for applying to financial aid in graduate school.] She said the difference between a
first-generation college student and someone who is not a first-generation college student is
that, “they have somebody who’s helping them fill out their documents and helping them to
navigate…kinda the application. As a first-generation college student, you’re pretty much
figuring things out on your own, cuz maybe you don’t have somebody to show you how to do
it...”

African American women who are first-generation college students may not receive
additional financial assistance, or due to their unique status as first-generation college
students, may be unaware of funding opportunities due to difficulty navigating the financial
aid application process.

“Breana said, “It can be kinda intimidating because…not only am I a first-generation college
student for undergrad, but I’m definitely a first-generation for going to get my Masters. So, that
was kinda intimidating, thinking about, ya know, loan repayment and things like that.”

Personal situations coupled with demanding school work, difficulty receiving funding as a
first-generational student and microaggressions can pose challenges to achieving academic
success for African American women.

“She said that she lives at home with her mom and gets up at 5am to take her mom to work
because they share a car. Then she comes back home and gets ready for work at the Middle
College. She must have her lesson plans completed and be at work by 8:30am. Breana says she
tries to get some work done before she teaches, and that she usually teaches for an hour or an
hour and twenty minutes…Then she eats lunch and goes to the library to do work for a few
hours before she must pick up her mother from work in High Point at 2:30pm. Breana says that
she usually has thirty minutes to get her mom from her first job to her second job where she
works as an activity bus driver. On Mondays, Breana has class all day. She has one class from
2:00pm to 5:00pm with an hour break and then another class from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. On
Tuesday, she only has one lecture class, which is from 6:00pm to 9:00pm…Then she has one
online class, in which she has a paper due for homework every Tuesday and Thursday, in
addition to more formal papers that she writes for the class. She tries to fit in time to complete
her homework in the morning before planning, after work and then after she drops her mom
off at work.”

Microaggressions at school and in the work place can be a common occurrence for African
American women.

“Breana wanted to talk to a student about an assignment that she graded. As she attempted to
get the student’s attention, Breana’s teacher partner stopped speaking and looked at Breana
and asked Breana if she was trying to get her attention. Breana responded, ‘No I was trying to
get a student’s attention.’ The teacher partner responded, ‘Look at you, you’re trying to have a
conversation with a student in the middle of class.’ Breana told the teacher partner that she
was not trying to have a conversation with a student in the middle of class… the teacher
partner said this in the middle of her lecture… Breana said it sounded as if the teacher partner
was trying to tell a joke. Breana mentioned the teacher partner laughing as she made the
comment, but how she (Breana) didn’t laugh along with her. Breana thought ‘It was bad
enough,’ that the students heard the teacher partner’s comment and that ‘It was
unprofessional.’ Breana said that after class, the teacher partner apologized to Breana for
making the comment. I asked Breana what made the teacher partner apologize. Breana said
that the teacher partner just said, “I shouldn’t have done that.” I asked Breana if she thought
her response to the microaggression made the teacher partner think about the appropriateness
of the comment she made. “Definitely, yes…because I didn’t laugh at all…and I, um was pretty
direct in saying, ‘No, that’s not the truth.’”

“Breana says that as a teacher, she goes through “quite a few microaggressions, a lot of gender
microaggressions. (I – Gender microaggressions?) She says, “Mhm, so I have young boys in the
class and those are the ones that I usually receive most of the microaggressions from.” I asked
Breana, “So by gender microaggressions, you mean umm…microaggressions from the opposite
sex (B-Mhm) so from males? (B-Yes)”

“…she felt this was a microaggression because “of me, as a woman, coming to him and saying,
you know, you’re talking.” Breana said that she was just filling in for the teacher, who is male,
who normally teaches the student. She believes that the male student and male supervisor
wouldn’t have had problems with the student like she had.”

Why this is important:

Breana appears to have experienced some things that graduate students who do not identify
with being first-generation, African American or a woman, may not have to face. This is
especially apparent as Breana details how she didn’t have anyone to show her how to apply for
financial aid, which could’ve hindered her from finding alternative sources of funding. Also,
Breana’s difficulties communicating with the financial aid office could serve as a
recommendation for better serving this population. To understand other graduate students like
Breana, it is imperative to know all the factors that contribute to the stress of navigating
graduate school as an African American woman, and as one who is a first-generation student.
Addressing certain policies, microaggressions and other forms of systemic racism would
decrease stress amongst African American women, indirectly leading to higher health
outcomes.

“Black Women’s Burden” article from diversityeducation.com

What I learned:

The voices of African American women have been ignored and silenced by society.

“Since slavery and post-slavery, African-American women were seen as strong, but typically had
no voice. Even during the feminist movement, African-American women fought for inclusion
and were largely overlooked.”

“I taught courses on Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison, and after class an older White
woman came to me to ask for help to tell the Black women in class to tone it down, that they
were too angry,” Mobley said. “I said perhaps you are not used to hearing their voices.”

“‘This is as old as I am. And if I am angry, it’s because the status quo needs to be changed,” she
said. “When you silence, dismiss and marginalize some people — I am going to look angry to
you. But what if I’m not mad but just want to bring a different view? As soon as you tell your
story and it doesn’t go along with everyone else, you are thought to be angry. There is
righteous anger. We want people to care about the nation that everybody gets so angry that
they understand the fierce urgency of now.’”

However, when she is the only voice in academia, the African American woman is challenged
to be both the face of diversity for the university, as well as a tenure professor.

“On campus, intelligent African-American women are facing similar challenges of attempting to
navigate environments where they must balance the burden of being sometimes overtaxed in
all things diversity, while attempting to gain tenure.”
“‘I bring a consciousness that can feel like a burden,” Mobley said. “I’m here because I believe
it’s important to hear perspectives they normally don’t. We bring something different to the
table. The academy loses out when we try to blend in.’”

“‘There is a hyper visibility when universities realize they want diversity. We are often the only
Black person at the table. That one person will get stretched thin. Women are socialized to go
along to get along. While doing all of that service, another committee is waiting to see how
much work you’ve done toward gaining tenure.’”

“Without tenure, many non-HBCU college campuses throughout the country are missing out on
diverse perspectives…The absence of diversity has a far-reaching impact on gaining a broader
perspective about the world and helping college students gain a balanced viewpoint.”

Societal perceptions of professional African American women reduce and shadow their
accomplishments, thereby challenging the ability of African American women to succeed.

“As African-American women rise in ranks, their accomplishments, education, successes and
contributions are frequently shadowed by the realities of misperceptions and stigmas that can
potentially mar their legacy.”

“Though published 16 years ago, it remains relevant as national conversations about the
portrayal of African-American women are placed under a microscope after a recently released
book titled The Obamas written by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor. The book has
raised ire as first lady Michelle Obama is scrutinized and depicted as controlling and restless in
her role in the White House and remains in a constant state of frustration.”

“She is a wife, mother, a highly accomplished lawyer, Princeton cum laude graduate and
Harvard trained, but, for many, Michelle Obama is an anomaly. Some have tried to reduce her
to a fashionista or shift focus to her physical stature.”

“In a Jan. 11 interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, the first lady acknowledged
that some have tried to portray her as an “angry Black woman” since the national spotlight first
focused on the couple.”

“‘Who can write about how I feel?” Michelle Obama said in the interview. “What third person
can tell me how I feel or anybody for that matter?...I guess it’s more interesting to imagine this
conflicted situation here. But that’s an image that people have tried to paint of me since the
day Barack announced, that I’m some angry Black woman,’”
Although the professional African American woman is a normal sight within Black
communities, she is unknown and more of an irregularity outside of the Black community,
which further serves to challenge her efforts at achieving success.

“‘The problem is that popular culture and the media glorify and foreground Black women in so
many caricatured and undignified ways that Michelle Obama appears to be more of an anomaly
than she really is. In the African-American community, we are accustomed to seeing good
looking, intelligent, well-educated Black women.’”

The physical nature of the African American woman is overshadowed by her internal
character and knowledge. Thus, the African American woman is over scrutinized as society
deems one African American woman as representative of all African American women.

“Some critics admonish Kantor’s book for overreaching through secondhand reports and
reading into the meaning and significance of even the nodding of the first lady’s head as the
president delivered a speech.”

“‘Our physicality is always scrutinized,” Mobley said. “Some found our bodies caricatures or
objects of desire and everything in between. We are often dealing with that in the academy.
We walk into classrooms and we are there to teach, but our minds are in our bodies. We bring
our whole selves to work.’”

“‘Michelle Obama brings her whole self to the work, and she is doing a stellar job as first lady.
We are witnessing her role in the context of millions of people who have never seen a Black
woman in a position of power. There are those who can’t see outside our physicality and
people who bring their biases through cultural contact lenses they’ve been wearing for years.
Unfortunately, those same people try to judge her in ways that reveal their own ignorance.’“

Why this is important:

Despite their achievements, African American women remain stigmatized and disregarded.
Although these women are known for their strength and resilience through adversity, it seems
society is not willing to eliminate the unnecessarily adverse situations African American women
must go through to achieve success academically and in their careers. It is also important to
note that without the perspectives of African American women in academic settings and
beyond, all members of society will suffer from only knowing one perspective. Thus, when
society burdens African American women to conform to the Anglo-Saxon normative nature,
society loses out on gaining broader perspectives that make it possible to address situations in
more effective ways. Due to societal ignorance and intolerance, professional African American
women are treated like spectacles, unlike the rest of humanity. This differentiation places more
attention on the mistakes that African American women make, undermines their achievements
and facilitates the notion that one African American woman is representative of all African
American women.

Horizontal Memo

I analyzed three documents, one article from an online journal, one field note from an
observation of a training and another field note from an interview. After reading through each
document, I developed themes between the documents according to the research question,
“How does race impact how African American women experience being a student and/or a
professional in their career?” It should be noted that the first page of each field note was not
analyzed because the information was not relevant to the research question.

Theme 1: Racism helps no one and harms all.

Although the effects of racism disproportionately affect African Americans more than any other
ethnic group, racism excludes individuals with knowledge that could be used to solve problems
that affect everyone in this country. Racism makes it easier to focus on the imperfections of
minority groups, such as African American women, while simultaneously ignoring issues White
people face.

Examples:

“Nora says that health disparities are worse for Black people and Latino people and other
minorities.”

“Though published 16 years ago, it remains relevant as national conversations about the
portrayal of African-American women are placed under a microscope after a recently released
book titled The Obamas … has raised ire as first lady Michelle Obama is scrutinized and
depicted as controlling and restless in her role in the White House and remains in a constant
state of frustration.”

“The absence of diversity has a far-reaching impact on gaining a broader perspective about the
world and helping college students gain a balanced viewpoint.”

“‘I bring a consciousness that can feel like a burden,” Mobley said. “I’m here because I believe
it’s important to hear perspectives they normally don’t. We bring something different to the
table. The academy loses out when we try to blend in.’

“Do we have a narrative about who is important?” There are some sounds of agreement, and
Suzanne says, “We do. It’s important that we change this.”
“Then Raul asks, “What is the common factor in these situations (or concepts?)?” And someone
or multiple people say, “Racism.” Raul says that “We are at a disadvantage, (institutionally?).”

“The first observation is all systems produce racial inequities...”

Theme 2: Multiple factors affect the success of African American women pursuing higher
education and advancing in their career.
In addition to experiencing issues in their personal lives, African American women experience
the rigorous process of obtaining a degree of higher education or becoming a professional in
their field. African American women also experience a loss of voice, are the targets of
microaggressions, and are overly analyzed as professionals.

Examples:

“…as a first-generation student in undergrad, she had to figure out the application process on
her own, which prepared her for graduate school… ‘As a first-generation college student, you’re
pretty much figuring things out on your own, cuz maybe you don’t have somebody to show you
how to do it...’”

“Breana says that as a teacher, she goes through “quite a few microaggressions, a lot of gender
microaggressions.”

“Breana says that she usually has thirty minutes to get her mom from her first job to her second
job where she works as an activity bus driver. On Mondays, Breana has class all day. She has
one class from 2:00pm to 5:00pm with an hour break and then another class from 6:00pm to
9:00pm. On Tuesday, she only has one lecture class, which is from 6:00pm to 9:00pm…Then she
has one online class, in which she has a paper due for homework every Tuesday and Thursday,
in addition to more formal papers that she writes for the class. She tries to fit in time to
complete her homework in the morning before planning, after work and then after she drops
her mom off at work.”

“Since slavery and post-slavery, African-American women were seen as strong, but typically had
no voice. Even during the feminist movement, African-American women fought for inclusion
and were largely overlooked.”

“‘Our physicality is always scrutinized,” Mobley said. “Some found our bodies caricatures or
objects of desire and everything in between. We are often dealing with that in the academy.
We walk into classrooms and we are there to teach, but our minds are in our bodies. We bring
our whole selves to work.’”
“‘Michelle Obama brings her whole self to the work, and she is doing a stellar job as first lady.
We are witnessing her role in the context of millions of people who have never seen a Black
woman in a position of power. There are those who can’t see outside our physicality and
people who bring their biases through cultural contact lenses they’ve been wearing for years.
Unfortunately, those same people try to judge her in ways that reveal their own ignorance.’“

Theme 3: Addressing societal standards and systemic structures that oppress minorities can
help support and empower African American women.
The only way for change to occur is by addressing systemic issues that affect individual behavior
and promote differences in outcomes. Once society understands and acknowledges the
imbalance of power between ethnic groups, especially between African Americans and
Caucasians as well as Latinos and Caucasians, fewer differences in outcomes can occur. Thus,
African American women may report more positive experiences as they seek higher education
and professional careers.

Examples:

“There’s an analogy we use called the fish and the lake…Imagine that you’re walking by a pretty
lake. You see a dead fish you get curious, then you see another dead fish. What might you do if
you were curious about how this fish died?” Then a White woman says, “Test the water.” Raul
says, “What if 50% of the fish are dead, what would you do?” It seems like a unanimous
agreement from everyone in the circle to test the water. He says “Yes, but is this what we’re
trained to do in our professions? No, we have been trained to fix fish instead of fixing water.”

“Raul says an epidemiologist says you can conceivably cure all fish, all people of a disease but
reintroduce them or have another generation come into that toxic environment and they will
suffer in the same way. So these systems and institutions are all related.”

“Suzanne says that SES doesn’t explain racial inequities, it is impactful, but when SES is
controlled for, which is not really a (good?) thing to do, race is the reason. Suzanne says for 10
years a mountain of research has been conducted and the number one predictor of health
outcomes is race…”

“Suzanne then says, ‘We know that systems contribute to racism. We know that when children
enter the Department of Social Services, children of color are far more likely than White
children to have a substantiated case… An analysis that doesn’t include race has far different
outcomes than an analysis that does include race
“‘The problem is that popular culture and the media glorify and foreground Black women in so
many caricatured and undignified ways that Michelle Obama appears to be more of an anomaly
than she really is. In the African-American community, we are accustomed to seeing good
looking, intelligent, well-educated Black women.’”

“As African-American women rise in ranks, their accomplishments, education, successes and
contributions are frequently shadowed by the realities of misperceptions and stigmas that can
potentially mar their legacy.”

“When you silence, dismiss and marginalize some people — I am going to look angry to you. But
what if I’m not mad but just want to bring a different view? As soon as you tell your story and it
doesn’t go along with everyone else, you are thought to be angry. There is righteous anger. We
want people to care about the nation that everybody gets so angry that they understand the
fierce urgency of now.’”

Reflective Memo

I conducted a vertical and horizontal analysis of three documents. The first document (BA 1) is a
field note of a training on racial equity. The second document (BA 2) is a field note of an
interview. These two documents were both previously submitted as class assignments. The final
document is an article from diversityeducation.com. I found this article through google.com
using the search terms, “African American women experience race”. For the vertical analysis, I
analyzed information within each document. I developed an episode profile of the data. For the
episode profile, I read each document once, without taking notes or highlighting any
information. Afterwards, I read each document a second time and took notes as well as
highlighted information that seemed important to me. Next, I wrote about what I learned from
reading each document. As I wrote about what I learned, I included quotes to support the
claims I made. Then I wrote a brief summary of why I thought the information was important.

For the horizontal memo, I analyzed data between the three documents. I created themes from
the notes I took in each document. I used certain quotes as examples of each theme. I noticed
that the last two themes included quotes from 2 out of 3 of the documents, as opposed to the
first theme which included quotes from all three documents. I also noticed that the horizontal
memo was much shorter than the vertical memo. This makes me think my research question
may have been too specific or that I didn’t choose the right combination of documents to
analyze. BA 2 in particular may have thrown off my analysis a little because the interview didn’t
include much information on race, specifically accept for microaggressions. However, I believe
all of the documents provided a reasonable amount of information to address the research
question.