Racial Microaggressions Working Group

Over the past few decades, college campuses have become increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. As a result, colleges and universities have initiated policies in order to increase racial representation on campuses. More recently, higher education administrators have attempted to promote multicultural awareness and sensitivity in an effort to create an inclusive and diverse democracy on college campuses. Over the last twenty years, researchers and educators have conducted research which has concluded that there are a variety of benefits to diversity in higher education, including: critical thinking, intellectual engagement, cultural awareness, democratic sensibilities, perspective taking, and increased engagement in community and civic engagement (Chang, 1996; Engberg & Mayhew, 2007; Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002; Hurtado, 2005; Lopez, 2004). However, despite increases in numerical diversity and research highlighting the benefits of diversity, members of historically underrepresented groups tend to perceive the general campus climate differently then their majority group peers. In general, racial minority students perceive the campus climate as unwelcoming and unsupportive, which has been associated with adverse outcomes, such as poor academic performance, greater levels of stress, and poor mental health outcomes (Worthington, Navarro, Loewy, & Hart, in press). In addition, research indicates that racial minority students may perceive greater racial tension on campus, particularly in residence halls, which is related to decreased academic persistence and may lead to decreases in racial minority retention rates.
                One possible reason for the differential experiences of campus climate by racial minority and majority students may be related to racial microaggressions. There has been an increased attention to subtle and contemporary forms of racism in the social science literature. According to Sue (2007), “Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color” (p. 271). These racial microaggressions are often perpetuated by individuals who are unaware that they communicate in this way when interacting with racial and ethnic minorities. Given the increase in diversity on college campuses, and the negative perceptions of campus climate among students of color, racial microaggressions may be one area of research that can help explain these phenomena.
                It is important to explore the experiences of students of color in order to work to eliminate the negative academic outcomes and health effects of subtle and contemporary forms of racism on college campuses. One of the implications of this research project is to promote and foster an inclusive campus community that respects differences and offers all members an equal opportunity to engage in a diverse democracy. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to explore the following research questions: What are the experiences of racialized students at the University of Illinois? What role do racial microaggressions play in the academic life and culture of the campus community for students? What is the role of student affairs departments in addressing or hindering these acts of racial microaggression? What recommendations exist to improve the campus community with consideration given to issues of recruitment and retention? How can this research be used to improve campus climate for all community members?
                In order to address these research questions, the Microaggressions Working Group intends to utilize both qualitative and quantitative methods to identity microaggressions directed at university students of color. We intend to explore the various forms of racial microaggressions, their impact on recipients, and the ways in which students cope with these experiences.   The group has three objectives which are to:

(1) Uncover the extent to which racial microaggressions affect the lives of students of color on the University of Illinois campus.
(2) Educate the campus community about the negative impact of racial microaggressions in fostering an Inclusive Illinois community
(3) Provide the administration with recommendations to improve the campus climate for all community members.

For more information on this working group, please contact Stacy Anne Harwood (sharwood@uiuc.edu) or Ruby Mendenhall (rubymen@uiuc.edu).