Journal of College & University Student Housing "Housing While Black" Theme Issue - 64

INTERSECTIONALITY
Core to these studies was a foundational understanding of how race and gender must be
a consideration for how Black women experience their workplace. Kimberlé Crenshaw
coined the term " intersectionality " in the late 1980s (Davis & Maldonado, 2015; Jackson,
2019) to express that African American women typically do not experience race discrimination
separate from gender discrimination; the two typically are experienced together
(Davis & Maldonado, 2015; Davis, 2015). Brittney Cooper (2018) discussed intersectionality
through the metaphor of being stuck in traffic, " confined to the intersections of
social discourses that bypass us on their way to futures to which we don't have access "
(p. 106). The literature tells us that intersectionality is a firm acknowledgment that
discrimination based on both race and gender operates in the everyday lives of Black
women, including in professional work spaces such as the housing/residential program
within higher education.
BLACK WOMEN LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
The literature about Black female administrators in student affairs reveals that these
women are continually having to confront challenges such as discrimination, prejudice,
and unfair treatment and advancement (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). Patitu
and Hinton (2003) explored the experiences of Black women serving as administrators,
broadly, at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and found that they dealt
with " overt and covert racism, sexism, and homophobia. They have been devalued,
excluded, marginalized or mistreated because of who they are " (p. 88). Despite the
various forms of oppression that Black women administrators have faced at PWIs,
they have been instrumental in improving the enrollment and persistence of Black
students at these institutions (Glover, 2012).
FOCUS OF THE STUDY
Key to this article is the focus on Black women senior housing officers within student
affairs in higher education and the emergence of research focused on the strategies
and successes of this particular population. Each author demonstrates how her qualitative
study has departed from the other and taken shape as different and distinct.
Key differences for both studies include methodological approaches, theoretical frameworks,
and data collection. These differences add to the rich collective and holistic
narratives that are to be emphasized for future research and inclusion in a study of
practical implications within student affairs in higher education.
Theoretical Framework
This research study is consistent with Black women storytelling, utilizing Black Feminist
Thought (BFT) to approach the works through a rejection of negative images that
socialize Black women into seeing themselves as less than their other racial and gendered
counterparts (Collins, 2009). Author A specifically incorporates self-definition
tenets by Okello (2018) to guide the study: " (a) validating and integrating standpoint
Volume 48, No. 3 * 2022 61

Journal of College & University Student Housing "Housing While Black" Theme Issue

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