Abstract
Despite claims of being in a “postracial” era, racially biased incidents pervade college and university campuses across the U.S., as evidenced in the continual media coverage of such incidents. In recognizing the complexities of these incidents, we sought to offer a contemporary review of racially biased incidents on college and university campuses and to explore the extent to which they represent covert forms of racial microaggressions versus more overt forms of racism. We conducted a content analysis of all news-making racially biased incidents that occurred on college and university campuses between August 1, 2005 and May 1, 2010, identifying 205 incidents. We classified these incidents by mode of delivery, racial content/symbolism, and type of racial (micro)aggression. While a number of these incidents can be best understood through a microaggressions framework, many are blatantly racist and do not fit the theory. Higher education and student affairs researchers and practitioners must understand these incidents for their complexities, recognizing that both overt and covert forms of racism are prevalent on campus.
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Gina A. and Johnston-Guerrero, Marc P.
(2016)
"Challenging the Utility of a Racial Microaggressions Framework Through A Systematic Review of Racially Biased Incidents on Campus,"
Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1
, Article 4.
Available at:
https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/vol2/iss1/4