Spirituality, Community, and Race Consciousness in Adult Higher Education

Breaking the Cycle of Racialization

Timothy Westbrook

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317223290
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

Drawing on the lived experiences of Black students in adult degree completion programs at predominantly White, Christian institutions in the southern United States, this book presents a model for reimagining adult higher education. Westbrook explores the reasons students enrolled in degree programs, how they experience their predominantly white institutions, and how their experiences affect their lives. Employing Critical Race Theory and Christian theology as frameworks for evaluating the students' experiences, the author sheds light on the ways African American experiences to inform, critique, and shape Christian adult learning in higher education.

1 Introduction

On July 13, 2013, a Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty for murder of African American youth Trayvon Martin (Botelho and Yan 2013). The case captured national attention, sparking strong responses with rallying cries from the African American community, such as “justice for Trayvon” and “the system has failed” (Neale 2013). In the following month, Ebony magazine announced special issues for September, which would have four cover designs dedicated to concerns of racialized violence targeting African American youth. Celebrities Spike Lee, Dwayne Wade, and Boris Kodjoe each appeared with their sons on three of the covers, and the fourth issue cover was dedicated to Martin’s family. In each of the special celebrity covers, the individuals donned gray hoodies, similar to the one Martin wore when he was killed. The Ebony cover title read, “We Are All Trayvon” (Loinaz 2013). The hoodie, then, served as a symbol of both victimization as well as racial solidarity. This and other events in the years following, such as Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson, Missouri, and the racially motivated killing of police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in New York City, exemplify racial tensions and demonstrate the need for American society to continue to have dialog about the complexities of racialization (Buchanan et al. 2014; Moore et al. 2014). According to Romero (2013, 308), “Racism in American society has not diminished; rather today it is more sophisticated, equally damaging, and perilous.”

Higher education is not immune to the effects of racialization. In 2013, three students at San Jose State University taunted their African American roommate with racial slurs and imagery of Nazi and Confederate symbolism and wrapped a bicycle lock around his neck. The students were suspended from school and charged with hate crimes. Although these attacks in the name of “pranks” shocked the university community, it revealed that even this school with only a 25 percent white student population was not immune from the realities of race-related social tensions (Caulfield 2013). In March of 2014, Matsuda-Lawrence launched an online “I, Too, Am Harvard” photo journal (Tumblr blog) that poignantly demonstrated ongoing experiences of African American university students at her predominantly white campus. The pictures displayed black students holding signs with brief statements expressing frustrations of stereotyping and discrimination. The sign contents included “You’re lucky to be black … so easy to get into college!,” “Oh, I heard her say she was going to Harvard. I just assumed she misspoke,” and “You don’t sound black… . You sound smart.” In each picture was the “hashtag” “#itooamharvard.” According to Matsuda-Lawrence, this campaign was designed to bring more “national dialogue about race” (Lee 2014).

National statistics reveal that in spite of an increase of African American enrollment in universities, black students are less likely to complete their degrees than white students (National Center for Education Statistics 2008; Corppetts 2010; Institute for Higher Education Policy 2010). In addition to the national trends, individual and anecdotal responses demonstrate a racial hierarchy in the U.S. educational system. In a recent photography exhibition on a predominantly white, Christian campus, Aubrie Larkins expressed the following about her experiences: “I am reminded of who I am because of where I am, and if it’s not one set of people reminding me it’s the other who I’m supposed to ‘belong to.’ But according to their certain criteria, I still don’t add up” (Celebrating Black History Month 2015). Reflecting on experiences in her classroom, bell hooks (2004, 133), writes,

Teaching classes on race and gender I often stand at the front of the classroom looking out at a diverse body of students who are more often than not eager to tell me that racism and sexism are no longer a problem… . Then the next time we meet I ask them if they were able to die and be born again, which racialized body they would choose and why… . No matter the make-up of the class … overwhelmingly folks want to come back as white and male.

These students’ stories reveal displacement and fear of social imbalances and personal discouragement. This fear and lack of trust can stand in the way of black students’ performing well at predominantly white schools (hooks 2003, 15).

It seems evident that the need for conversation about race in higher education persists, especially among educators and students in majority white institutions. As Wolfe (2011, 8) has argued, racial and class privilege often remains “invisible” to the majority groups, and certainly many European Americans would be surprised to learn that minority students experience such dilemmas. Indeed, Isaac et al. (2010, 364) declare that “ ‘Whiteness’ and its impact are rarely acknowledged within adult education.” Whereas racial minorities continue to experience W.E.B. Du Bois’s (Du Bois and Huggins 1986, 364) “double consciousness,” many racial majorities fail to see the racism in individual and institutional structures. In agreement with the CRT tenet that racism is endemic, this book joins the conversation regarding the degree to which adult minority students experience racialization (Delgado and Stefancic 2007, 136; Ladson-Billings 2009, 21).

Furthermore, higher education has seen the emergence of ADCPs, many of which are at faith-based PWIs. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2012) reports that 50 percent of private institution enrollment falls in the twenty-five to sixty-four-year-old range of students. Sandmann (2010, 222) notes that from 1999 to 2007, ethnic minorities comprised significant portions of the increase of students. This current research explores the connections between racialized experiences and adult education, particularly in faith-based degree completion programs, by bringing into focus the experiences of adult African American learners at such institutions that continue to be predominantly white. The findings and implications of this work add to the growing body of literature in the discipline of adult education and racial studies.

Self-Segregation Continues

In 1957, three years after Brown v. the Board of Education declared segregation unconstitutional, executive orders from the Eisenhower administration authorized federal troops to require the state of Arkansas, specifically Governor Faubus, to concede to the law and allow nine African American children to attend the Little Rock Central High School (United States Government 1957; Gutek 1995, 507–509). The first major city to integrate, albeit unwillingly, has found a way through school choice and private school opportunities to perpetuate the racial divide, echoing Derrick A. Bell’s concern: “Demographic patterns, white flight, and the inability of the courts to effect the necessary degree of social reform render further progress in implementing Brown almost impossible” (Bell, Jr. 1980, 518). Recent data from central Arkansas support Bell’s critique. Although in the 2015/16 school year the Little Rock School District reported nearly four times as many African American students than European American (Arkansas Department of Education 2015), the Pulaski County census shows 59 percent of residents to be “white alone” and 36 percent “black alone” (U.S. Census Bureau 2014). This negative correlation is striking. By comparison, most private schools in the Little Rock area have a majority white student population with white students ranging between 80 and 90 percent (Highschools.com 2015).

Nearly sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, schools in America remain racially divided through school choice, white flight to private schools, or white flight to homogenous school districts. Such separation by choice has perpetuated unequal access to educational quality (Donnor 2013, 195). Thus, the need for research continues to name barriers to racial equality in education at all age levels (Derby 2007; Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges 2009; Institute for Higher Education Policy 2010; Isaac, Merriweather, and Rogers 2010). Like K–12 private schools, adult degree programs at private universities in central Arkansas also tend to be predominantly white. The three Christian ADCPs in the Little Rock area included in this study each enroll at least 70 percent white students (National Center for Education Statistics 2014). Faith-based schools, from children beginning school to adults returning to earn a degree, fall short in reflecting local demographics, an indication that integration has not taken an equal footing across public and private school lines. This trend of resegregation is not limited to Arkansas or to the South (Frankenberg, Lee, and Harvard Civil Rights Project 2002), and the lack of interracial learning in the school system continues to be a national concern.

Current Trends for Adult Degree Completion Programs

In adult education, according to the U.S. Department of Education, from 1970 to 1999, the nontraditional student number increased by 72 percent, where 39 percent of all postsecondary students were twenty-five years old or older (Choy 2002, 1). More recently, the National Center for Educational Statistics (2012) reports a similar percentage of adult learners (38.9 percent, age range of twenty-five to sixty-four) in all undergraduate colleges. Although private universities have a much higher percentage, with 50 percent of students’ ages ranging from twenty-five to sixty-four, a closer look reveals that nonprofit schools claim 35 percent in this age range, and for-profit schools claim 72 percent. Because many of the students who comprise the increase of adult enrollment are classified as ethnic minorities, Sandmann (2010, 222, 228) suggests that institutions of higher education should encourage “systemic support” for adult students by increasing research data about adult undergraduate students and by pursuing institutional social equity.

In recent years scholarship has increased reporting the contributions new ADCPs have made to adult and continuing education (C. E. Kasworm, Rose, and Ross-Gordon 2010). Studies cover many areas of interest, including cognitive theory, multicultural studies, needs of the students, technology, prior learning assessment, and programmatic considerations (Ogden 1996; Becker and Gibson 1998; Murry and Hall 1998; Scott, Burns, and Cooney 1998; Nesler 1999; Collins 2005; Derby 2007; Patterson 2007; Hoyt, Howell, and Young 2009; Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges 2009; Corppetts 2010; Ebersole 2010; Horton 2010; Institute for Higher Education Policy 2010; Isaac, Merriweather, and Rogers 2010; Council for Adult and Experiential Learning 2011; Wolfe 2011; Kasworm, 2001). From a macro view of the ADCPs, if adult students attend classes, pass their assessments, and complete graduation requirements, one would presume that these students not only have learned the content required for their majors but that they also have left the institutions empowered by their experiences for advancement and success in the workforce. Practitioners, however, recognize in the trenches of night classes, online forums, and weekend seminars that college transcripts do not tell the whole story of what students learn or how they experience the university at personal, social, and spiritual levels.

When it comes to matters of race and race consciousness, several recent studies have demonstrated compelling evidence that underrepresentation and racism affect the experiences of traditional-age, racial-minority college students. With the rise of ADCPs as alternative degree options for adult learners in the last decade, however, more research is needed to explore the experiences of underrepresented adult learners who return to undergraduate degree programs (Levister 2001; Braswell 2010; Corppetts 2010; Matthews 2010; Starks 2010; Wolfe 2011). Although scholars have been investigating faith-based institutions and their ADCPs, few have brought into focus adult African American experiences of Christian education (Flory 2002; Dunlop 2007; Hoyt and Allred 2008; Loomis 2009; Giles 2010; Tweedell 2013). To fill the gap in the research, this current work investigated the experiences of adult African American students at Christian universities and colleges, adding to the body of scholarly literature in the fields of adult education, race studies, and Christian education.

For the practitioner, it is hoped that this book would stimulate dialog between the underrepresented in higher education and people in positions of power in PWIs. It is the belief of this researcher that all people experience racialization, but individual and group experiences of race differ based on people’s racial location. Therefore, one who experiences racism from a white perspective may not recognize individual racism or systemic racism without an empirical demonstration of the evidence. Furthermore, when underrepresented students experience individual or institutional racism, they may not know who to trust and feel isolated. This present investigation has moved beyond stereotypical labels of white and black by examining real experiences of race and adult education in such a way that these experiences would inform constructive conversations about how African American learners evaluate Christian higher education from the minority position. Such a presentation of data leads to insightful exchange about teaching and learning, institutional structure, cocurriculum, curriculum, student life, retention, academic performance, distance education, and access to higher education. These findings also provide analogs useful for nonblack minorities in education, integration in nonacademic institutions, and racism in nonacademic Christian organizations, such as church and para-church structures.

The Research Design of This Book

Analytical Frameworks

This book drew from three perspectives as frameworks for designing and interpreting the lived experiences of twenty-four African American adult learners in faith-based ADCPs. First, CRT offered a lens through which to interpret the lived experiences of African American students in a predominantly white setting. Second, theological anthropology, particularly the doctrine of the imago Dei, anchored the interpretation within a religious ideology appropriate for the shared Christian faith of the students and institutions. Third, phenomenology provided the qualitative research structure for creating interview questions that investigated the life-worlds of the research participants. In addition to these three analytical filters, this study incorporated relevant themes and models from current research in race, adult education, and Christian higher education.

CRT, emerging from the work of Derrick Bell and his associates, provided necessary presumptions for analyzing the experiences of people of color whose lives had been affected by racialization. The theory is described in greater detail in Chapter 3, but in short, the key essentials of CRT are to recognize that racism is a constant theme in American society, neutrality and objectivity are myths, experiences of racialization are real and should be understood, and society must work toward eliminating all forms of racism and oppression (Lawrence, III et al. 1993, 6).

The Christian doctrine of the imago Dei provided the id...