Black Matters: African American and African College Students and Graduates Tell Their Life Stories

Black Matters presents an anthology of stories of African American and African undergraduate and graduate students’ experiences at college, offering lifespan perspectives on their formative relationships and influences, life-changing events, and the role their heritage has played in shaping their personal identities, values, and choices. Andrew Garrod and Robert Kilkenny bring together contributors who share personal memoirs reflecting on their experience of navigating life on campus as students of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The ten brave authors, six Black men and four Black women, present thoughtful, often emotional, accounts of moments that transformed their academic, professional, and racial identities. Supplemented by follow-up accounts of four of the graduates, the text underlines developmental perspectives whilst examining what has remained the same about their lives and values, and what has changed over time. The collection explores the notion of hard work and "grit" in overcoming discrimination, racism, and adversity, and how in reality college students who are not part of the racial/cultural majority must contend with the normative identity challenges of late adolescence while carrying the extra burden of "two-ness". Featuring an introduction by Chanté Mouton Kinyon, this anthology examines crucial topics including classroom experience; intellectual stimulation and learning environment; interactions with African American and African students; friendships that crossed the lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and how collegiate life affects issues related to personal and racial identities. The rich narratives in Black Matters provide vital insight into the relationship between collegiate experiences and racial identities. It will be essential reading for students and scholars of psychology, education, cultural anthropology, sociology and creative writing, as well as for those responsible for campus climate and student experience.