Division Meeting - July 31, 2020 UofSC Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support "The Challenges of Being Black in Student Affairs," presented by Allison Smith, AMS Consulting

1. DR. ALLISON M. SMITH
AMS CONSULTING

2. Introduction & Background
The Research
Participant Profiles
Emergent Themes
Making Space
How Did I Get “Here?”
Retention Strategies
Social Capital
Q & A

11. Working Definitions
“an invisible package of unearned
assets that I can count on cashing in
each day.” occurs in an organization. These are discriminatory
treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based
on race that result in inequitable outcomes for
whites over people of color and extend considerably
beyond prejudice. These institutional policies often
never mention any racial group, but the intent is to
create advantages.
is when the feelings of taking the perspective
of and feeling the emotions of another
includes the desire to help.
Fighting against racism.

12. “I was taught to see racism only in
individual acts of meanness, not
in invisible systems conferring
dominance on my group.”
TEDxTimberlane
Niceness has nothing at all to do
with this whole matter of being
oppressive to others.
#24. I can be sure that if I need
legal or medical help, my race
will not work against me.
#10. Whether I use checks, credit
cards or cash, I can count on my
skin color not to work against the
appearance of financial reliability.
UnpackingTheInvisibleKnapsack
I came to notice privilege because I
noticed male privilege. And then I
noticed, in parallel fashion, white
privilege. And both of these things
were very distressing.
Dr. Peggy McIntosh

13. Black Feminist Thought
(Collins, 1999)
Intersectional Discrimination
(Crenshaw, 1989)
Differential Consciousness
(Sandavol, 1991)
Social Capital (Eriksson, Dahlgren,
Janlert, Weinehall & Emmelin, 2010)

14. Racial Battle Fatigue & Sexism:
Sesko & Biernat (2010) argue Black men are
often seen as primary targets of racism while
White women are seen as primary of sexism,
yet Black women experience discrimination
on both fronts but are rarely seen as targets
of either.

15. Professor
Anita Hill

16. Microaggressions:
Grier-Reed (2010) asserts “racial
microaggressions create race-related stress
and can be described as the everyday,
commonplace, and often ambiguous forms
of racism faced by people of color” (p. 182)

18. Big Mama
Joan
Khadijah
Moesha

19. Claire Huxtable
Maxine Shaw,
Attorney at Law
Cookie Lyon
Mary Jane Paul

21. SHARED EXPERIENCES
Increased
desire to
connect with
other Black
women.
Recognized
pervasiveness
of intersectional
discrimination
and stereotyping.
Prevalence of
racial centrality in
decision-making.
Adherence to a
spiritual belief.

23. Who are you excluding or ignoring?
When is the last time you made
space for a non-White person in your
field?
What are you missing out on because
of a lack of inclusion?

25. Dwayne Beason Felicia Kleinpeter Eileen McRae

28. "I get a future now."
– Madison N.
(SELU alumna) on how
she felt when she got a
“second chance" as
she opened her
acceptance letter from
SELU after 3 years of
sobriety.
#LionUpRecovery

29. #LionUpRecovery

31. o Teaches students the dangers
of opioid use & how to spot an
overdose
o Places free naloxone on each
campus
o Establishes a reporting
protocol for naloxone
administrations

33. RETENTION STRATEGIES
(JACKSON, 2001)
Commit to
principles of
diversity and
affirmative
action.
Use
recruitment
as a retention
strategy.
Provide
equity in
wages &
salaries.
Provide an
orientation
program.

34. RETENTION STRATEGIES
(JACKSON, 2001)
Develop a
mentoring
program for
junior and
senior
management.
Foster open
lines of
communication
between the
administration
hierarchy and
staff.
Empower the
administrator
to perform his
or her job.
Promote the
pursuit of
professional
advancement and
development (i.e.,
learning and
research).

36. STRUCTURAL SOCIAL CAPITAL
LINKING BONDINGBRIDGING
think
VERTICAL
think
TRENCH
think
HORIZONTAL
“…measures structural components, such as network
size and density” (Boyas et al. 2012, p. 53)

37. In Conclusion…
Understand and recognize
the validity of others’
feelings and experiences –
and then act to help.
Implement/incorporate them
outside of just diversity-related
areas.
Leaving the system to its status
quo will not suffice. Use your
privilege.
Leverage your networks to share
opportunities with Black women
and other persons of color.

38. Fubu: The Necessity of
Organic Safe Spaces
for Black Women
Higher Education
Administrators,
Created For Us, By Us.

39. Wednesday 8/5
@ 6:30pm EST
#BLACKOUT Virtual
Master Class Part 2
*link in chat box*

40. Breonna
Taylor
#sayhername

42. DrAllisonMSmith
I appreciate your time
and engagement.
Aimee Hourigan,
thank YOU for making space.