The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 48

Bryan K. Hotckins * T. Elon Dancy

rimental to Black students who experience it
due to White ascendancy, estrangement, blindness and monoculturalism, and serves as an
impediment to academic and social advancement within PWI residential hall learning environments and the campus at large.

Perpetual Homelessness
The final theme, perpetual homelessness, addressed participants' experiences with place
and space exclusion and/or attempts to locate
a racial authenticity. For instance, Nat recalled
peer residents' re-naming of him as "not
Black, Black" as a way to assume Black identity
as monolithic. Fatimah was frequently asked
to clarify about where she "really lived" on
campus. She elaborated, "No matter how many
times I explain myself, I keep getting asked
to show identification when entering the hall
after hours and sometimes by the same desk
clerk. My White friends never get asked." Mike
also provided a pertinent example:
I am the only Black RA in the freshman
quad at MLU and even though I have keys,
a badge and wear a school lanyard, security
have asked me numerous times to justify my
access to the building. One time I had to call
a fellow White RA to speak on my behalf, I
mean, basically vouch that I was a student
employee. After a while I just don't want to be
here and would quit if I could afford it.
These types of clarifying exchanges with
White peers and police were admittedly stressful and violent for participants. They confirm
previous postulations by Smith, Allen and
Danley (2007) that Black students, males in
particular, are considered out of place when attending PWIs and under continual hyper-surveillance due to potential source of criminality
assumptions. Although continually clarifying
48

was a source of trepidation, nothing was as
frustrating as participants having to explain
their Blackness. Neisha explained, "Prior to
moving into the dorm I had plenty of phone
conversations with my roommate and once I
arrived she was shocked that I was Black and
even voiced that she thought I was White based
on how I sounded." Most participants had
similar clarifying experiences like Cookie who
recalled, "I remember when I attended the
residential ice cream social. Jill, my White RA,
said 'You're cool is so different than the rest
of the Black girls who are unapproachable.'
What does that even mean? I stay angry!" The
process of repeatedly being racially confronted
by White peers, staff and police had a cumulative, deleterious effect on study participants
who frequently expressed regret with living in
the residential halls on their campuses.
Employing the process of photovoice facilitated participants identification of Black
student community strengths and cultural
supports found in academic, fraternal, and activist organizations like the National Society of
Black Engineers, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc. and Black Student Unions. Students associated limitations with an inability to obtain
positions in housing and offices in RHA due
to a perceived exclusionary racial prejudice.
Furthermore, photovoice facilitated an understanding about community concerns with
what participants attributed to resident halls
as hostile places for living and spaces where
they come to rest, eat and head to class. In accordance with photovoice creating empowering forums for the presentation of student's
experiential knowledge (Foster-Fishman et
al., 2005), findings were presented to each
Black Student Union at the beginning of the

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

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