Movement on the Margins: Exploring the Leadership and Agency of Women of Color Student Activists in Predominantly White Higher Education Institutions

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to learn more about the experience of student activism through the eyes, ears, and narratives of women of color in predominantly White higher education institutions. Using an adapted theoretical framework of critical feminist agency, I conducted interviews and focus groups with women of color whom represent the past, present, and future of student activist experiences on campus. Their stories and knowledge affirmed the historical significance of student activism in higher education, and more notably, provided additional critical perspectives towards the development and re-imagination of leadership, agency, and institutional structures in colleges and universities. Discussion and implications for higher education research, policy, and practice follows to close what was a reflective, intentional space for women of color to be seen as producers of knowledge and agents of change in higher education institutions