THE STEREOTYPE THREAT EXPERIENCES OF MEN OF COLOR PERSISTING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore how men of color have experienced stereotype threat in their lives and used community cultural wealth to manage stereotype threat and achieve academic success while persisting at a large urban community college. Racial tensions have manifested through blatant acts of racism, discrimination, and microaggressions across college campuses, threatening students of color who are marginalized and targeted. In consideration of the success of men of color attending community colleges in the United States, there is vast inequality and inequity when comparing their graduation, persistence, and retention rates to their White counterparts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2019), the graduation, retention, and persistence rates of 15.1% for Black, 21.8% for Latino, and 18.1% for Pacific Islander male students were lower than the 30.5% rate for White male students at two-year public institutions. Research has shown that community cultural wealth helps men of color to be successful in college. The present study utilized purposeful sampling to recruit eight students who identified as men of color, experienced stereotype threat, were currently enrolled full-time at the All City Community College, attended at least one semester, and were academically successful. The study used one story-telling interview and two open-ended interviews to collect participants’ stories. Four rounds of deductive and inductive coding were conducted to create a universal story. Through examination of participants’ narratives, community college administrators, teachers, and staff will gain deeper insight into creating strengths-based and culturally affirming resources and policies that support male students of color at their institutions