OH, YOU ARE AN EXCEPTION! ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND BLACK MALE STUDENTS RESISTANCE TO SYSTEMIC RACISM

This study theorizes how Black male students narrate their experiences at a traditionally White institution (TWI). To date, research focusing on Black men in higher education highlights the continual struggles of Black men against racism (Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996; Harper, 2006, 2009, 2012; Smith, Yosso, & Solórzano, 2007); however, what remains to be extensively theorized is Black male academic excellence. Thus, I argue that it is vital to progressively broaden what we know about Black male students as intellectuals. In this study I forefront how Black male students articulate their intellectual identities and educational experiences on a traditionally White campus. Guided by critical race theory (CRT), this study positions Black male undergraduate interviewees to speak to the following themes: 1) racism as everyday, 2) Black male students\u27 educational experiences, and 3) counterstories that resist dominant racial ideologies. Their narratives are crucial because the voices and experiences of Black male students are often marginalized in higher education in general, and the field of communication in particular. Ultimately, insight gained from this study encourages scholars to include Black male students who academically excel in the realm of academic inquiry, especially scholars who have an interest in the success of Black male students