Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-pfhbr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-15T19:16:20.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Losing Herself to Save Herself: Perspectives on Conservatism and Concepts of Self for Black Women Aspiring to the HBCU Presidency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Felecia Commodore
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) often come under criticism for being havens of conservatism (Harper and Gasman 2008). This conservatism can be found intertwined in some HBCUs’ presidential hiring processes. Focusing on the lack of gender parity in the HBCU presidency, through a Black Feminist Theory lens, I argue that HBCUs using these practices for the selection of Black women presidents create a conflict of self for aspirants who do not authentically subscribe to or perform conservatism. The philosophical ideas of authenticity, self‐esteem, and self‐respect are explored to explain how these expectations create barriers to aspirants achieving their goals and their authentic selves. Subjecting Black women leaders to these practices oppresses aspirants’ need for authenticity and leads to the replication of these conservative ideologies. I conclude that these barriers, in turn, narrow the HBCU presidential pipeline and perpetuate a lack of gender parity in HBCU leadership.

Type
Articles
Information
Hypatia , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , Summer 2019 , pp. 441 - 463
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Hypatia, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, Traci. 2010. Roots of leadership: Analysis of the narratives from African American women leaders in higher education. International Journal of Learning 17 (4): 193–204.Google Scholar
Allen, Anita L. 1997. Forgetting yourself. In Feminists rethink the self, ed. Meyers, D. T. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Allen, Walter R., Jewell, Joseph O., Griffin, Kimberly A., and Wolf, De'Sha S. 2007. Historically Black colleges and universities: Honoring the past, engaging the present, touching the future. Journal of Negro Education 76 (3): 263–80.Google Scholar
American Council of Education (ACE). 2017. American college president study 2017. http://www.aceacps.org/?source=secondary.Google Scholar
Anderson, James D. 1988. The education of Blacks in the south, 1860–1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, Charring. 2013. Dress codes, Black respectability, and what's keeping HBCUs from moving forward. MadameNoire. October 13. http://madamenoire.com/311477/dress-codes-black-respectability-two-keeps-hbcus-moving-ahead/.Google Scholar
Bates, Gerri. 2007. These hallowed halls: African American women college and university presidents. Journal of Negro Education 76 (3): 373–90.Google Scholar
Bonner, Florence B. 2001. Addressing gender issues in the historically Black college and university community: A challenge and call to action. Journal of Negro Education 70 (3): 176–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, Johnnetta, and Bernstein, Alison. 1987. Johnnetta Cole: Serving by example. Change 19 (5): 46–55.Google Scholar
Cole, Johnnetta B., and Guy‐Sheftall, Beverly. 2009. Gender talk: The struggle for women's equality in African American communities. New York: Random House Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Collins, Patricia Hill. 2002. Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, Patricia Hill. 2016. Black feminist thought as oppositional knowledge. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research 5 (3): 133–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commodore, Felecia. 2018. The tie that binds: Trusteeship, values, and the decision‐making process at AME‐affiliated HBCUs. Journal of Higher Education 89 (4): 397–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, Ty‐Ron M. O. 2012. HBCUs as sites of resistance: The malignity of materialism, western masculinity, and spiritual malefaction. Urban Review 44 (3): 378–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, Debbie. 2014. No “cohabitation” for Alabama State's first female president. All Things Considered. January 17. www.npr.orgGoogle Scholar
Ezzell, Jack L. Jr., and Schexnider, Alvin J. 2010. Leadership, governance, and sustainability of Black colleges and universities. Trusteeship 18 (3): 25–28.Google Scholar
Forsyth, Donelson R., Heiney, Michele M., and Wright, Sandra S. 1997. Biases in appraisals of women leaders. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice 1 (1): 98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gasman, Marybeth, Nguyen, Thai‐Huy, Samayoa, Andres Castro, Commodore, Felicia, Abiola, Ufuoma, Hyde‐Carter, Yvonne, and Carter, Courtney. 2013. The changing face of historically Black colleges and universities. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for Minority Serving Institutions.Google Scholar
Griffin, Farah Jasmine. 2000. Black feminists and Du Bois: Respectability, protection, and beyond. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 568 (1): 28–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, Shaun R., and Gasman, Marybeth. 2008. Consequences of conservatism: Black male undergraduates and the politics of historically Black colleges and universities. Journal of Negro Education 77 (4): 336–51.Google Scholar
Harris, Cheryl I. 1993. Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review 106 (8): 1707–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris‐Perry, Melissa V. 2011. Sister citizen: Shame, stereotypes, and Black women in America. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Herdlein, Richard, Cali, Christine F., and Dina, Joanne. 2008. Deans of women at historically Black colleges and universities: A story left untold. Journal of Negro Education 77 (4): 291–305.Google Scholar
Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. 1993. Righteous discontent: The women's movement in the Black baptist church, 1880–1920. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
James, Joy A. 1997. Black feminism: Liberation limbos and existence in gray. In Existence in Black: An anthology of Black existential philosophy, ed. Gordon, L. R. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jean‐Marie, Gaëtane. 2004. Black women administrators in historically Black institutions: Social justice project rooted in community. Journal of Women in Educational Leadership 2 (1): 39–63.Google Scholar
Jean‐Marie, Gaëtane. 2006. Welcoming the unwelcomed: A social justice imperative of African‐American female leaders at historically Black colleges and universities. Journal of Educational Foundations 20 (1/2): 85–104.Google Scholar
Jean‐Marie, Gaëtane, and Cook Tickles, Virginia. 2017. Black women at the helm in HBCUs: Paradox of gender and leadership. In Black colleges across the diaspora: Global perspectives on race and stratification in postsecondary education, ed. Christopher Brown, M. II and Elon Dancy, T. II. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.Google Scholar
Marsh, Kris. 2012. “Staying Black”: The demonstration of racial identity and womanhood among a group of young high‐achieving Black women. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 26 (10): 1213–37.Google Scholar
Mobley, Steve D., and Johnson, Jennifer M. 2015. The role of HBCUs in addressing the unique needs of LGBT students. New Directions for Higher Education 2015 (170): 79–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mobley, Steve D., and Johnson, Jennifer M. 2018. “No pumps allowed”: The problem with gender expression and the Morehouse College “Appropriate Attire Policy.” Journal of Homosexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1486063.Google Scholar
Moody‐Adams, Michelle M. 1997. Race, class, and the social construction of self‐respect. In African‐American perspectives and philosophical traditions, ed. Pittman, John. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education (NCES). 2018. General Information Survey (HEGIS), “Fall Enrollment in Colleges and Universities,” 1976 through 1985 surveys; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), “Fall Enrollment Survey” (IPEDS‐EF: 86‐99); and IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2017, Fall Enrollment component. https://nces.ed.gov/.Google Scholar
Njoku, Nadrea, Butler, Malika, and Beatty, Cameron C. 2017. Reimagining the historically Black college and university (HBCU) environment: Exposing race secrets and the binding chains of respectability and othermothering. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 30 (8): 783–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Northouse, Peter G. 2013. Leadership: Theory and practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Oikelome, Gloria. 2017. Pathway to the president: The perceived impact of identity structures on the journey experiences of women college presidents. International Journal of Multicultural Education 19 (3): 23–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omolade, Barbara. 1994. The rising song of African American women. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Opie, Tina R., and Phillips, Katherine W. 2015. Hair penalties: The negative influence of Afrocentric hair on ratings of Black women's dominance and professionalism. Frontiers in Psychology 6: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patton, Lori D. 2011. Perspectives on identity, disclosure, and the campus environment among African American gay and bisexual men at one historically Black college. Journal of College Student Development 52 (1): 77–00.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patton, Lori D. 2014. Preserving respectability or blatant disrespect? A critical discourse analysis of the Morehouse appropriate attire policy and implications for intersectional approaches to examining campus policies. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 27 (6): 724–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patton, Lori D., and Simmons, Symone L. 2008. Exploring complexities of multiple identities of lesbians in a Black college environment. Negro Educational Review 59 (3/4): 197–16.Google Scholar
Patton, Tracey O. 2006. “Hey girl, am I more than my hair?”: African American women and their struggles with beauty, body image, and hair. NWSA Journal 18 (2): 24–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perkins, Linda M. 1983. The impact of the cult of true womanhood on the education of Black women. Journal of Social Issues 39 (3): 17–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perkins, Linda M. 1996. Lucy Diggs Slowe: Champion of the self‐determination of African‐American women in higher education. Journal of Negro History 81 (1/4): 89–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, Karla D. 2013. Communication strategies across cultural borders: Dispelling stereotypes, performing competence, and redefining Black womanhood. Women's Studies in Communication 36 (3): 312–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaw, Stephanie J. 1996. What a woman ought to be and to do: Black professional women workers during the Jim Crow Era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snead, James A. 1981. On repetition in Black culture. Black American Literature Forum 15 (4): 146–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuart, Ronald. 2015. New breed of HBCU presidents making big changes. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, August 28.Google Scholar
Waring, Anna L. 2003. African‐American female college presidents: Self‐conceptions of leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 9 (3): 31–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, Elwood. 1998. “Guess what came to American politics?”: Contemporary Black conservatism. Journal of Black Studies 29 (1): 73–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, E. Frances. 2001. Africa on my mind: Gender, counter discourse, and African American nationalism. In Feminism in the Study of Religion, a Reader, ed. Juschka, Darlene. London and New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
White, E. Frances. 2010. Dark continent of our bodies: Black feminism and politics of respectability. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Williams, Erica L. 2013. Women's studies and sexuality studies at HBCUs: The Audre Lorde project at Spelman College. Feminist Studies 39 (2): 520–25.Google Scholar
Woodhouse, Kellie. 2015. Dysfunction and Florida A&M. Inside Higher Education, October 23.Google Scholar