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A phenomenological study on cultural taxation and racially minoritized students in graduate postsecondary education

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A phenomenological study on cultural taxation and racially minoritized students in graduate postsecondary education

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A Phenomenological Study on Cultural Taxation and Racially Minoritized Students in
Graduate Postsecondary Education
by
Justine Rene Gradillas

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

December 2022

© Copyright by Justine Rene Gradillas 2022
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Justine Rene Gradillas certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Shafiqa Ahmadi
Esther Kim
Patricia Tobey, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022

iv

Abstract
Cultural taxation is the imposition placed on racial and ethnic minorities as responders and
intermediaries in all matters of racial and cultural significance in academic settings. Guided by
critical race theory of education, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the narratives
of racially minoritized students in graduate postsecondary education to find if cultural taxation is
an attributable phenomenon. The six forms of cultural taxation provided the conceptual
framework. For clarity, the forms of cultural taxation are outlined as demonstrative roles that can
be perceived as taxing from the perspectives of study participants. The roles attributed to cultural
taxation are that of the expert, the educator, the committee member, the community liaison, the
problem-solver, and the ambassador. Critical race theory of education guided the study as the
methodological framework. The study analysis was conducted by applying critical race
methodology to deconstruct impervious assumptions about graduate postsecondary education
applicable to all students. Further, by focusing on the experiences and perspectives of racially
minoritized graduate students, the study intended to inform practice in advanced postsecondary
education.
Keywords: cultural taxation, phenomenological inquiry, critical race theory, systemic
racism

v

Dedication
To my beloved grandparents, Pancho and Charlotte Gradillas. Their words and actions forever
serve as my North Star. Their lives are my foundation. Their memory propels me forward.

vi
Acknowledgements
While I appreciate the framed pieces of parchment hanging on the wall and the artifacts
documenting a career, I recognize that my highest honor and evidence of my most important
work walks around with an easy smile and a kind heart. To my son Nathan Alejandro Gradillas,
you are my joy and the inspiration for everything I do. You make me believe in magic. Thank
you for encouraging me in this endeavor and for the long philosophical talks that gave life to this
project.
With enduring love and endless pride, thank you to my mom Olivia. I believe I can do
anything because you believe I can do anything. You are my beacon. Everything about you
sparkles. From your earrings to your shoes, from the radiance of your face to the brightness of
your laugh—you glow from the inside. Everything in my life has been possible because of your
hard work, fierce determination, and unyielding support. This is for you.
To my brother Travis, you have always shown your love by finding ways to help lighten
the load and make things easier, which means you really, really love me. Thank you for all the
countless ways you have always been there for me and for soldiering with me when it all goes
down. I love you forever. You are my touchstone.
Thank you to my Nina Kathleen Felix and my Aunt Jackie Hesketh for always being in
my corner and for loving my family in the many ways you do. I love you dearly. You truly are
my fairy godmothers.
Thank you to Tori Charles and all my colleagues at YLI, especially my brilliant and
supportive team at OROD.
Thank you to Dr. Patricia Tobey for guiding me during this process with your advice,
humor, and grace. My time with you has been invaluable. I also want to extend my heartfelt

vii
appreciation to Dr. Shafiqa Ahmadi and Dr. Esther Kim for recognizing, in a way few others can,
why this topic deserves study and contemplation. Thank you all for your thoughtful feedback and
for asking questions that elevated my thinking. I fully understand the power of words and I will
always stand by mine.
I am indebted to the remarkable and accomplished individuals who were willing to come
forward and share their vulnerabilities and stories with me for this project. I treasure both.
Through your candor, you gave voice to others. Through your persistence, you cast light on paths
for them to follow. Thank you.
While I was growing up, Dr. Christine Marin was a celebrity on Euclid Street. She had
gone away to college, earned her PhD, and devoted her career to preserving our stories. The
elders would speak of her with such esteem. Man, I wanted to be just like her. In a neighborhood
full of powerful women, I was certainly not at a loss for role models. Still, in my mind, Dr.
Marin was everything. She was the first woman from Euclid Street to earn her doctorate, and she
was a Chicana. Thank you, Christine, for being an example of what is possible. Thank you for
staying true to who you are and never forgetting where you come from. You gave rise to my
ambition.
Many people have been instrumental during my academic journey. However, perhaps no
one more so than Profesór Salomón Baldenegro. Sal, thank you for being my champion all those
years ago. I am forever grateful for your conviction to second chances. Your faith in me
chartered this course.

viii
Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. xi
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study ........................................................................................... 1
Context and Background of the Problem ............................................................................ 1
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions .................................................................. 3
Importance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 4
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology ..................................................... 5
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................. 7
Organization of the Study .................................................................................................... 9
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ......................................................................................... 11
Critical Race Theory of Education .................................................................................... 11
Systemic Racism and the Roots of Cultural Taxation ....................................................... 12
The Experiences of Graduate Students .............................................................................. 21
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 44
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 47
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 47
Overview of Design ........................................................................................................... 47
Research Setting ................................................................................................................ 49

ix
The Researcher .................................................................................................................. 50
Data Sources ...................................................................................................................... 53
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 54
Instrumentation .................................................................................................................. 57
Data Collection Procedures ............................................................................................... 59
Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 60
Credibility and Trustworthiness ........................................................................................ 62
Ethical Considerations ....................................................................................................... 63
Limitations and Delimitations ........................................................................................... 64
Chapter Four: Findings .................................................................................................................. 67
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 68
Participant Summary ......................................................................................................... 81
Findings: Research Question 1 .......................................................................................... 82
Findings: Research Question 2 ........................................................................................ 105
Summary of Findings ...................................................................................................... 116
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations ....................................................................... 118
Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 118
Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 121
Models for Change .......................................................................................................... 128
Recommendations for Future Research ........................................................................... 131
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 132
References ................................................................................................................................... 133
Appendix A: Information Sheet .................................................................................................. 148

x
Appendix B: Informed Consent Form ......................................................................................... 150
Appendix C: Interview Protocol .................................................................................................. 154
Appendix D: Email Communication Process .............................................................................. 158

xi

List of Tables
Table 1: Graduate Degrees Conferred by Race/Ethnicity in 2018–19 .......................................... 22
Table 2: Data Sources .................................................................................................................... 54
Table 3: Data Collection Approach ............................................................................................... 58
Table 4: Participants Interviewed for the Study (N = 10) .............................................................. 70
Table C1: Interview Questions .................................................................................................... 156
Appendix E: Research Design Matrix ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix F: Qualitative Codebook ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix G: Individuals Killed During Encounter With Law Enforcement ..... Error! Bookmark
not defined.
Appendix H: Four-Point Criteria To Assess Anti-Racist Higher Education Policy .............. Error!
Bookmark not defined.

xii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Phenomenological Conceptual Framework ................................................................... 45
Figure 2: Forms of Cultural Taxation Defined .............................................................................. 49
Figure 3: An Organized Woven Structure of Shared Leadership ................................................ 124
Figure 4: Equity Tank Model ....................................................................................................... 126

1

Chapter One: Introduction to the Study
Conducting research and drafting a dissertation can be an exhausting and isolating
experience. There are moments of frustration, questioning, and self-doubt. The thoughtful
student-researcher often vacillates between weighing the value of the process, the perplexity of
the decision, and the responsibility of seeing it through. Thorough consideration of the
investments and sacrifices made by the student and those close to them can cumber even the
most tenacious scholar. It is pressure. However, we know that the entire dissertation process is
temporary. The pressure will end. Now, imagine that this kind of tension was ongoing and
frequent with no end. How might that feel over time? Consider how this steady pressure might
affect the emotional and intellectual well-being of even the most steadfast individual. How might
it influence their otherwise rational decision-making?
Imagine if the frustration, doubt, and tension were utterly unrelated to any pinpointable
circumstance, like a dissertation study. Instead, what if these thoughts and feelings were in
response to the words and actions of others, with the resulting exasperation and dispiritedness
serving as burdens to bear? These experiences might be akin to acts of psychological abuse
(Kelly, 2004; Saldaña et al., 2021). However, they are not considered abusive acts. In fact, the
perpetrator may be completely unaware of the implications of their words and actions. Consider
if the perpetration of these onerous acts, conscious or unconscious, were merely the result of a
person’s racial identity. This phenomenon is the legacy of racism. It is a derivative of the long
and persistent heritage entrenched in the systems and norms of American society.
Context and Background of the Problem
In 1994, education scholar Amado M. Padilla coined the term “cultural taxation.” Padilla
(1994) defined this phenomenon as the imposition on racially minoritized scholars that diverted
2

attention away from their research and led them to assume more responsibilities relating to race
and diversity in the academy. He conceptualized six forms of cultural taxation, the most
pronounced form being racially minoritized faculty who are the presumed experts in all diversity
matters. This cultural tax can occur without considering comfort level or actual cultural
knowledge or ability. Another form holds racially minoritized faculty responsible for educating
the White majority in the postsecondary setting on diversity (Padilla, 1994). Cultural taxation
can also occur while leading and serving as members of task forces and other committees formed
to address matters of diversity without support from the academy for viability or a commitment
to actual systematic change (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Padilla, 1994; Porter et al., 2018; Social
Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group, 2017).
Similarly, faculty of color are often charged with acting as intermediaries between the
institution and a racially minoritized community (Padilla, 1994). This cultural tax includes
serving as problem-solvers and negotiators during racial tension and conflicts (Hirshfield &
Joseph, 2012; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Padilla, 1994). Lastly, cultural taxation can manifest in
racially minoritized faculty tasked as interpreters or ambassadors of the institution, not because
of academic focus or field expertise, but because they represent diversity (Gooden et al., 2020;
Padilla, 1994; Social Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group, 2017). In all its forms,
this encumbrance impedes academic pursuits and career advancement (Guillaume & Apodaca,
2020).
In the same article, Padilla (1994) encouraged research to examine whether racially
minoritized students are similarly affected by cultural taxation. This idea suggests that racially
minoritized students are taxed to promote the racial competence of their White student
counterparts and the institution’s public image. Padilla indicated that the impact of cultural
3

taxation on students of color could result in disengagement from academic pursuits, thereby
ensuring the continued underrepresentation of racially minoritized students and, subsequently,
faculty on university campuses. While there have been a limited number of studies about cultural
taxation as a phenomenon affecting racially minoritized faculty, the phenomenon has not been
studied with racially minoritized students (Gooden et al., 2020; Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020;
Hirshfield & Joseph, 2012; Padilla, 1994; Porter et al., 2018; Turner, 2002). Similarly, with the
narrow exception of studies that focus on participation in student organizations, little is known
about student “engagement in diversity work” (Porter et al., 2018, p. 128). Even then, that
research primarily focuses on White students’ experiences (J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018).
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
Researchers have concluded that multicultural education positively affects student
development (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010; Seward & Guiffrida, 2012). However, few studies
have examined these experiences specifically from the perspectives of racially minoritized
students, and none have probed to consider cultural taxation as a phenomenon relative to those
experiences (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010; Padilla, 1994; Porter et al., 2018; Rochlin, 1997;
Seward & Guiffrida, 2012).
This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to inquire about the experiences of
racially minoritized graduate students to explore themes representative of cultural taxation as
defined by Padilla (1994). By doing so, the study purposed to understand cultural taxation as an
attributable phenomenon. Two research questions guided the study protocol:
1. What are the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students?
2. What do these experiences mean in the context of cultural taxation as a phenomenon?
4

Importance of the Study
Critical race theory acknowledges that liberalism and notions of colorblindness are
mechanisms that preserve racist systems (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Since the 1950s, studies
have consistently found that most professors are politically and socially liberal (Gross & Fosse,
2012). Yet, inequities in hiring, compensation, and opportunities for career advancement for
racially minoritized faculty persist (de Brey et al., 2021). Most decision-makers in postsecondary
education continue to be those who identify as White and male (de Brey et al., 2021; Gooden et
al., 2020). For example, Harper and Simmons (2019) found that there are at most 10 Black
faculty members at 44% of all public institutions.
Cultural taxation is racism, whether the acts are conscious or unconscious (Gooden et al.,
2020). Notions of liberalism and colorblindness serve as apparatuses for White people to
“exculpate them from any responsibility,” thereby promoting the persistence of inequity and the
retention of power (Bonilla-Silva, 2017, p. 24). For example, Matias (2013) countered the
narratives that centered on “White saviors,” the liberal, color-blind, well-intentioned White
teachers who “sacrifice themselves” to instruct people of color while asserting that “race is not
important and thus, should not be discussed” (p. 54). In surveying teacher candidates, Matias
(2013) contended that the White teacher candidates deny bearing witness to racism while at the
same time claiming to be knowledgeable of its nuances.
From that perspective, cultural taxation manifests racism and shrouds it in the notions of
liberalism and colorblindness within education. It is conceivable then that within the shared
space of academia, the burden of cultural taxation also occurs in the student experience. Cultural
taxation is burdensome because although more racially minoritized students enter postsecondary
education, retention and graduation rates remain disproportionate (de Brey et al., 2021; National
5

Center for Education Statistics, 2022). There is an opportunity then to affect the experiences of
students of color by hearing from them because, as Matias (2013) asserted, counternarratives and
other counterattacks serve as catalysts for resistance and transformation. She suggested critiques
of Whiteness in historical context to “share the burden of racism by not only learning the
dominant narrative but also, the counternarratives” (Matias, 2013, p. 69). Without assuming that
cultural taxation is the only burden racially minoritized students endure, it is imperative to
consider it a phenomenon affecting the student experience. Curtis-Boles et al. (2020) asserted,
Through it is now common for institutions of higher education to claim social justice as a
value and guiding principle in their educational philosophy and practices, it is apparent
through the continued operation of racism and other forms of oppression in academic
settings that these principles are hard to actualize. (p. 101)
Therefore, the study serves as an impetus for further examination of whether the academy is
earnest in its commitment to social justice via improving the experiences, retention, and degree
attainment of racially minoritized students and other marginalized groups (Levin et al., 2013).
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Phenomenological research was designed to make meaning of a phenomenon by
inquiring about the lived experiences of a group of individuals (Giorgi, 1997). The design of this
qualitative study was phenomenological and aligned with its purpose by exploring cultural
taxation as a phenomenon. The intention was to determine “the presence of any given precisely
as experienced” (Giorgi, 1997, p. 237). By doing so, as Giorgi (1997) contended, “an accurate
description of the presence usual contains phenomenal meanings” (p. 237).
The study used a descriptive phenomenological research design to inquire about the
experiences of racially minoritized graduate students to probe for themes consistent with cultural
6

taxation as a phenomenon. The study examined whether students experience the six forms of
cultural taxation Padilla (1994) attributed to racially minoritized faculty. For the study, I retained
the conceptual themes described by Padilla (1994) to focus on lived experiences that may reflect
the main concepts of cultural taxation on a racially minoritized student body. The conceptual
labels included the racially minoritized student as the expert, the educator, the committee
member, the community liaison, the problem-solver, and the ambassador. The study also
revealed other themes for attribution to the phenomenon.
Critical race theory of education provided the theoretical and methodological context in
which I examined the phenomenon of cultural taxation in the graduate student experience within
the experiential setting of the academy. The study was conducted with critical race theory of
education as its theoretical framework because it asserts that racism is an endemic element in
society (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Parker,
2015; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Early critical race theorists noted that racism has become so
normalized within society that it can often go unnoticed by those not subjected to it (Bell, 1992;
Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 1998). The ideologies of liberalism and
colorblindness exploit the normalization of racism as a means of avoidance. As a social
construct, racism subjugates people of color to further the interests of the White majority (Bell,
1980, 1992; Gossett, 1963; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Montagu, 1964). Ladson-Billings (1998)
noted that racism is rooted in society’s social functions, including education. Therefore, rather
than exclusively accept views as facts offered by the majority, critical race theorists challenge
dominant assumptions and emphasize stories from the perspectives of racially minoritized
individuals. To that end, this study examined its participants’ narratives using Giorgi’s
7

descriptive phenomenological approach and a critical race methodological approach to determine
whether there was evidence of cultural taxation as a normalized element of the institution.
Definition of Terms
Throughout this study, the use of “racially minoritized” was interchanged with other
terms like “people of color” and “Black, Indigenous, and other people of color” (BIPOC). This
decision was intentional for two reasons. First, from college students’ perspectives, racial and
ethnic labels hold different meanings influenced by an individualized sense of racial identity and
the external assignment of racial and ethnic categorization (Bauer et al., 2020; Johnston et al.,
2014). Therefore, this study maintained its use of the counternarrative and did not limit its
terminology for simplicity. Second, references to study participants as individuals used their
terminology for racial and ethnic self-identification. Some participants used more than one
preferred self-identifier, so references to study participants as a collective used interchangeable
language that acknowledges this complexity and non-homogeneity.
Further, the following definitions are listed to clarify some of the concepts used
throughout the study. The descriptions may also provide the reader with context and the rationale
for use during the study.
Contradictory consciousness: Rather than having critical consciousness, the racially
minoritized individual may undergo the process of resigning to the dominant culture’s values and
beliefs despite internal dissonance and misalignment of values and beliefs, most often causing
silence (Bhangal, 2020).
Counter storytelling: The stories that are not always told by individuals not in the
majority. Counter stories, also referred to as counternarratives, are a primary tenet of critical race
theory used to contradict the ideas that often promote racism (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010; Delgado
8

& Stefancic, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Storytelling is also used interchangeably to affirm
the testimonies from people of color as the authentic narratives told by the authentic narrators of
their lived experiences.
Critical race methodology: An analytical approach grounded in critical race theory
considers the impact of race and racism throughout the research process using an
interdisciplinary knowledge base to examine the experiences of racially minoritized students
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Critical race methodology focuses on the intersectionality of racially
minoritized students and employs their lived experiences as strengths. Therefore, solutions are
transformative and liberating instead of subjugating (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). This approach
challenges “research paradigms traditionally used to explain the experiences of” racially
minoritized students (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 24).
Critical race theory of education: Critical theory is a philosophical perspective that
suggests societal change derives from a thorough critique of power structures (Grimes, 1992;
M. S. Harris & Bourke, 2008). The theory was later expanded in legal scholarship to examine
and critique how race and racism impact jurisprudence (Bell, 1980, 1992). Critical race theory of
education continues to use race and racism as the analytical lens to critique its impact on
education systems (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Yosso,
2002).
Cultural obligation: The “deep sense of obligation” often felt by racially minoritized
faculty to assume the “time-consuming and emotionally draining” additional duties and
responsibilities despite the impact on their scholarly pursuits (Padilla, 1994, p. 26).
9

Deficit-thinking model: In education, the deficit-thinking model originated to justify
racism and is an approach that attributes academic failure to an individual’s or group’s perceived
inherent characteristics rather than the system (Ash et al., 2020; González, 2007).
Intersectionality: The thoughtful and complex way individuals identify with intersecting
elements of self, including assessing how each layer of identity may contribute to discrimination
(Bauer et al., 2020; Carbado et al., 2013; Cho et al., 2013; Crenshaw, 1989; Delgado &
Stefancic, 2017).
Microaggressions: The persistent intentional and non-intentional verbal and non-verbal
acts of subtle abuse directed at BIPOC and other marginalized groups (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010;
Smith et al., 2007).
Racial battle fatigue: The social-psychological and physiological manifestations
experienced by racially minoritized individuals in response to ongoing microaggressive racism.
Examples of stress responses can include frustration and anger, withdrawal, physical avoidance,
acceptance, and physical and emotional exhaustion (Hernández & Villodas, 2020; Smith et al.,
2007; Wang et al., 2020).
Resiliency theory: A strengths-based theoretical framework that “focuses on the assets of
people, rather than on deficits.” It presumes an individual can problem-solve and adapt to
adversity and stress (González, 2007, p. 292).
Organization of the Study
This study is organized into five chapters. Chapter One offered context and background
on the research and the concept of cultural taxation. This chapter also outlined the study’s
purpose and the research questions that guided the inquiry, along with the conceptual and
theoretical framework that provided the backdrop for examination. Chapter Two examines the
10

literature on the origin and historical application of cultural taxation as a phenomenon impacting
racially minoritized faculty to consider conceptual linkages to the experiences of racially
minoritized graduate students. This chapter also highlights the theoretical and conceptual
framework. Chapter Three details the study method and process protocols. Chapter Four presents
the study’s qualitative findings by naming primary themes that address the research questions.
Finally, Chapter Five discusses the findings and proposes recommendations for practice and
further study.
11

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
This chapter provides the contextual landscape for the study by examining the literature
from several perspectives. First, the chapter begins by defining critical race theory of education,
differentiating it from critical race theory and the historical legal perspective. Then, any
discourse about burdens and inequities in academe must highlight the origins of higher education
in the United States. This section is relevant because racism catalyzed the development of
American society (Beckert et al., 2017; Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014; Gossett, 1963; Montagu, 1964;
Nash, 2019; Thelin, 2019; Wilder, 2013; Wright & Tierney, 1991). Concepts attributable to
cultural taxation are rooted in this historical context, and its application exists in current
literature (Jones & Reddick, 2017; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). Since critical race theory of
education serves as the “blueprint” in this investigation, its concepts are central to the study
(Grant & Osanloo, 2014, p. 12). This chapter also identifies parallels between the concepts of
cultural taxation defined by Padilla (1994) and as experienced by racially minoritized faculty and
how they may similarly be attributed to the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students.
Critical Race Theory of Education
Critical race theory of education derives from critical theory and is an outgrowth of
critical race theory in legal scholarship (Bell, 1980, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Critical
race theory of education asserts five fundamental tenets. First, race is not a biological concept;
instead, it is a social construct. Thereby, racism is a fixed and normalized concept endemic in all
aspects of American society in its historical and current contexts (Bell, 1980, 1992; Delgado &
Stefancic, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Yosso,
2002). Second, “Whiteness is positioned as normative” and serves as the conceptual baseline
through its majoritarian ideas (Ladson-Billings, 1998, p. 9). Whiteness as property assumes the
12

legacy of privilege and makes majoritarian ideas and stories seemingly “natural” (Solórzano &
Yosso, 2002, p. 28). Third, critical race theory of education “challenges the traditional claims
that institutions make” about liberalism, the neutrality of law, meritocracy, and colorblindness
that promote the persistence of White supremacy (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 26). By
challenging the dominant ideology, theorists commit to social justice and transformative change
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). The fourth tenet in this methodological framework focuses on
racially minoritized individuals’ experiences through their narratives without distortion
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Lastly, the fifth tenet of critical race theory of education asserts
interest convergence meaning social justice and movements to advance equity are achieved at the
behest and benefit of White people (Bell, 1980).
By applying critical race theory, this phenomenological probe into cultural taxation and
its potential impact on graduate students begins by examining education’s structural origins. This
examination is important since a principle of critical race theory is that to understand inequity in
any system, in this instance, education, one must revisit its structural ideology in its “infancy”
(Ladson-Billings, 1998, p. 7). Further, there is evidence in the literature that cultural taxation can
occur without recognition or acknowledgement in the same manner that racism has become
normalized in the national consciousness (Adams & McBrayer, 2020; Bell, 1992; Brezinski et
al., 2018; Byrd, 2012; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Garibay et al., 2020).
Systemic Racism and the Roots of Cultural Taxation
According to Solórzano and Yosso (2002) and other critical race theorists, throughout the
history of the United States, the social construct of race was developed as a Eurocentric ideology
of superiority and domination. The doctrine was then weaponized to justify the exploitation and
oppression of people of color (Bell, 1980, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Dunbar-Ortiz,
13

2014; Gossett, 1963; Loewen, 1995; Montagu, 1964; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002; Wilder, 2013;
Wright & Tierney, 1991). In the realm of education, the ideology of racism, along with racial
capitalism, has been foundational for “the structures, discourses, and policies that guide”
university practices that have made race a “commodity” (Parker, 2015, p. 199).
As Loewen (1995) noted, the “antidote to feel-good history is not feel-bad history but
rather honest and inclusive history” (p. 88). Loewen (1995) added that historical truths should be
reflected accurately and sacredly by a discerning citizenry inspired to serve as a “formidable
force for democracy” (p. 312). Currently, the national discourse includes a debate about critical
race theory. This debate centers on its definition rather than its merits. Critical race theory is not
an attempt to rewrite American history, as various members of Congress have asserted (No CRT
Act H. R. 5328, 2021; End CRT Act S. 2221, 2021; H. R. 397, 2021; S. R. 246, 2021). Instead, it
is scholarship aimed at acknowledging diverse historical perspectives and undisputable,
documented facts, including that race as a social construct impaired American structural and
institutional systems (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Wilder, 2013). The theory suggests
that any effort to move beyond racism requires thorough fact-finding and critique, the revelation
and publication of facts, and redress. To dismiss the theory reinforces the racist structural
foundations of American postsecondary institutions. Additionally, enduring taxation individually
through resignation or contradictory consciousness produces the same result (Bhangal, 2020;
Matias, 2013; Wang et al., 2020). Dismissiveness and acquiescence perpetuate the disparities in
academic achievement for BIPOC. Thereby, racism persists as a normalized and overlooked part
of daily life that impairs societal progress (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso,
2002).
14

Critical race theory assumes that race as a social construct historically aggrandized White
supremacy. Therefore, the early establishment of institutional and structural systems in the
United States, including education, was founded on racist ideals (Thelin, 2019; Wright &
Tierney, 1991). As a result, the undercurrent of racism within those systems supports the status
quo where the majority leverages power. Critical race theory contends that societal progress
requires critiques of all social institutions and structural systems (Parker, 2015). The pursuit of
social justice and equity can only be achieved by the collective willingness to examine the world
from a critical perspective (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Yet, when one considers acts of racism,
it is the incidents of extreme bigotry or racial violence most often enumerated. Ballard and
Cintrón (2010), writing about the experiences of African American male doctoral students, noted
it is true that although some “aspire to subjugate,” most of the inequity in “contemporary society
might be more appropriately attributed to apathy rather than malice” (p. 14). However, critical
race theorists reason that while the blatant acts of racism continue to occur and cause concern,
the seemingly immaterial acts of racism are just as perverse (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017;
Ladson-Billings, 1998; Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020).
Manifestations of cultural taxation are, in fact, evidence that racism is a congenital legacy
embedded in the histories of American institutions and structures. For example, a literature
review about the experiences of people of color and the education system since the colonial
period denotes ideals of justice and equality for all (Beckert et al., 2017; Bell, 1980; Loewen,
1995; Rochlin, 1997). However, as more historians, especially scholars of color, access historical
records and examine the evidence, historical data offering compelling counternarratives are
revealed (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014; Dunbar-Ortiz & Gilio-Whitaker, 2016; Garibay et al., 2020;
Mcguire, 2019; Thelin, 2019; Wilder, 2013). Similarly, this fact-finding can and should
15

undermine what Dunbar-Ortiz and Gilio-Whitaker (2016) considered the “structural violence”
(p. 3) of erasure, mythmaking, and cultural appropriation. The exposure of contextual, historical
truths requires reconciliation.
The Historical Context: Postsecondary Education in the United States
As noted, cultural taxation is a manifestation of the systemic racism that has endured
since the founding of the nation’s earliest postsecondary institutions (Thelin, 2019; Wilder, 2013;
Wright & Tierney, 1991). Despite the assertion made by Harris and Bourke (2008), “from its
early roots in creating Jefferson’s educated citizenry to the training of returning veterans from
World War II, U. S. higher education has been largely egalitarian” (p. 18). Similarly, Darboe
(2009) maintained that
[Since] the establishment of the land-grant colleges in the 1860s to the Serviceman’s
Readjustment Act or G.I. Bill of Rights in 1944 to the Higher Education Act of 1965,
United States public colleges and universities have embraced the idea that in educating
college students for the world, it is necessary to bring people together from diverse
backgrounds. (p.7)
On the contrary, higher education in the United States has been anything but egalitarian. Gooden
et al. (2020) were explicit in noting that “the academy, like many systems in the United States,
was designed by and for White men” (p. 395). The strides made to advance access, create diverse
living and learning spaces, make the curriculum more inclusive, and promote equity in
recruitment, admissions, and retention have resulted from hard-fought social, political, and legal
struggles (Bell, 1980, 1992). Still, efforts for accessible and equitable education, like affirmative
action and desegregation, ultimately benefited the institution more than people of color through
the “commodification of race for racial capital benefit” (Parker, 2015, p. 200). Similarly, the
16

largest beneficiaries of federal mandates like affirmative action, designed to provide access and
equity to BIPOC explicitly, have been White women (Darboe, 2009).
In an examination of the history of universities in the United States, Wilder (2013) noted
the colonial establishment of academic institutions in New England, modeled after the elite
British universities like Cambridge, intended to advance understanding of the human condition
and provide for the preservation of antiquities. This intent was an ironic colonial endeavor since
the African slave trade underwrote colonial academic institutions, and land expansion westward
destroyed Native civilizations and their antiquities (Nash, 2019; Wilder, 2013; Wright &
Tierney, 1991). The creation and sustainability of academies depended on African slave labor
and wealthy donors whose fortunes were amassed by the African slave trade (Wilder, 2013). To
justify the brutal ethos, the curriculum in colonial institutions was falsely indoctrinated as
biological science (Montagu, 1964). Further, lauded historians wrote volumes of historical texts
condoning colonial terrorism as a means for manifest destiny (Acuña, 1988). Similarly, as
Arellano (2022) noted, statistical methodologies still used today in quantitative research
originated from statistical models used to “explain the inferiority of other races” (p. 116). The
early academies refined the propaganda of White superiority to maintain convention, promote
westward expansion, and justify slavery and the forced assimilation of African and Indigenous
people (Acuña, 1988; Beckert et al., 2017; Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014; J. C. Harris, 2019; Nash, 2019;
Wilder, 2013).
Wright and Tierney (1991) noted that within the first 10 years of European colonialism in
America, and with the support of King James I, institutions of higher education were developed
with the intention of “civilizing and Christianizing the heathen savages” (p. 12) as the colonizers
simultaneously stole tribal lands from Indigenous residents. Then, the “educated” American
17

Indians could serve the colony as “preachers and schoolmasters” and “missionary agents among
their brethren” (Wright & Tierney, 1991, p. 12).
Later, as the federal government assumed control of education, higher education became
vocational training wherein American Indians were forcibly assimilated and trained in
“agriculture, domestic arts, and industrial work” (Wright & Tierney, 1991, p. 13). Indigenous
children were kidnapped and sent to militarized federal boarding schools where they were beaten
into assimilation (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014). As this was occurring, federal legislation promoted the
expansion of White settlements by selling stolen land to states to form land-grant colleges (Nash,
2019). The land-grant institutions were heralded for making higher education accessible to the
new, common White citizenry and prompting the industrial age by focusing on agriculture and
applied sciences (Nash, 2019). According to Nash (2019), this systematic settler colonialism
drove the acquisition of stolen land to “push west and continue the regime of dispossessing and
eradicating Native Americans” (p. 444).
The earliest universities and the subsequent land-grant colleges were established by
leveraging the proceeds from the African slave trade, utilizing the forced free labor of enslaved
African people, and through the dispossession and carnage of Indigenous people. Higher
education served as an impetus for westward expansion furthering the nation’s economic
stabilization (Nash, 2019; Wright & Tierney, 1991). The development of American higher
education was the precursor to the systemic racism evident in the nation’s institutions and
structures. As C. I. Harris (1993) noted, “the racialization of identity and the racial subordination
of Blacks and Native Americans provided the ideological basis for slavery and conquest” (p.
1715). The majoritarian ideas of democratizing higher education would then function as a
foundational model for Whiteness as property (C. I. Harris, 1993, 2020).
18

The Evidence of Cultural Taxation on Racially Minoritized Faculty
In 1994, when Padilla coined the term “cultural taxation,” he applied the phenomenon to
the experiences of racially minoritized faculty. Since then, most of the literature regarding racial
campus climate and the challenges racially minoritized faculty experience in postsecondary
education centers on specific racialized experiences (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Rodriguez-
Mojica et al., 2020). The body of work focuses on cultural taxation as a phenomenon evidentiary
in studies about academic legitimacy, marginalization, isolation, tokenism, and discrimination as
racism manifestations in postsecondary education (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011).
Conversely, there is evidence of overt acts of racism in the literature. An example is a
cross-cultural study of faculty members where researchers found that some White faculty
reported a lack of censorship among White colleagues and that openly racist statements were
routinely made when people of color were not present (Hirshfield & Joseph, 2012; Joseph &
Hirshfield, 2011; Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020). For racially minoritized faculty, their campus
experiences with racism are wide-ranging and encompass many forms. These faculty members
can often experience feelings of cultural obligation to minority communities and resentment
since the added responsibilities are often emotionally exhaustive and not prioritized in the same
manner as research and publishing (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Padilla, 1994).
Student mentoring and service are not considered significant activities, as are teaching
and research (Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020). Padilla (1994) referred to this as a career-impeding
“double-bind situation” where racially minoritized faculty are expected to be both responsive and
available to racially minoritized students while still maintaining “intellectual excellence” (p. 26).
Thereby, racially minoritized faculty do not achieve career advancement, including tenure, at the
same rate as White faculty (Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Wijesingha
19

& Ramos, 2017). Moreover, the added responsibilities incurred by the racially minoritized
faculty rarely come with financial compensation (Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020; Joseph &
Hirshfield, 2011).
Aside from the emotional burden and fatigue that occurs with each experience, there is
also a professional cost associated with cultural taxation. Joseph and Hirshfield (2011) found that
racially minoritized women faculty experienced more taxation “due to their double minority
status” (p. 220). In addition to the types of cultural tax experienced by their male counterparts,
women faculty of color endured stereotypical assumptions about being nurturing, presumably
making them available for added responsibilities. The intersectionality of race and gender often
made women faculty of color feel that they were taxed for added responsibilities because they
represented both (Hirshfield & Joseph, 2012).
Access to careers in academia is competitive (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017;
Machado-Casas et al., 2013). Further, career advancement in academia relies on having a body
of research (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Cultural taxation can impede career
advancement since, in all its forms, it requires time commitments that divert from research
endeavors (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). For example, in a qualitative study of
diverse faculty across disciplines, the researchers found that White faculty members were not
recruited to participate in similar service activities, allowing more time to focus on research
(Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). In this same study, the researchers learned that racially minoritized
faculty members experienced the classic forms of cultural taxation (Bell, 1992; Delgado &
Stefancic, 2017; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). Further, in a large-scale quantitative Canadian
study, Wijesingha and Ramos (2017) learned that racially minoritized faculty receive more
20

research awards and publish more than their White counterparts. However, they “are not tenured
or promoted at the same rate as non-racialized faculty” (Wijesingha & Ramos, 2017, p. 54).
In a study of a diverse group of faculty at a predominately White public university,
Joseph and Hirshfield (2011) found that racially minoritized faculty face the challenge of
academic legitimacy. For example, racially minoritized faculty reported that their departments
often challenge their educational qualifications and research merits. This study also proposed
expanding Padilla’s (1994) forms of cultural taxation to include differential legitimacy
(Hirshfield & Joseph, 2012; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). According to Joseph and Hirshfield
(2011), differential legitimacy refers to what BIPOC faculty identify as pressure to prove
themselves, a sense of not belonging, and their qualifications and research delegitimization.
Other studies on cultural taxation have found that feeling overwhelmed and obligated can result
in occupational stress for racially minoritized faculty (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017;
Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). This stress is compounded by the fact that most key decision-makers
in higher education remain “almost exclusively White and male” (Gooden et al., 2020, p. 393).
Racially minoritized faculty pursuing tenure often feel they must work harder for longer to
achieve what their White counterparts can accomplish without the additional burden (Joseph &
Hirshfield, 2011).
The impediments to performance and advancement and occupational stress are examples
of cultural taxation that may apply to racially minoritized college students. Guided by literature
about the cultural taxation experienced by racially minoritized faculty, this study focused on the
experiences of racially minoritized graduate students.
21

The Experiences of Graduate Students
It is estimated that, by 2044, the American majority will be people of color (Adams &
McBrayer, 2020). While more racially minoritized students are accepted into graduate programs,
their retention and graduation rates are still lower than among White students (Adams &
McBrayer, 2020). This difference means that without intervention, most Americans will
potentially not be afforded the economic and social mobility that degree attainment grants.
Harper and Simmons (2019) asserted that broad societal inequity, including inequity in higher
education, has a long-range negative impact on innovation, advancement, and economic stability.
Further,
higher education helps sustain (and in some instances, exacerbate) these inequities. The
overwhelming majority of our nation’s elected officials are college graduates – so, too,
are CEOs, physicians and nurses, judges and lawyers, schoolteachers and administrators,
and leaders in most sectors of our economy. (Harper & Simmons, 2019, p. 6)
Responsibility for this disparity is often assigned to students without consideration to the “across
the board to practices, policies, and racial climates that make racial abuse so routinized that its
occurrence, if acknowledged, is typically brushed off with the sanctimonious declaration, ‘This
is not who we are’” (Bensimon, 2020, p. 8). However, over a century and a half after the transfer
of Indigenous land to the states for the creation of public land-grant universities, the sanctimony
is contradicted by the data (Darboe, 2009; de Brey et al., 2021; Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014). For context,
Table 1 shows the recent data on graduate degrees conferred at postsecondary institutions taking
part in Title IV federal financial aid programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2020, June).

22

Table 1
Graduate Degrees Conferred by Race/Ethnicity in 2018–19
Level of degree Total
White Black Hispanic
Asian/
Pacific
Islander
American
Indian/
Alaska
Native
Two or
more
races
Percentage distribution of degrees conferred
to U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Master’s degree 695,616 64.3 13.4 11.3 7.5 0.5 2.9
Doctor’s degree 163,677 65.7 9.2 8.6 12.9 0.4 3.1

Note. Graduate degrees conferred by race/ethnicity in 2018–19 Adapted from “Fast Facts” by the
National Center for Education Statistics, 2020. U.S Department of Education.
(https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=72)

Some scholars in higher education are challenging the status quo and offering critiques
on established curricula and academic practices (Arellano, 2022). Scholars are also challenging
bias and racism in research. According to Arellano (2022), methodological research methods
should also be critiqued since most graduate students must complete some form of a research-
based project to complete graduate study. Arellano asserted that quantitative methodologies are
presented as “objective from a positivist paradigm” (p. 116) without critique or regard for their
origins in White supremacy. Therefore, it is imperative to advance the stories of racially
minoritized students.
Increasingly, the literature refers to the racism students of color experience as racialized
experiences (J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018). This attempt at placatory language does not make
overt and covert racism any less grievous. By refusing to call racism “racism,” the perpetrators
23

are excused from assuming responsibility, and the offense is minimized (Bonilla-Silva, 2017;
Harper, 2012). In recalling her experiences as a student, Bhangal (2020) referred to engaging in
contradictory consciousness as a “survival tactic” (p. 154). Contradictory consciousness is
acknowledging and resigning to hegemony despite its internal impact on the individual (Bhangal,
2020; Hoare & Smith, 1971). The idea that students must identify survival tactics to endure the
racism still pervasive in institutions of learning, particularly those supported by public dollars,
warrants critique by the well-intended and should not be perceived as divisive or threatening.
The Permanence of Racism
Bell (1992) contended that the effects of slavery are permanently entrenched in the
collective psyche of the American story. As a result of this and colonialism, racism is a
permanent condition in American life. In critical race theory, this phenomenon of that which is in
the interest of White people is interest convergence (Bell, 1980). As the term implies, any
movement toward social justice is determined by the beneficial impact on White people. Since
such movements would also suggest acknowledgement and atonement for the crimes and
conditions that make the need for social justice pursuits necessary in the first place, change is
unlikely. Therefore, as Bell (1980) contended, racism is a persistent condition endured by people
of color in all institutional and structural systems. The permanence of racism is a principle of
critical race theory to be evaluated and critiqued in systems and institutions like education (Bell,
1992; Byrd, 2012; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Grimes, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-
Billings & Tate, 1995).
During a study into the culture of doctoral education, Gildersleeve et al. (2011) found
endemic racism in the daily experiences of Black and Latino/a doctoral students. The researchers
conducted ethnographic interviews with 22 Black and Latino/a doctoral students at two
24

predominately White research universities (Gildersleeve et al., 2011). The researchers described
an “am I going crazy?!” self-narrative whereby racially minoritized students ask themselves this
question when experiencing a “dehumanizing cultural experience” (Gildersleeve et al., 2011,
p. 93). For example, experiences such as having input dismissed or ignored in class “[represent]
the tentativeness, insecurity, and doubt that can be projected onto doctoral [students of color]”
(Gildersleeve et al., 2011, p. 100) during graduate study. The consequences of these responses to
racism include self-censorship, the internal negotiation that BIPOC students have with
themselves when determining engagement in the academic setting. A doctoral student in the
study reported, “It depends on the day if I decide to brush others off or not, and in most cases I
do because I don’t really want to deal with it, so I just chose to ignore certain negative situations”
(Gildersleeve et al., 2011, p. 103). The example offered by the student can also be reflective of
cultural taxation. Gildersleeve et al. (2011) noted, “Being asked to provide answers to classmates
about an entire race of people and/or culture presents added pressures for them that their White
peers do not have” (p. 102). Racially minoritized students may elect to remain silent rather than
engage in a situation where they are perceived as an expert or an educator. Self-censorship may
also be used to avoid microaggressions and racial terrorism (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010;
Gildersleeve et al., 2011).
The permanence of racism is also clear in how the student experiences of BIPOC have
been normalized. Its intrusion into the American way of life has become “so natural it is almost
invisible” (Le & Matias, 2019, p. 15). While many studies have found the benefits of diversity
education on student development, few have specifically examined the impact on racially
minoritized students (Porter et al., 2018). Studies have also found that racially minoritized
students have very different experiences in higher education than their White counterparts due in
25

large part to racism and limited faculty support (Rankin & Reason, 2005). However, there
appears to be some indication of cultural taxation where racially minoritized students are viewed
as perceived experts on diversity because of their racially minoritized status in the classroom. As
with their faculty counterparts, this can occur despite knowledge or level of comfort (Padilla,
1994).
The Student Expert
According to Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010), historically, research on multicultural
education has focused on the White student experience. When people of color were included in
these studies, ethnicity was not identified as a variable (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010). Therefore,
the perspectives of a segment of the student population affected by multiculturalism, or lack
thereof, have been absent from the discourse. This exclusionary form of racism lends to
assumptions in multicultural education that students of color are experts and are used to
“represent the learning needs of White students” (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010, p. 205).
In an outcome study conducted by Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010), 65% of BIPOC
students reported experiencing a range of negative emotions caused by racism. The researchers
also found that the racially minoritized students perceived their White classmates had a “naiveté
and a lack of awareness of racism and feelings of being dismissed or invalidated when they
shared their personal experiences” (p. 207). Curtis-Boles and Bourg cautioned that identifying
racially minoritized students as experts on diversity given their own unique experiences leads to
incorrect assumptions about diversity and makes these students responsible for the learning of
White students. In conceptualizing cultural taxation, Padilla (1994) noted that the frequently
assigned role of the expert is not determined by actual expertise. The racially minoritized
individual is deemed the expert in matters of diversity because of race and ethnicity. For
26

example, in a setting lacking diversity, it is not unusual for a Chicana to be asked to provide
insights into the thoughts and feelings of an Asian man simply because she is the only person of
color in the space. For graduate students of color, this imposition can create anxiety and
disengagement in a classroom where active engagement is graded as participation. The Curtis-
Boles and Bourg (2010) study noted that students sometimes avoid course enrollment altogether
because of the pressure to serve as experts. The inner conflict felt by racially minoritized
students is often experienced in silence and can have a lasting impact on mental well-being
(Hollingsworth et al., 2017).
The Psychosocial Costs
For racially minoritized graduate students, there are psychosocial consequences to the
permanence of racism and the assignment of expertise in the academic space. For example, in a
qualitative study involving 20 racially minoritized graduate students, the participants reported
feeling responsible for correcting assumptions made by course readings (Seward & Guiffrida,
2012). The students also felt pressure to present their perspectives when the subject offered
generalizations, or they chose not to share anything if their views varied from another racially
minoritized student in the class (Seward & Guiffrida, 2012). Alternatively, BIPOC students in the
classroom may be concerned about perpetuating stereotypes when challenging assumptions made
in class. For example, in a study that examined the experiences of racially minoritized students in
a diversity course, a student expressed feelings of internal conflict: “should I stay silent and be
eaten up inside or confront these White students and reinforce the stereotype of the violent Black
person?” (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010, p. 209).
According to Gooden et al. (2020), racially minoritized students must also endure
assumptions, “sometimes openly, that they come from substandard PK–12 schools” (p. 393) and
27

about their preparedness for higher education. In another study, Black doctoral students also
expressed that, in addition to the assumptions, institutional policies make academic achievement
more difficult. For example, Barker (2016) found that doctoral programs that discourage full-
time employment “indirectly disadvantage Black students” (p. 133). As a student expressed,
“there’s not a Black person I know who can just afford to go to school full time for a whole year”
(p. 133). In the same study, another Black full-time student who did not work “felt departmental
racism was practiced through the ease in which White students finished the program compared to
her” (p. 134) by providing an example of an employed part-time student who started at the same
time she did who finished while she was still in the program. “We have to still, you know, prove
ourselves and almost be two times better to get out of the program” (Barker, 2016, p. 134).
Racially minoritized students also experience contradictory consciousness as a survival
tactic. Rather than critique the dominant ideology, the racially minoritized individual may
experience dual consciousness to maintain homogeneity (Hoare & Smith, 1971). They may
undergo the process of being caught between the values and beliefs of the dominant culture and
their own cultural identity (Bhangal, 2020; DeMirjyn, 2011). For racially minoritized graduate
students, this may mean being resigned to the expectations of the White institution despite the
internal dissonance and misalignment of their values and belief systems (Bhangal, 2020). A
coping strategy for this is often silence (Bhangal, 2020). Bhangal (2020) drew from her own
experiences as an undergraduate:
I was introduced to the rowing team’s tradition of dressing up in costumes for a practice
that visiting parents and families attend. In front of parents, coaches, alumni, and guests,
the men’s rowing team dressed up as border patrol officers and made the first-year men’s
rowers dress up as immigrants. The only Black individual on the women’s team reported
28

this incident. At the time, I knew this was problematic, but I was unwilling to say
anything. I chose to be complicit. I internalized contradictions, I perpetuated them, and I
left them unexplored beyond the momentary discomfort I felt in my soul, my body, and
my mind. Ultimately, I engaged in normative, hegemonic survival tactics in a White,
Catholic space where I was the only Brown Punjabi-Indian in my residence hall and
classes and on the women’s rowing team. (p. 154)
In a study of first-generation college students, DeMirjyn (2011) used the narratives
of Chicana and Latina students to further highlight this duality’s schism. Participants reported
intragroup group distance at home while simultaneously experiencing intergroup distance at the
academy (DeMirjyn, 2011). The intergroup experiences often included racism and
microaggressions. For example, a student in the group recounted being told by another student
that she was “lucky to be Mexican and in college” (DeMirjyn, 2011, p. 81), while another
referred to being considered “whitewashed” in her community for attending a predominately
White institution (PWI).
Microaggressions and Racial Battle Fatigue
Bonilla-Silva (2017) contended that racially minoritized faculty and students are
subjected to overt and covert racism like daily microaggressions. This form of racism is
indicative of its permanence because of its subtlety. For example, White counterparts may be
unwilling to enunciate a name correctly or may routinely mix up the names of people of color.
For instance, I observed another person of color speak at length in a class where most students
are White. Immediately following, a White student referred to the points made by the student of
color. However, he attributed them to the wrong racially minoritized student. In another class
setting, I was engaged in a group discussion where a White student referred to a person of color
29

as very articulate. When I asked the student if they had ever referred to a White person as being
articulate, the individual took offense, and two other individuals remained silent. Although these
are anecdotal examples, the literature supports these examples of microaggressions experienced
by graduate students, including those at the doctoral level. Experiences of “uncontested racist
comments” in the classroom are exacerbated when faculty are unwilling or incapable of
acknowledging or addressing the microaggressions (Curtis-Boles et al., 2020, p. 105).
In a qualitative study examining “critical racialized incidents” experienced by 14 BIPOC
graduate students at a PWI, the researchers found that eight instances of racial stereotyping
“were perpetrated by instructors” (Curtis-Boles et al., 2020, p. 104). In addition, Rodriguez-
Mojica et al. (2020) conducted a qualitative study examining the experiences of student teachers
of color through their testimonios. They found that over half the study participants experienced
discomfort and hostility when engaging their teaching mentors. It became so difficult for a
couple of participants to seek reassignment. Both student teachers were denied reassignment,
with one opting to extend her time in the program by a year. Another study participant reported
that rather than learn the correct pronunciation of students’ names, the teaching mentor assigned
students of color different names (Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020). The examples highlight the
pervasiveness of a single White narrative and racism in the power dynamic in the student-teacher
relationship. The examples also illustrate that the seemingly benign microaggressions impact the
experiences of racially minoritized students and reflect Whiteness as the baseline for academic
programming (J. C. Harris, 2019; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995;
Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020).
Having to endure and manage the experiences associated with assigned burdens and
microaggressions can have consequential effects. Hollingsworth et al. (2017) conducted a
30

quantitative study with 135 African American participants aged 18 to 27 and found that they
experience increased levels of suicidal ideation associated with burdens and microaggressions.
Racial battle fatigue is a term used to identify the collection of psychological and
physiological symptoms that result from constant microaggressions (Hernández & Villodas,
2020; Smith et al., 2007). A study examining the experiences of African American male students
enrolled at PWIs found that the stress reactions were similar to those experienced by military
members in combat (Smith et al., 2007). The students experienced a heightened sense of
potential danger and frustration that can devolve into poor academic performance, isolation, and
an increased likelihood of dropping out (Smith et al., 2007). Another study with 681
Chicana/Latina undergraduates found that an increase in microaggressions meant a decrease in
coping and mental well-being (Hernández & Villodas, 2020). Theorists agree that the impact of
microaggressions results from the accumulation of this type of racism over time that impairs an
individual or marginalizes a group of people (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010).
It would seem that the psychological and physiological costs associated with
microaggressions and racial battle fatigue are similar to what students would experience by
ensuring cultural taxation. What is known is that racialized experiences resulting in stress impact
academic motivation (Reynolds et al., 2010).
Whiteness as Property
The construct of Whiteness serves as a form of property: an asset stratified to offer power
in the same way that money and property ownership can (C. I. Harris, 1993). According to C. I.
Harris (1993, 2020), racial Whiteness as property derived from the origins of property rights in
the United States and the desire for racial domination. It justified the exploitation and
extermination of Indigenous people and the ownership of people. “By the 1660s, the especially
31

degraded status of Blacks as chattel slaves was recognized by law,” and only White men had
rights to own property (C. I. Harris, 1993, p. 1718). Whiteness as property was further
constructed as White supremacy by one-drop rule laws that asserted one drop of African blood
made an individual African American without rights to property and subject to enslavement
(Patel, 2015). Increasingly, value was placed on Whiteness, resulting in the practice of passing,
tokenism, and the adoption of colorblindness to ensure continued legal domination (C. I. Harris,
1993; J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018).
Whiteness as property promotes the permanence of racism through intragroup ideologies
that promote intra- and intergroup conflicts (Burton et al., 2010). For example, colorism derives
from the idea that, over time, convinced people of color that they might have protection and
safety from White domination by sounding passing or passing for White. Historically, passing as
White meant safety for BIPOC. The intragroup ideologies hailing from racism have real
ramifications for people of color (Burton et al., 2010; Chaney & Clark, 2020; Crutchfield et al.,
2022).
Colorism, the extent of discrimination based on an individual’s physical proximity to
Whiteness, is also an attribution of the concept of Whiteness as property (Crutchfield et al.,
2022). A review of the literature on colorism confirmed that colorism plays a significant role in
the students’ treatment and student outcomes (Crutchfield et al., 2022). The review also found
that BIPOC students also find ways to mitigate discrimination as a survival tactic (Crutchfield et
al., 2022). Given the permanence of racism, colorism persists both inside and outside
communities of color. Colorism within BIPOC communities then serves as a convenient
approach to keeping the status quo of Whiteness as property.
32

Another way Whiteness is standardized is through majoritarian storytelling (Ballard &
Cintrón, 2010). Majoritarian stories are the narratives constructed by the majority to maintain
Whiteness as the baseline to normalize inequity and racial privilege (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010;
Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Dunbar-Ortiz and Grilio-Whitaker (2016) also use the term “master
narratives,” referring to the long history of majoritarian storytelling used by White historians “to
provide rationalization or justification for injustices committed against others” (p. 8).
In the context of cultural taxation, the agents of tokenism, colorism, and majoritarian
storytelling used to support the notion of Whiteness as property may be most closely associated
with the role of ambassador.
The Student Ambassador
Padilla (1994) conceptualized another form of cultural taxation as the role assumed by
racially minoritized faculty to serve as ambassadors to the institution, translators of official
documents, and language interpreters. Given that tokenism is presented in the literature as a
means to affirm the notion of Whiteness as property (Brown, 2014; M. S. Harris & Bourke,
2008), it is appropriate to consider the cultural taxation concept of ‘ambassador’ in this context.
In a qualitative study of doctoral students, the research team found that racially
minoritized graduate students assume responsibility for the institution without benefit.
Specifically, “female [students of color], given their underrepresentation in STEM fields, were
often expected to simultaneously represent their social identities and broader communities, as
well as their department’s commitment to diversity” (Porter et al., 2018, p. 134).
Like their faculty counterparts, racially minoritized graduate students serve as unofficial
ambassadors for their institutions as the tokenized embodiment of racial progress (Porter et al.,
2018).
33

The concept of ambassadorship can extend beyond the taxing experiences of tokenism.
As racially minoritized students advance in their academic pursuits, likely, they will not have a
mentor (Padilla, 1994). If they do, it is similarly likely that the mentor will not be a faculty
member of color (Padilla, 1994; Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020). This incongruence can pose a
dilemma for graduate students interested in research not centered on the White experience.
Padilla (1994) recounted examples of students persuaded to conduct “mainstream” research (p.
24).
One graduate student was advised that her doctoral dissertation studying depression
among Latina women would only have merit if it included a sample of White women as a “cross-
cultural comparison” (Padilla, 1994, p. 24). Almost 30 years later, as I was designing this study,
a similar conversation occurred while discussing the application of critical race theory as its
framework. The idea that the value of the scholarship is determined by its relevancy to the White
experience is an attribute of Whiteness as property (Bell, 1980, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic,
2017). This idea can be discouraging for racially minoritized graduate students interested in
careers in academia, mainly if they are interested in studying systemic racism and all its
implications. As Gildersleeve et al. (2011) found in a study examining the culture of doctoral
education, racially minoritized graduate students often felt that their academic programs
discouraged scholarship on race and communities of color, invalidating their experiences.
Further, the graduate students felt burdened “to be the sole advocate and ambassadors of research
and scholarship on communities of color” (Gildersleeve et al., 2011, p. 105).
Further, in addition to reinforcing Whiteness as property, student ambassadorship affirms
the concept of interest convergence since the institution benefits while the ambassadors continue
to experience racism (Linley, 2018). A study with student ambassadors “illuminated the ways
34

racially minoritized student leaders experienced pervasive racism despite their prestigious status
at the institution” (Linley, 2018, p. 21).
Racial and Ethnic Terrorism
It would be a dereliction to examine cultural taxation and the experiences of racially
minoritized graduate students without acknowledging the intentional and sometimes violent acts
of racism that continue to occur at institutions of higher education (Ash et al., 2020; Gildersleeve
et al., 2011). Ash et al. (2020) examined Department of Justice data from 2018 and found that
“the third highest rate of race or ethnicity-related hate crimes occur in the educational system as
a whole” (p. 3). The most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2022)
indicated the following:
Race and sexual orientation were the two largest categories of bias motivating hate
crimes at postsecondary institutions in 2019, accounting for about two-thirds of crimes.
Race was the motivating bias in 45 percent of reported hate crimes (341 incidents), while
12 percent (94 incidents) were motivated by ethnicity. Together, more than half of hate
crimes at postsecondary institutions were motivated by race or ethnicity. (para. 4)
As a derivative of slavery, Whiteness as property creates a setting where knowing racists are
emboldened to commit racist acts, as shown by the data, in the literature, and in the daily news
(Ash et al., 2020; Cook, 2022; Gildersleeve et al., 2011; Litam et al., 2021; Murrell, 2021;
National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). Therefore, the undercurrent of racial and ethnic
terrorism at postsecondary institutions may be the gravest tax incurred by racially minoritized
students. To survive and navigate higher education environments, racially minoritized students
may knowingly and unknowingly develop strategies that resist Whiteness as property and
challenge dominant ideologies.
35

Challenge Dominant Ideology
Access to higher education is most often afforded through the notion of meritocracy
(Patel, 2015). Meritocracy is the idea that all things are equal, and achievement occurs equally
for those who work hard (Patel, 2015). Critical race theory of education challenges that
disproven ideology and the ideologies of neutrality of the law, liberalism, and colorblindness
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Critical race theory of education asserts that these ideologies
suggest neutrality but really serve as cover to preserve White interests and power structures
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
According to J. C. Harris and Linder (2018), racially minoritized students often
experience classrooms where they are the only person of color or one of a few. Racially
minoritized students can also experience “invisibility,” whereas their class participation is met
with silence or opposition resulting in disengagement. In a study of 29 racially minoritized
students participating in higher education and student affairs graduate preparation programs,
among the findings is that in addition to “being the only one” and feelings of “invisibility,” the
students reported a consistent “lack of depth concerning social justice and cultural competence”
(J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018, p. 149). These reports are problematic since student affairs
programs in higher education promote social justice and inclusion (J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018).
In a classroom setting, racially minoritized students may also experience dismissiveness when
sharing their perspectives (J. C. Harris & Linder, 2018). Critical race theory of education
commits to social justice as a means to empower marginalized individuals and work toward
eliminating discrimination, including racism (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
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Student Social Activism
Critical race theory of education asserts a commitment to social justice (Parker, 2015).
Racialized minoritized students often find it necessary to employ activism to address injustice in
the community and on campus (Linder et al., 2019). In an article about student activism, Linder
et al. (2019) came the closest to discussing cultural taxation without calling it by name. Like the
uncompensated service burdens, i.e., cultural taxation experienced by racially minoritized
faculty, Linder et al. (2019) argued that student activists work “to address institutional
oppression,” making them unable “to engage in the activities that lead to educationally-beneficial
college experiences” (p. 38). Padilla (1994) and others made this same argument regarding the
added service responsibilities assumed by racially minoritized faculty, making them unable to
conduct research and other activities that advance academic careers (Guillaume & Apodaca,
2020; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Padilla, 1994; Wijesingha & Ramos, 2017).
Researchers conducted interviews as part of a narrative inquiry to examine the
experiences of student activists. The participants of the study engaged in “identity-based
activism or resistance” (Linder et al., 2019, p. 44). The study found that the students who became
involved in activism out of a sense of responsibility experienced a cost to their academic
performance and personal consequences (Linder et al., 2019). In a similar study of Black student
activists at a PWI, researchers used a case study to examine the student activists’ emotional labor
investments and the consequences they experienced (Jones & Reddick, 2017). The findings were
similar to those in the studies about cultural taxation experienced by racially minoritized faculty.
For example, like taxed racially minoritized faculty, students reported feeling the “emotional
burden of representation” and the perceptions of tokenism (Jones & Reddick, 2017, p. 210;
Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). Additionally, in both instances of student activism and the cultural
37

taxation of racially minoritized faculty, the institutions benefited, and no prolonged standing,
sustainable change was achieved (Jones & Reddick, 2017; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Linder et
al., 2019; Wijesingha & Ramos, 2017).
Resiliency Theory
The deficit-thinking model originated to justify racism and is an approach that attributes
academic failure to perceived inherent characteristics of an individual or group rather than the
system (Ash et al., 2020; González, 2007). Alternatively, resiliency theory focuses on an
individual’s positive attributes and capacities rather than on deficits (González, 2007). Resiliency
theory counters the deficit-thinking model by asserting that despite the existence of systemic
racism in education, racially minoritized students can “competently and positively adapt”
(González, 2007). It makes sense to consider the four components of resiliency theory in the
context of challenging dominant ideologies. According to Gildersleeve et al. (2011), “active
engagement with struggle” makes resiliency a required ability for racially minoritized graduate
students (p. 100). The four components of resilience theory are social competence, problem-
solving, autonomy, and a sense of purpose (González, 2007). Social competence is the
resourcefulness an individual can have to adapt and form positive relationships during adversity.
Problem-solving is the capacity to analyze adversity critically to determine a strategy for
overcoming. Autonomy is the development of self and the recognition of one’s strengths and
power. Lastly, a sense of purpose is the motivation and driver for obtaining deeper meaning
(González, 2007).
The Centrality of Experiential Knowledge
To challenge the dominant ideology, a primary aspect of critical race theory of education
is its commitment to the centrality of experiential knowledge. In research, experiential
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knowledge comes from storytelling (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Parker, 2015; Solórzano &
Yosso, 2002). There would be no awareness about phenomena like cultural taxation without the
stories from those who experience it. Without the stories, the experiential knowledge, deficit-
thinking ideology thrives. According to Solórzano and Yosso (2002), “one could argue that
dominant groups try to legitimize their position through the use of ideology” (p. 24). Storytelling
counters and thereby challenges the perpetuation of White supremacy by ensuring the exposure
of differing perspectives (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
Interest Convergence
A primary and often debated theme of critical race theory is interest convergence. The
concept derives from legal scholarship and means that social justice, specifically racial justice, is
only advanced at the behest and interest of the White majority (Bell, 1980; Delgado & Stefancic,
2017). The idealists among the critical race theorists maintain that racism in all its forms is a
distortion of individual thinking that, collectively, influences the social constructs manifested in
institutions like education (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). This perspective adheres that
progress, for example, the victory of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that ended
segregation in public schools, was the result of the long-fought struggles for civil rights and
equality in education achieved by changes in individual and collective moral thinking (Delgado
& Stefancic, 2017). However, Bell (1980) contended that the structural progress made during the
landmark decision did not mean that racist and immoral distorted thinking simply changed.
Instead, the “Whites in policymaking positions,” while the United States was simultaneously
proclaiming the evils of Communism, were “able to see the economic and political advances at
home and abroad that would follow” the end of public-school segregation (Bell, 1980, p. 524).
The realists among the critical race theorists assert that the deconstruction of racist institutions
39

and systems occurs when their constructs are no longer in the interests of the White majority
(Bell, 1980; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). Thereby, interest convergence is the potential for
change when the interests of the racially minoritized groups and the White majority align.
Interest convergence is routinely on display in postsecondary education, where, coupled
with liberalism, it can be mistaken for allyship. For example, Joseph and Hirshfield (2011, p.
126) found that White faculty assume that racially minoritized faculty are more effective at
teaching racial diversity courses and serving as the departmental voice of diversity. This
assertion relieves them from the responsibility of learning about such matters and allows them to
remain unaffected. The disassociation by White faculty prevents overcommitment while
marginalizing faculty of color who believe this minimizes their academic expertise and
participation in departmental discourse (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). Additionally, graduate
students in general and racially minoritized graduate students specifically often fill gaps in the
teaching of diversity courses and mentoring in postsecondary institutions, allowing White faculty
the opportunity to focus on their research interests (Porter et al., 2018). Porter et al. (2018)
referred to what may also be considered cultural taxation as the diversity labor and emotional
labor attributed to people of color in the academy.
The Student Educator
The culturally taxed educator is the person of color routinely called on to “educate
individuals in the majority group about diversity” (Padilla, 1994, p. 26). This form of taxation
occurs in and outside the classroom without considering actual experiential context or comfort.
This form of cultural tax highlights how students of color in an academic setting can perceive
their presence as something other than pursuing their education. Instead, campus diversity is for
the interests of the majority group.
40

This form of taxation and the emotional burden it imposes can also be found in Curtis-
Boles’ and Bourg’s (2010) qualitative study of 17 graduate students enrolled in a diversity
course. They discovered that racially minoritized students revisited painful memories of racism
and displayed stirring reactions. These same students were also affected by the lack of shared
experiences and racial awareness of their White counterparts in class (Curtis-Boles & Bourg,
2010). The students reported feelings of anger, pain, and sadness. One student noted, “In class, I
often feel conflicted to remain silent or confront White students and potentially reinforce a
stereotype” (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010, p. 208).
While there is no evidence in the literature indicating that experiences that can be
considered cultural taxation affect student academic performance, student stress impedes
achievement (Reynolds et al., 2010). A study examined the participation of racially minoritized
students in a graduate multicultural counseling course and found that the students often felt
pressure to closely monitor class participation to ensure that they did not perpetuate stereotypes
or that their perspectives were not perceived as representative of an entire racial group (Seward
& Guiffrida, 2012). Similarly, another study examined the experiences of racially minoritized
students in a graduate diversity course and found that participation often elicited painful
recollections of racism for the students (Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010).
The Student Committee Member
According to Padilla (1994), another form of cultural taxation is being tasked to “serve
on a committee or task force that culminates in rehashing the same recommendations we have
seen in the past with little real structural change ever taking place” (p. 26). Racially minoritized
graduate students may also experience this when encouraged to participate on committees by
advisors. While Padilla (1994) identified this culture tax as another service burden, the graduate
41

student experience may differ. A racially minoritized graduate student assigned to a diversity-
focused committee or task force is more likely to serve a specific function on behalf of the
institution. However, like racially minoritized faculty, graduate students may feel pressure to
participate and experience the same overburden and unequal expectations (Joseph & Hirshfield,
2011). For example, a study examining the change strategies employed by Black student activists
at a PWI found that the extent of diversity efforts was in the student-led efforts (Jones &
Reddick, 2017).
In this study, the disparities in the support for Black and White student programming
were apparent. A study participant detailed how the university financially supported an annual
event for White students while a similar event for Black students required student-led
fundraising (Jones & Reddick, 2017). The study participants reported that they were responsible
for planning, financing, and executing any “programming that enhanced the climate and
experience for Black students” (Jones & Reddick, 2017). This was exacerbated when the
university administration limited social justice programs based on their potential to cause
“discomfort for White students” (Jones & Reddick, 2017).
The experiences of the racially minoritized students in the Jones and Reddick (2017)
study are similar to those of the racially minoritized student teachers in the study conducted by
Rodriquez-Mojica et al. (2020). In that study, four student teachers of color were asked to
minimize or remove any social justice pedagogy over the concern that it would cause discomfort
for White students (Rodriguez-Mojica et al., 2020). Porter et al. (2018) found that racially
minoritized graduate students are “simultaneously positioned as representatives of progress and
uncompensated consultants in ongoing equity and diversity efforts” (p. 127). This is
42

compounded for racially minoritized women who assume more of the graduate teaching and
service responsibilities (Moore et al., 2010; Porter et al., 2018).
Institutions of higher education are considered gendered institutions, whereas teaching
and service duties are perceived as feminine activities, and leading the institutions and research
are deemed masculine (Social Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group, 2017). The
value of these activities is weighted differently with deference to the masculine activities that
also track toward tenure and other career opportunities (Social Sciences Feminist Network
Research Interest Group, 2017). For graduate students who identify as a person of color and a
woman, there is an additional challenge to overcome. The intersection of gender and race is an
essential consideration for racially minoritized women graduate students when deciding how best
to navigate the academic space.
Intersectionality is an analytic tool used to reveal the “confluence of multiple systems of
domination that intersect” with Whiteness (J. C. Harris, 2019, p. 154). It is not limited to race or
gender. Instead, since its inception in 1989, it has expanded to include all the layered factors of
identity to analyze how those factors align or conflict with power (Carbado et al., 2013; Cho et
al., 2013; Crenshaw, 1989).
The Student Liaison
Padilla (1994) identified the community liaison as the racially minoritized individual
called upon to serve as the mediator between the institution and diverse community, even if the
policies of the institution and the liaison differ. Padilla (1994) also referred to the feelings of
obligation that racially minoritized individuals have for their community. Cultural obligation can
influence decision-making. For example, racially minoritized graduate students consider how
much and in what manner to participate in class out of a sense of responsibility to their
43

community to protect and represent in a positive non-stereotypical way (Seward & Guiffrida,
2012). Similarly, graduate students of color may remain silent in classroom discourse to avoid
the added pressure of contradicting what another student of color expresses or give the
impression that they agree to simply align with their perspectives (Seward & Guiffrida, 2012).
A significant body of literature explores racism endured by racially minoritized faculty in
academia from colleagues and students (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011). The service burdens placed
on racially minoritized faculty and the racialized experiences of graduate students of color are
well documented (Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Porter et al., 2018).
A qualitative study with STEM doctoral students of color explored engagement in
diversity work in the forms of peer mentoring and participation in recruitment efforts and found
that the racially minoritized doctoral students felt “emotionally and psychologically” burdened
by the responsibility and additional duties (Porter et al., 2018). Further, the study found that
racially minoritized graduate students were not compensated despite serving as consultants and
department representatives (Porter et al., 2018).
The Student Problem-Solver
Padilla (1994) identified the following form of cultural taxation as the problem-solver.
This individual is called on in times of crisis to troubleshoot problems and negotiate conflicts
among the institution’s constituencies. Although it is conceivable to consider racially minoritized
faculty in such a role, it may differ for racially minoritized graduate students. The part of a
problem-solver may still divert attention away from academic work for the graduate student.
However, the severity of the problems may not pose as dire consequences as they would among
the institution’s constituencies.
44

Presumably, a graduate student may be in a situation where they have to solve a problem
at the behest of the institution or for the benefit of other students. For example, a student recently
shared an experience where a professor conveyed an opinion without evidence. To protect the
student’s identity, I summarize the situation as the student having to make the correction for fear
that other students would assume the view as fact because a professor expressed it. The type of
problem-solving in this example is very different from what may be experienced by racially
minoritized faculty. However, both examples demonstrate how the burden of solving an external
problem became the responsibility of people of color.
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework for this study is the six thematic forms of cultural taxation
experienced by racially minoritized faculty (Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020; Hirshfield & Joseph,
2012; Joseph & Hirshfield, 2011; Torepe & Manning, 2018; Wijesingha & Ramos, 2017). As
defined by Padilla (1994), the six forms were applied for this investigation into the experiences
of racially minoritized graduate students to explore the existence of students as the expert, the
educator, the committee member, the community liaison, the problem-solver, and the
ambassador.
The study collected and examined the narratives of racially minoritized graduate students.
Using critical race theory as the theoretical framework, the independent transcripts were
analyzed to learn about the experiences of the study participants and determine if any of those
experiences were indicative of cultural taxation.
As outlined in Figure 1, the narratives were examined through the lens of critical race
theory of education. By using this theoretical framework, analyses exclusively used the
perspectives of the study participants as they shared their lived experiences as racially
45

minoritized individuals, in this instance, graduate students, to challenge traditional paradigms
(Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).

Figure 1
Phenomenological Conceptual Framework

Permanence
of Racism
Whiteness
as Property
Challenge
Dominant
Ideology
Centrality of
Experiential
Knowledge
Interest
Convergence
Legacy of Systemic Racism in Postsecondary Education
CRT: Tenets of Education ( Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate,
1995; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002)
Cultural Taxation:
Attributable Phenomenon in the Graduate Student Experience
Thematic Forms of Cultural Taxation (Padilla, 1994)
(expert, educator, committee member, liaison, problem-solver, ambassador)
46

Conclusion
As Padilla (1994) asserted over 25 years ago, research needs to be conducted to measure
the effects of cultural taxation on racially minoritized students to support their academic pursuits.
This research is also prudent for institutions that genuinely want the retain racially minoritized
students. It is just as reasonable for learning institutions to recognize that sustainability and long-
term success depends on the advancement of knowledge garnered through diverse perspectives.

47

Chapter Three: Methodology
This qualitative phenomenological study inquired about the experiences of racially
minoritized graduate students to explore themes reflective of cultural taxation as defined by
Padilla (1994). By doing so, the study aimed to understand cultural taxation as an attributable
phenomenon. This chapter focuses on the parameters of the study methodology, including
research design, instrumentation, participant recruitment, data collection protocols, and analysis
methods. This chapter also includes a discussion on my positionality, methods to promote
validity and reliability, ethical considerations, and limitations and delimitations.
Research Questions
Two research questions guided the study protocol:
1. What are the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students?
2. What do these experiences mean in the context of cultural taxation as a phenomenon?
Overview of Design
The descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach was designed to allow
respondents to describe lived experiences that help understand their perspectives and the
collective essence of the examined phenomenon. (Alase, 2017; Creswell & Creswell, 2018;
Giorgi, 1997; Groenewald, 2004; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To achieve a coherent, synchronic
report, as Weiss (1994) described, data were collected through in-depth, one-on-one semi-
structured interviews. I worked to develop trusting relationships with the study participants and
guide the standardized open-ended interview (Johnson & Christensen, 2014; Weiss, 1994). The
primary interview topics consisted of inquiry into racialized experiences that may occur in the
academic setting and experiences indicative of the conceptual forms of cultural taxation. The
interview questions were standardized so that the engagement with the interviewees was as
48

consistent as possible. The manner and tone of the meeting guided the inquiry and supplied
consistency throughout all interviews while allowing the participant to lead their narrative freely.
The interview guide consisted of nine primary open-ended questions with probing sub-questions
to establish the setting. The interviews lasted approximately 60 minutes. The literature informed
the interview questions on racialized experiences and cultural taxation of racially minoritized
faculty and other marginalized groups (Padilla, 1994; Porter et al., 2018; Slay et al., 2019; Social
Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group, 2017).
As a phenomenological study, the interview questions probed participants’ experiences to
determine how and if they related to the concepts of the racially minoritized student as expert,
educator, committee member, community liaison, problem-solver, and ambassador. I considered
that the forms named by Padilla (1994) for attribution might not be relevant to students in the
same way faculty experienced. However, the questions still revealed valuable information about
the graduate student experience. Figure 2 encapsulates the six forms of cultural taxation (Padilla,
1994).

49

Figure 2
Forms of Cultural Taxation Defined

Research Setting
Among the characteristics of qualitative research is using the natural field environment
for data collection (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This setting choice allows the researcher to
make behavioral observations in the context of the information provided by the participant
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Preferably, the research setting would have been in person in an
environment conducive to the study participants’ lived experiences. However, for this study,
special consideration was given to ensuring personal comfort and safety since, during the period
of data collection, the world continued to endure a pandemic. Given the variations in safety
protocols, the circumstances made face-to-face interactions in natural settings more challenging
to achieve consistently. As a result, I conducted the interviews online via Zoom, a university-
approved meeting platform. A unique, one-time access code allowed each participant entry into
the meeting platform. The study participant was interviewed in the setting of their choice, and
travel was not required. This arrangement also limited the time necessary for study participation.
• Assumed expertise
on all diversity
matters
• May not be
comfortable or
knowledgeable
Expert
• Assumed
responsibility to
educate White
counterparts about
diversity
• Often called upon
to speak for an
entire racial group
Educator
• Tasked to serve
on DEI
committees
without context or
support strategy
for real change
Committee
Member
• Assumed service
as a liaison
between
institution and
diverse
communities
• Responsible for
institutional
messaging and
corrective actions
Community
Liaison
• Work
interruption to
respond to
incidences of
unrest
• Tasked to serve
as negotiator
and
troubleshooter
on behalf of the
institution
Problem-Solver Ambassador
• Called upon to
serve as
ambassador
and marketing
agent on behalf
of the institution
• Serve as an
interpreter and
translator for
dignitaries and
visitors
50

The study participants were not recruited from any one specific academic environment.
This choice was intentional. In this study, it was not the intention to examine or critique
representative institutions of higher education. There is a considerable amount of literature about
disparities within academe and a litany of comparative studies that measure phenomena and
outcomes between people of color and the White majority in the predominately White academy.
As this phenomenological study collected the narratives of racially minoritized graduate
students, it asserts that the entire postsecondary education system is in disrepair and in need of
transformation given its foundational racist historical underpinnings (Beckert et al., 2017;
Wilder, 2013; Wright & Tierney, 1991). Critical race methodology challenges normative study
in this manner by questioning who determines the natural field, if not majoritarian perspectives
(Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Further, the importance and value of the interviewees’ institution’s
geographic location and demographic details was up to the individual study participant to decide
when sharing information about their lived experiences. No specific institutions of higher
education were identified in the work. Rather, regional locations were used to demonstrate a
cross-section of academic institutions.
The Researcher
During the second semester of this doctoral program, I was in yet another diversity
course. As a woman of color of a certain age with a background in the military, social work, and
education, I believe I have experienced more than my share of diversity courses and training. My
dislike for these experiences has nothing to do with the course instructors or training facilitators.
I do not believe that the experience will not offer me anything new to learn. Rather, with every
new self-introduction, icebreaker, name tag, and tote bag, I always have an overwhelming
feeling that the entire experience is not intended for me, in my interests, or for my personal and
51

professional development. The learning space, content, and experience are intended for my
White counterparts. Frankly, this notion makes me feel resentful and affirms what Bell (1980)
asserted as interest convergence; the pursuit of racial justice occurs when it is in the interest of
the White majority.
Simply, I do not believe I need a course about access, inclusion, diversity, and equity.
Every time I walk out of my home, I am exposed and reminded of the legacy of racism. I am the
daughter of parents who could not swim in the public swimming pool until the day before the
water was changed and had to sit in a segregated section of the movie theatre. I am the niece of
uncles who were not allowed to be Boy Scouts and can still recall childhood friends beaten in
school by teachers for speaking Spanish. Lessons on race have been frequent and have often
included opportunities for application, like the time I was held by airport police for refusing to
show my papers the day after receiving a master’s degree while wearing a U.S. Army veteran t-
shirt or the first time my brother and, later my son, was pulled over by police for questionable
reasons.
In my view, the courses and training are always the same. White people remain relatively
quiet for fear of saying something wrong, or some silently wonder why the course is even
necessary since they grew up poor and never owned slaves. In the meantime, people of color
reveal their experiences, their pain, and sometimes, their anger. For some, it is healing and
cathartic. For others, the entire experience is exhaustive and regurgitative.
During the same semester, I was beginning to think about a dissertation topic. I identified
a topic of interest and a problem of practice. As I started to read articles about the subject, I came
across Padilla’s (1994) article. It was not a study, and it was not extensive. Yet, it provided me
with a name for some of my experiences and feelings as a woman, a veteran, a professional, and
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a student. Cultural taxation was a lived experience during each of those points of intersection. I
committed to this study topic because I was curious to know if others feel the same weight. I
wanted to hear their stories and understand their experiences. Secretly, I wanted my assumptions
to be wrong. I also spent an extensive amount of time considering my reflexivity. I wanted to be
clear that my own experiences and perspectives would not impede conducting sound research on
what I believed was an important topic. As a result of that reflection, I was aware that I needed to
find a phenomenological approach that was descriptive rather than interpretive (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018; Giorgi, 1997; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Phenomenology research design acknowledges that it is difficult for the researcher to
detach from conjecture entirely (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Groenewald, 2004). Therefore, it is
helpful that this methodology relies on participant narrative in its complete form. A full narrative
also aligns with critical race methodology (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). According to Groenewald
(2004), the use of narratives assists in restricting biases. I was deliberate in my selection of
Giorgi’s (1997) descriptive phenomenological method. This method for qualitative research has
three steps: the phenomenological reduction, description, and search for essences (Giorgi, 1997).
Phenomenological reduction is also known as epoche or bracketing and guides the precision of
the findings (Baksh, 2018; Gill, 2020; Giorgi, 1997; Groenewald, 2004; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Creswell and Creswell (2018) viewed this process as an opportunity to take a fresh look at
a situation. Given my perspective, I thought it was important to devote time to the
phenomenological reduction process. Additionally, this method of analysis focuses on
description and not interpretation. Social workers are trained to make interpretations and read
between the lines. As a novice researcher, I thought it might be best to focus on exactly what the
participants described by “remaining true to the facts” without inference (Groenewald, 2004, p.
53

44). As the researcher, I understood that I had a responsibility to manage my assumptions and
biases. Recognizing that I have opinions about cultural taxation, I kept a reflection journal that
assessed and considered assumptions and biases during the study.
Although I have biases that I brought to the study, I believe I also have traits that were
helpful during this endeavor. According to Johnson and Christensen (2014), establishing rapport
quickly at the onset of the interview is essential in developing trust, and trust is critical in
collecting unbiased data. I believe my positionality as a woman of color and the study participant
recruitment method helped establish and maintain trust. As a former soldier, emergency crisis
manager, and elementary school teacher, I believed I could set a tone during the interviews that
felt safe and assuring. While serving active duty in the military, I was a behavioral science
specialist trained to make social and behavioral observations. Although the interviews were
conducted online, my observations were noted. I have been employed as a research unit director
at an institution of higher education for 14 years. However, I did not use my organizational
position to recruit graduate students employed by my organization for this study.
Data Sources
Data sources were one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Data came from the transcripts
of the study participants’ narratives regarding their experiences as racially minoritized graduate
students. During the interviews, I made behavioral observations and noted nuanced behaviors.
Field notes were another “important data source” used in this qualitative study (Groenewald,
2004, p. 48). Observational notes, reflections, and other pertinent notes were kept as analytical
memos (Saldaña, 2013). Table 2 outlines the data sources for this study.

54

Table 2
Data Sources

Research question
Method 1:
Semi-structured
interviews
Method 2:
Field notes
What are the experiences of
racially minoritized graduate
students?
X X
What do these experiences mean
in the context of cultural
taxation as a phenomenon?
X X

Semi-Structured Interviews
The primary data sources were semi-structured interviews. The interviews consisted of
nine questions with probes. The questions were divided into topic subsets focused on the
following areas: background, experiences, and feelings about those experiences. I also asked
probing questions for additional information or clarity (Johnson & Christensen, 2014).
Field Notes
Field notes or memos are data sources gathered from the researcher and can include
observations, reflections, theoretical notes, methodological notes, and descriptive notes
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Groenewald, 2004; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Saldaña, 2013).
Participants
In a descriptive phenomenological study, it is essential to consider study participants who
are likely to have had experiences relevant to the studied phenomenon (Giorgi, 1997;
Groenewald, 2004). Giorgi’s (1997) approach requires a small number of participants, “at least
three,” to allow a “thorough assessment of the data, where the ‘data’ is the description of a
55

situation by an experiencer” (Gill, 2020, p. 125). The motivation for this study was Padilla’s
(1994) outlining of six forms of cultural taxation experienced by racially minoritized faculty.
Padilla encouraged further research to determine if college students also experienced cultural
taxation.
Fourteen individuals met the study criteria and expressed interest in participating in the
study. Two individuals did not proceed with participation by not signing the consent form.
Another individual signed the consent form but did not show up for the scheduled interview.
Then, another individual who had agreed to participate was unable to attend the interview due to
the unexpected loss of a family member. As a result, this qualitative phenomenological study
explored the experiences of a small, purposefully selected sample of 10 participants, aged 24 to
54, enrolled in advanced postsecondary education (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
The purposeful sampling method helps obtain narrative data to address the research
questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). It is designed to make meaning of the phenomenon of
cultural taxation to determine its existence (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). The non-probability approach for recruitment was purposeful and conducted
electronically via email. I conducted recruitment via professional networks and did not limit it to
a particular institution. These efforts were intentional. The focus of the study was on the
narratives offered by the study participants. It was not intended to examine the existing systems,
programs, and supports in place or not in particular institutions of higher education.
A professional network connected me with racially minoritized graduate students. I then
provided general information about the study and screened for participation. If a student met the
criteria for participation, I emailed the key information sheet offered in Appendix A. I also
forwarded an electronic informed consent form presented in Appendix B. For this study,
56

electronic signatures were acceptable. If the graduate student agreed to participate in the project,
they electronically signed and returned the form to me via email. I then scheduled a time most
convenient for the study participant to complete the interview. To establish trust and protect each
participant’s identity, they either self-selected a pseudonym, or I assigned them one (Johnson &
Christensen, 2014).
It was also the intention that this recruitment strategy would promote a cross-section of
racially minoritized study participants and offer expanded perspectives from across the country.
Validity and transferability were availed through this strategy of purposeful sampling
(Groenewald, 2004). The criteria for participation in the study included self-identification as a
person of color or a racially minoritized individual. The interviewees were enrolled in graduate
study in a public or private, not-for-profit institution within the United States. They had
completed at least one prior semester of graduate study at the time of participation. Although the
study is phenomenological and focused on the participants’ everyday shared experiences, critical
race methodology was an additional approach used. Critical race methodology considers the
influence of race and racism throughout the research process (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
I did not intend to focus on one racial, cultural, or ethnic group but on the experiences of
graduate students who self-identify as people of color or racially minoritized individuals. I
decided to avoid limitations that can occur by only considering the Black/White binary. It is the
assumption that if cultural taxation is a phenomenon that affects racially minoritized graduate
students, the experiences are not limited within the Black/White binary framework. When race
and racism are only examined within this framework, the experiences of non-Black people of
color cannot be thoroughly analyzed (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017). This study proposed to
57

investigate cultural taxation as a phenomenon that, if it exists, affects non-White college graduate
students.
Instrumentation
In a qualitative study, the interview questions “should encapsulate the essence of what the
research study is trying to uncover” (Alase, 2017, p. 13). The study aimed to inquire about the
lived experiences of racially minoritized graduate students to determine if there is evidence that
cultural taxation is an attributable phenomenon. This study also relied on a limited number of
questions and supporting probes (Alase, 2017; Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The interview
questions were designed specifically for this study. A set of nine open-ended questions and
corresponding probes were developed and covered topic subsets that focused on the participant’s
academic background, experiences in their graduate program, experiences as a graduate student,
and feelings about those experiences. The number of questions was limited to create space where
the study participants could speak freely, offering their own narratives about their experiences
(Alase, 2017; Giorgi, 1997). The interview protocol found in Appendix C includes a
standardized script and the interview guide that includes the nine primary questions and
accompanying probes. Table 3 reflects the interview questions and the approach for data
collection.

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Table 3
Data Collection Approach
Research question Overall approach Participants
Data collection
methods
What are the
experiences of
racially minoritized
graduate students?

Qualitative
phenomenological
research design guided
by critical race
methodology (Ladson-
Billings, 1998; Ladson-
Billings & Tate, 1995;
Solórzano & Yosso,
2002)

Data analysis used a
descriptive
phenomenological
approach, specifically
Giorgi’s descriptive
phenomenological
method utilizing
thematic coding
(Giorgi, 1997).

Students enrolled in a
graduate program
who self-identify as
Black, Indigenous,
or other people of
color, including
those who identify
as multiracial

Semi-structured
interviews used an
interview guide.

Memos included
descriptive notes,
observations, and
reflections.
What do these
experiences mean in
the context of
cultural taxation as a
phenomenon?

Qualitative
phenomenological
research design guided
by critical race
methodology (Ladson-
Billings, 1998; Ladson-
Billings & Tate, 1995;
Solórzano & Yosso,
2002)

Data analysis used a
descriptive
phenomenological
approach, specifically,
Giorgi’s (1997)
descriptive
phenomenological
method utilizing
thematic coding.
Students enrolled in a
graduate program
who self-identify as
Black, Indigenous,
or other people of
color, including
those who identify
as multiracial

Semi-structured
interviews using
an interview guide

Memos included
descriptive notes,
observations, and
reflections.
59

Data Collection Procedures
The interviews were conducted online via Zoom, a university-licensed and approved
secure meeting platform. Prior to the interview, I emailed the study participant to confirm the
date and time of the interview. Each email exchange followed the same standardized format for
consistency. The email communication process is in Appendix D. On the day prior to the
meeting, I emailed the participant a link to the online meeting platform along with a one-time
access code to allow entry into the meeting platform. By using an online platform, the
participants had the comfort of their preferred setting and did not need to make travel
considerations. The use of an online platform also limited the time necessary for participation.
Each interview lasted no more than 60 minutes.
Although the study was determined to be exempt by the university institutional review
board, I asked each participant to sign an informed consent form prior to the interview as an
ethical decision (Groenewald, 2004). The participant also agreed to verbal informed consent at
the onset of the interview (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The consent included agreeing to have
the interview recorded and transcribed using the transcription capacity of the meeting platform
and an additional online transcription tool. The consent also included an acknowledgement that I
would take notes during the interview. There was not any identifying information on the notes or
transcriptions connecting the participants to them.
The interviews were recorded via the online meeting platform with the study participants’
permission. Two sets of audio transcripts were generated from each interview. The first was the
transcript created on Zoom, the online meeting platform. The second was generated via Otter.ai,
an online transcription tool that integrates with Zoom. Otter.ai was also used to generate a real-
60

time transcript as a backup and to ensure what was actually said during the interviews was
captured correctly and verbatim.
I redacted all identifying information from the transcripts prior to analysis. I stored all
data locally on a password-protected fixed desktop computer in a secure office. Nothing in the
dataset connected a study participant to the data.
Data Analysis
Groenewald (2004) asserted that the term “analysis” is not right for use in
phenomenological study given its meaning of deconstructing into parts. He asserted that
“explication of the data” is a term that more appropriately conveys an investigation of a potential
phenomenon as a whole (Groenewald, 2004, p. 49). The term was still used during this study
with the recognition that the nature of a phenomenological probe requires the researcher to
examine the data holistically (Giorgi, 1997; Groenewald, 2004). The phenomenological study
examines the meanings behind phenomena experienced by more than one person to identify
everyday experiences (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Data analysis in this study was guided by
critical race methodology, meaning that each phase of the inquiry considered the implications of
racism on the potential phenomenological inquiry (Giorgi, 1997; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
Critical race theory of education was also the theoretical framework for the inquiry.
There are at least five phenomenological methods (Gill, 2020; Groenewald, 2004).
During this study, I used Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method (Gill, 2020). The Giorgi
method is considered “one of the most thoroughly developed and highly cited type of
phenomenology” (Gill, 2020, p. 79). The Giorgi (1997) method consists of three main processes:
phenomenological deduction, description, and searching for essences that can be achieved by the
explicit reading of the narratives for a holistic view, the continued reading and organizing of the
61

data into descriptive units for meaning, searching for essence by grouping the units into
emerging themes, and synthesizing for the structuring of the phenomenon (Gill, 2020; Giorgi,
1997; Groenewald, 2004).
Data analysis was conducted in three phases. The first phase was devoted to organizing
the data and preparing for the analysis process. I began this phase by reading both sets of
transcripts for comprehension. Then, they were read through again for comparison and correction
of transcript errors. Corrections were identified by reading through the transcripts while listening
to the corresponding audio versions of the interviews. This process was followed by the removal
of any potentially identifying information. No other information beyond identifying information
was removed from the transcripts. The most usable and accurate transcript was uploaded to
Quirkos, a localized password-protected CAQDAS software designed specifically for qualitative
analysis with small data sets. The transcripts were read through again once they had been
uploaded into Quirkos to confirm comprehension and do a final check for areas that were unclear
or included information that might reveal the identity of the participants.
During the second phase of analysis, I conducted the first round of coding using a priori
codes based on the framework of critical race theory of education. A priori coding consists of the
identification of predetermined codes that align with the theoretical framework (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018; Gibbs, 2007; Saldaña, 2013). The a priori codes for the first round were the
permanence of racism, Whiteness as property, challenging the dominant ideology, the centrality
of experiential knowledge, and interest convergence. I coded elements from the transcripts that
reflected those concepts accordingly. Then, I conducted a second round of coding using
descriptive codes collected from the transcripts. Giorgi (1997) asserted that, in descriptive
phenomenological qualitative research, the descriptions should be as detailed as possible and
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refrain from abstractions and generalizations. To that end, the third round of coding focused on
in vivo codes using direct quotes from the participants’ narratives (Giorgi, 1997; Saldaña, 2013).
The final round of coding again used a priori codes. However, this time, a priori codes were the
concepts of cultural taxation as defined by Padilla (1994). The a priori codes for the last round of
coding were expert, educator, committee member, liaison, problem-solver, and ambassador.
The third phase focused on categorizing the code structures into groups and then
emerging themes (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Groenewald, 2004; Saldaña, 2013). The themes of
the lived experiences were isolated and clustered using a method of horizontalization, an equally
weighted analysis of their essences to make meaning of each major theme (Creswell & Creswell,
2018; Groenewald, 2004; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The meaning-making of the themed
experiences was the other aim of the study.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Given the difficulty of replication, the nature of qualitative research may add limitations
as they relate to validity and reliability (Simon, 2013). However, I made every effort during this
study to establish qualitative validity and promote credibility and confirmability. I employed
multiple procedural accuracy checks. I audiotaped all interviews and transcribed them verbatim.
Primary data sources were semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Secondary data sources were
memos taken during participant observation, researcher journal notes, and an ongoing review of
the literature (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
To provide qualitative reliability and promote dependability and trustworthiness, I
documented the processes and rationale for each step in the research process. My role and
reflexivity were considered and reported to acknowledge how they may have influenced the data
interpretation (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Groenewald, 2004). I utilized triangulation methods
63

rather than relying solely on the data sources (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The data were
triangulated to ensure convergent themes and adequate justification. The first strategy for
triangulation was to use respondent validation, also known as member checks. Available study
participants reviewed the initial findings to ensure that nothing was misinterpreted and that the
analysis represented their perspectives (Ballard & Cintrón, 2010; Creswell & Creswell, 2018;
Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The next triangulation strategy was to use rich, detailed descriptions
in the findings for realism (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Ethical Considerations
To ensure ethical research, I completed the human subjects research training required by
the institutional review board (IRB). I submitted a complete IRB proposal for approval (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018). To protect the participants’ privacy, only I had access to identifying
information. I secured a backup copy of the data transcripts separately on a password-protected
CAQDAS locally stored software system. However, nothing on either copy of the dataset
connected a study participant to the data. No one but the study participant and I knew the
selected pseudonym. All data, including notes and transcripts, were destroyed at the end of the
study. The data were used only in this study.
Informed Consent
To participate in the study, participants signed electronic informed consent forms. I gave
the interviewees received an information sheet about the research and a copy of their signed
consent forms. I reiterated information about the study, its purpose, the use of the results, and
how confidentiality was maintained at the onset of the online meeting. I told the participants
before and during the interview that participation was voluntary and that they could stop
participation at any time. All human subjects were adult participants. I emailed each of them a
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$20 Visa gift card for agreeing to an interview. Study participants were not employees of the
same organization as me to avoid perceived coercion.
Underlying Ethics
I was a military behavioral science specialist for 5 years and a licensed social worker for
12 years. As such, I was required to adhere to a formal code of ethics and continue to adhere to
them (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). This study informed inclusion, diversity,
equity, and access pedagogy in postsecondary education settings. This research serves the
interests of students and the academy to advance knowledge garnered through diverse
perspectives. Racially minoritized graduate students may directly benefit from evidentiary
research that focuses on their collective experiences in postsecondary institutions. The study’s
findings are significant since the literature is currently limited. The risk of harm to human
subjects was minimal since the study was physically non-invasive. However, minimal
psychological risk was considered as study participants recounted traumatizing experiences. I
provided participants with debriefing information following the interview and encouraged them
to follow up with any questions or concerns after the interview. The dissemination plan for the
final study report included a copy for each of the interviewees.
Limitations and Delimitations
There may always be limitations and delimitations that occur during research (Simon,
2013). The limitations are the factors considered beyond the control of the researcher. For
example, the global health crisis during data collection impacted observations due to my inability
to conduct the interviews in person. According to Simon (2013), phenomenological studies can
be limited by the lack of control of natural settings.
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This study was also conducted within an abbreviated time frame. The initial plan was to
conduct the interviews during the fall academic semester. However, delays with a backlog at the
IRB were not within the scope of my control. Upon IRB approval at the onset of the winter
break, I decided to postpone data collection until the spring semester, given the availability of
graduate students.
While the methodology allowed for a small sample, I would have liked to have had the
time and opportunity to modify the recruitment strategy to expand participant group’s ethnic and
racial diversity. Similarly, I would have preferred to balance the representation of gender.
Research shows that intersectionality, particularly at the point where race and gender intersect,
affects students’ experiences in higher education (Cho et al., 2013; Crenshaw, 1989; Social
Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group, 2017).
Delimitations of the study are the implications that result from the researcher’s decisions
(Simon, 2013). In addition to the postponement of data collection, known delimitations that
affected this study included the small number of participants. Although the size was appropriate
for a phenomenological qualitative study using the Giorgi (1997) method, the findings cannot be
generalized. The study was also affected by the participants’ programs of study. During testing
of the instrument, practice respondents in education and social sciences seemed to have in-class
discussions about race. However, in other programs of study, in-class discussions about race
were less frequent or did not occur. Additionally, I underestimated the time required for study
participant recruitment, resulting in a shorter period for data collection prior to the end of the
spring semester.
The review of the literature was also not without challenges. First, any investigation into
“phenomena that is constrained by definition” may not be specifically reflected in the literature
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(Ballard & Cintrón, 2010, p. 11). The forms of cultural taxation as attributed to racially
minoritized faculty have been defined. That does not mean that the phenomena exist for students
in the same way. Nothing in the literature also identified cultural taxation as a student
experience. This absence means that, as Ballard and Cintrón noted (2010), “the necessary review
of literature must be cobbled together from various sources” (p. 11). However, there is a wealth
of literature about racism and its effects on racially minoritized students in postsecondary
education. Therefore, this literature review primarily focused on work that explored the
racialized experiences of BIPOC students in postsecondary education.

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Chapter Four: Findings
Guided by the tenets of critical race theory in education, the purpose of this study was to
examine the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students to look for evidence that the
concepts of cultural taxation, as defined by Padilla (1994), are attributable to students. I selected
graduate students for this study under the assumption that their experiences in and outside of the
classroom might reflect similarly to those of racialized faculty. Two research questions guided
the study protocol:
1. What are the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students?
2. What do these experiences mean in the context of cultural taxation as a phenomenon?
The literature review conducted for this study did not reveal any published work
inquiring into the phenomenon of cultural taxation attributable to the experiences of racially
minoritized university students. Therefore, the literature collected and synthesized in Chapter
Two was related to the experiences of racially minoritized students in higher education. The
literature included concepts and phenomena that have been well studied. For example, the review
included literature on other kinds of racialized experiences that have a negative impact on people
of color, specifically those of college age. It included literature on microaggressions, racial battle
fatigue, and the tenets of critical race theory of education. Additionally, literature related to
resiliency theory was also included since the findings indicated racism is managed by the
principles of the theory. All scholarly sources were thoroughly reviewed for any potential
alignment to the concepts of cultural taxation as defined by Padilla (1994) and discussed
accordingly. The literature review informed the study. Appendix E outlines the research design
matrix.
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Without making any assumptions, Research Question 1 was designed to simply learn
more about the study participants’ experiences, as they come from varied backgrounds,
geographical settings, and institutions. Given the question’s generality, to add focus to the probe,
the primary concepts of critical race theory of education guided the inquiry and were a key
component of the analysis process. Research Question 2 was designed to make meaning of the
experiences, specifically to find out if any of the lived experiences aligned with any of Padilla’s
(1994) original concepts of cultural taxation, defined as the expert, the educator, the committee
member, the community liaison, the problem-solver, and the ambassador. The findings of this
phenomenological study revealed the following four themes:
1. The participants’ experiences include manifestations of racism that are persistent and
often normalized.
2. As the interviewees experience racism, they also show resiliency to navigate and
manage those experiences.
3. There is an indication that the participants experience concepts reflective of Padilla’s
(1994) definitions as the expert, the educator, the ambassador, the committee
member, the liaison, and the problem-solver.
4. The findings support assertions that issues of legitimacy as a cultural taxation concept
are sound and should be further explored. Similarly, the findings indicate that
“activist” should also be further examined as a concept of cultural taxation.
Participants
The interviewees were graduate students who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, or other
people of color, including those who identify as multiracial. The participants range in age from
24 to 54. Six of them have a history of service in the military. The interviews occurred from
69

February through April 2022. Each graduate student took part in one online semi-structured
interview with me.
I asked the participants their choice of pronouns at the onset of the interview. References
to individual interviewees in this study used a pseudonym and their preferred pronouns. Some
participants selected their own pseudonyms. I used the pronouns “they,” “their,” and “them”
when referencing participants as a group or when making a general reference to any individual.
Prior to identifying the emerging themes from this study, this section will offer
introductions to the interviewees, some in their own words. The purpose for this is twofold. First,
people of color are often categorically homogenized, diluting their individuality. Therefore, it
was the intention to show that while the participants may have some things in common, like
military service, their experiences and perspectives are all quite different. Second, short
biographies about the participants supply an opportunity to know more about each of them
before gaining their perspectives in the findings sections. Table 3 provides some basic
demographic information about the participants.

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Table 4
Participants Interviewed for the Study (N = 10)
Participant
(pseudonym)
Self-identifier:
Gender
Age Self-identifier:
Race/ethnicity
Graduate
degree
pursuing
Program
region of
United States
Adam Male 25 African American
or Black
Masters South
Daniel Male 32 Latino or Latinx Masters West
Gia Female 39 African American
or Black
Masters North
Isaac Male 48 Biracial, non-
Hispanic
2nd masters South
Jena Female 24 African American
or Black
Masters South
Jones Male 51 Black EdD West
Kenneth Male 35 Biracial or Other 2nd masters South
Mary Female 28 Latina PhD Midwest
Miguel Male 54 Afro Latino PhD South
Xavier Male 45 Puerto Rican or
Hispanic
EdD West

Adam
Adam is a 25-year-old male who self-identifies as African American or Black. He is
currently a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at a historically
Black university in the Southern United States. Both of Adam’s parents hold advanced degrees.
He comes from a military family, so he has traveled and lived in more than one community.
Adam’s long-term goal is to attend law school after completing his 2-year master’s program. At
the time of the interview, Adam was in his second semester. Adam is also a social activist. He
shared that his activism has been chronicled in newspapers. He shared this fact not to boast but to
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express what he believes is a pivotal point in the history of racism on university campuses, and it
is important that the experiences are known. To protect his privacy, that documentation was not
part of this study.
Adam offered his perspective as a student who attended a PWI as an undergraduate and
compared that experience to his recent experiences as a graduate student at an historically Black
university. After completing an undergraduate program at a public university in the West, Adam
intentionally sought admission into a historically Black institution. When asked why, Adam
responded,
Because I spent my undergraduate years at [a] university. There, you know, it was
a very, very small African American population. And, so, from an identity
perspective, it was hard to feel welcomed. When you walk down the halls, and
when you just walk in, and see your peers, or even when you’re in class, you’re
one or two, you know, of everybody else in the class, who doesn’t look like you.
And, so, representation was, is a really big thing. And so, coming to an HBCU
gave me that. I feel like a lot of times when you go to a non-HBCU school, that
people think, oh, you got here because of this, you are here because of that. Um!
How about because of merit? And, so, I felt like it was less about me being a
Black student at a HBCU, I can be a student, versus being at my other university
where I felt like I was more of a Black student, not just a student.
Daniel
Daniel is currently earning a master’s degree in integrative design, business, and
technology at a private university in the West. He is 32 years old and self-identifies as Latino or
Latinx. Daniel is a first-generation college student. He expressed that while growing up, his
72

parents stressed the importance of formal education and encouraged him and his siblings to
further their primary education. When asked about his decision to seek an advanced degree,
Daniel said it was, in part, influenced by his parents. However, he also shared a personal story
about the profound loss of his partner to gun violence a few years before this study. He expressed
that they both planned to pursue academia as a career, and he still intends to honor that
commitment.
Daniel is bilingual and has dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. Daniel’s
mother was born in Mexico, and his father was born in the southwest United States. At this point
in his life, while he values his background, Daniel expressed that he is experiencing somewhat of
a metamorphosis regarding his identity after his acculturation growing up in the Southwest:
I’ve struggled with this, like, this mental fight of like, what is my core of my
identity? And it feels weird because I feel like I’m coming into my Latino heritage as I
get older. Because even when I grew up or was growing up, I didn’t go to a traditional
high school. I went to community college instead. My school was predominantly White
kids. And on top of that, I went to a special program, … And what they do is empower
kids from low SES statuses to attend college, and, like, they have a 100% success rate.
But it was interesting because even then, I struggled with it because that was my first
experience with everybody being Latino all the time. You know, because we’re all from
Latino backgrounds. But when I look at myself, like even friends are like, oh, yeah,
you’re not Latino, you’re more White than anything else. So, it’s like, this weird duality.
Gia
Gia is a graduate student studying theology at a northern private divinity college. She is a
39-year-old female who self-identifies as African American or Black. Gia is also a military
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veteran who is anticipating returning to active duty as a chaplain upon completing her master’s
degree program. Gia indicated that her mother always encouraged her and her sister to pursue the
military as a career. She added that she was not interested in this career path. However, when she
was in high school, she joined the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps and learned about military
chaplaincy. Since then, Gia has wanted to be a chaplain.
Gia was raised in a single-parent household where service and education were valued.
Gia shared that her mother is currently completing her PhD. I asked Gia where she draws her
support, and this is what she said,
Just because this is a dream. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they do not support me
because I’m a female. I even started my own church because I had men who told me
that they don’t believe, you know, women shouldn’t be, you know, in leadership in the
church. It’s 2022, and we have a woman vice president, and some still don’t
think a woman, you know, should be in leadership in the church and just, you know, I’ve
had a lot of people come against me, and because I have a strong calling and a sensitivity
to God. You know, it’s really God. It’s my faith. I mean, I know this is what he wants me
to do, so I just keep on going. It’s what I love to do. I know that there are [people] out
there that are hurting and don’t have people. I know that as an African American female.
You know I went to a chaplain, and I told him what I was going through, and he said, I’m
sorry, I can’t help you. He said, “I can’t help you, and you’re going to have to figure it
out on your own.” And to know that I can go help another officer, which is rare, or
another person of color, or anybody really, but to know that I could touch a person …
that can identify with me and to know that I can have that. I’ll be there for that person.
That motivates me to just keep going.
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Isaac
Isaac is a 48-year-old active-duty service member who, at the time of his interview, had
one remaining semester to complete a master’s degree in public administration at a small, public
university in the South. This will be Isaac’s second master’s degree. He earned a master’s degree
in international relations with a national security concentration just over a year before the time of
this study. After Isaac completes his current graduate program, he is scheduled to begin a PhD
program at another public university in the South this Fall. Isaac is also anticipating retirement
from the military in the near future. Isaac self-identifies as Biracial, non-Hispanic. Since Isaac
was a graduate student during 2020, I asked for his thoughts about that time:
I was a student in residence, which is an 11-month course for senior enlisted personnel.
… So, after George Floyd and everything happened, there were, you know, several
months, we were just talking as peers, we’re all on COVID lockdown, we can’t go back
into the academy for the last 3 months of the course. We’re just talking about everything
that’s going on before that, you know, COVID hits in January, and we can talk about
COVID, and everything is hashtag kill the virus, kill the virus, this, that, and the third.
You know, the situation with George Floyd happens on May 25th, and there’s not a
single peep out of anyone about it. From anyone you know, not any of the senior leaders
… at the time, not the Army, not anyone. And, so, I messaged the then-director of the
academy, and I asked him why we can talk about all these other things under the sun.
You know, a man that really got lynched in broad daylight, and the entire country is
talking about it. But we’re afraid to talk about it because we feel like somehow this, you
know, is breaking the boundaries of being a political organization. And I told him, you
know, whether you discuss this as an institution or not, the soldiers, we’re talking about
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it, I’m talking about it, and I guarantee you soldiers across, you know, service members
across the military are talking about it when they go home.
In response to the murder of Mr. George Floyd, Isaac produced materials for public
consumption. To protect his identity, the artifacts are not part of this project.
Jena
Jena is 24 years old. She identifies as African American or Black. At the time of the
interview, she was in her final semester of a master’s degree program in clinical mental health
counseling at a public university in the South. Jena attended the same university as an
undergraduate. She indicated that during the early part of her undergraduate program, she was
not sure if she wanted to stay at the university because “it was actually a big culture shock for
me, and I was actually having second thoughts of even staying at the university because I wasn’t
really running into a lot of people that looked like me.” Eventually, Jena became more
comfortable with the area, completed an undergraduate degree in sociology, and decided to
remain there for her 2-year graduate program. Jena indicated that she is also comfortable
speaking in class as she shared this recent experience:
I see the world from a different lens. We had one class where we were talking
about, like, career counseling, like, for a summer course. And how it was hard
moving jobs and all that, and people were excited. And I raised my hand. And I
said a fear of mine. You know, they’re looking for jobs and going here and
going there. And I was like, I don’t have that luxury. I said, when I look up
jobs in different cities, I have to go look up if that city is a sundown city, and I
was, like, if you don’t know what a sundown town is, you need to look it up. I
was like, I don’t have the same concerns. My concern is if I’m moving
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somewhere by myself, will it be safe for me to go out after a certain time at
night, you know, I probably won’t have any family in that state, … so I
probably will be alone. And I remember my professor in the next class, saying
like, you know, he and I know they value what I say because they probably
never heard it before. And they need that wake-up call, I guess, … and I was
like, you would not know because that’s not your experience. That’s not a
concern of yours. Maybe if you’re part of the LGBTQ community and openly
expressed that, you know, triggers, theoretically speaking, like someone that
presents masculine and wearing something that’s usually worn by female, you
know, you might be held to what a sundown town is. But if you’re not, you
don’t know what that is. Because it doesn’t apply to you.
Jones
Jones is a 51-year-old retired service member pursuing his doctorate at a private
university in the West. Jones also has two master’s degrees earned at two different universities in
the North. When asked how he self-identifies racially, Jones responded, “I am a Black man.”
Jones attributes his worldview, including his perspectives about race, to his military career and
extensive travel. Jones was enrolled in his doctorate program in 2020, so I asked his thoughts
about being a Black graduate student during that time:
I had a lot of personal friends reach out and say, hey, I appreciate you. You know, I
remember when blah blah blah blah, you know, your time in the military. I always felt
this, but I never said anything. Hey, can you, can you teach me, right? And for me, I was
always cordial with my friends. But I wasn’t in the business of teaching anybody. I will
have a conversation with you. But I, you know, I understood that in regards to what had
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happened with George Floyd and what was going to come next in regard to a lot of the
DEI movement, it is a pendulum like most things in this country. It swings, right? So, you
had this massive push. I’m going to create this DEI program and this job and we’re going
to do some great things. I’m going to show the world that this company is fully diverse
and we’re doing right by people of color, but after a year or so, the pendulum is now
going back the other way. You know, people are, like, what’s the? What are you talking
about? We’re just going to stop at the diversity we’re just going to stop at I’m just going
to make sure I have a Black person. Latino person, mature, an Asian person, and I’m
good to go. Right. I’m not even going to address the inclusion or the belonging or any of
that other stuff, but I’m diverse, you know, so give my company high marks for that.
That’s that pendulum.
Kenneth
Kenneth is 35 years old and a military veteran. At the time of the interview, he had just
completed a second master’s degree program at a public university in the South. He indicated
that he decided to obtain a second master’s degree because he is interested in learning more
about advanced data analytics, specifically machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other
innovations. During the early months of the global pandemic, Kenneth decided to further his
formal education because “there were a lot of layoffs and there was just a lot of uncertainty.”
Kenneth self-identifies as biracial or other. During the interview, Kenneth conveyed that
he “has experienced more racism from Black people than I have from White.” He shared what
some of his experiences have been as a Biracial person in his family:
Actually, so my mother’s side is racist. Never by any of those, that side of the family.
And so I’ve always been towards my father’s side, and I can fit in like in the 60s and 70s.
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Obviously, racial division was at its all-time high and based on the circumstances of how
they met and whatnot, and then all of a sudden you’re having this Black child, you know,
like it’s even more, you know, cause for more fuel on the fire. But, so, outside of that,
being biracial has caused more issues amongst Black people.
At that point, the discussion turned to the concept of colorism. Here are Kenneth’s thoughts on
why he thinks colorism occurs:
Because of the way that darker-skinned people have been depicted. I think that it’s kind
of been the perception built on dark is bad, light is good. And then you factor in like the
news, the media, celebrity, Instagram, all these different outlets that highlight have lighter
skin or mixed, it creates that kind of conflict, where it’s, you got to be light-skinned to be
attractive. How come dark skin isn’t attractive, and I, again, I probably put that in the
worrying too much about what other people are saying but I understand the meaning of
wanting to feel appreciated for you and highlighted for your, you know the way you look.
And then when we’re supposed to be the same race, you know, and one color is being
treated one way and the other a different way, it creates issues.
Mary
Mary is pursuing a PhD in an applied health sciences program at a public university.
Mary is 28 years old and self-identifies as Latina. She is a first-generation college student. When
asked about what sparked her interest in her program, Mary conveyed that she had completed an
undergraduate degree program closer to home. A friend told her about a graduate program at a
school in the Midwest, that if she were accepted, would pay her costs. Mary applied for the
master’s program and was accepted. She was then able to apply for the same program to pursue
her PhD Mary admitted that she was initially motivated by the potential of receiving a paid
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education. However, once she started her master’s program, she realized that she really did not
know about all the possibilities in her field. During her interview, Mary shared her perspective
about being a first-generation college student:
I’m a type of person that can adapt to really any environment. But even then, like, I’m
from California. I grew up in like, a predominantly Latino community. You don’t really
know what’s out there. It’s something new. … All my family members, they work and
worked in agriculture. So, really, I was not really aware when I came in, what can one do
with a bachelors? What can one do with a masters? What can one do with a PhD? ... I
don’t think people really told me, okay, well, if you have a PhD, these are the jobs that
you can get. … And, so, like I said, coming in from a background where none of my
family members had ever done a PhD, or even a bachelor’s, that’s sort of, I had like very
limited information.
Mary is a published researcher. Some of her research centers on the experiences of people of
color. Those published works were not used in this study to protect Mary’s identity.
Miguel
Miguel is 54 years old and self-identifies as Afro Latino. Miguel recently retired from the
military after over 30 years and decided to pursue a PhD in human capital development at a
public university in the South. He indicated that he was particularly interested in a doctorate
program that has an emphasis on leadership. He considered another university. However, a friend
who is also a faculty member at the university encouraged him to examine the curriculum.
Miguel said he liked the idea of human capital development because of its leadership elements.
However, he ultimately decided on this program because it “also brings in the element of
working with people in trying to get the best out of people, which is something that in 30-plus
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years in the military, that was my job, as a leader. … That’s what it’s all about, that’s human
capital, right?” When asked about the differences he has noticed between his master’s program
experience and this one, so far, Miguel expressed,
I did very well in my master’s program, but it was government-centric, right? It was in
foreign policy. And it’s essentially a program designed for military folks who want to
look at war fighting in a strategic way. Right, this is more about taking care of people.
And that program, there is not much difference in the fact that I’m one of, you know, in
the group, I was the only Afro-Latino running through the cohort that I did … for my
master’s degree. And I am currently the only Afro Latino in this group here, although the
diversity in this program … is much greater than it was when I did my master’s in an all-
military school with Army, Navy, Air Force, where there were very few minorities
actually going through the program back in 2007. That’s the big difference. I felt very
comfortable doing the master’s with the group that I was in because they were all
military. But I think I feel more empowered in this group because of the diversity.
During his career as a military leader, Miguel has written works that are for public consumption,
including a piece about racism. However, those works are not part of this study to protect
Miguel’s identity.
Xavier
Xavier attends a private university in the West, where he is pursuing a doctoral degree.
He is 45 years old and self-identifies as Hispanic or Puerto Rican. Xavier is also a military
veteran. He credits his parents for his decision to pursue higher education. He added that his
parents encouraged him “to not allow myself to remain stagnant to continue to grow, continue to
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learn and continue to expose myself to new opportunities.” Xavier was asked if he had any
diversity courses as a graduate student. He responded with the following insight:
The diversity course was eye-opening. I tend to see situations from my perspective, my
upbringing, Hispanic culture, but the diversity course exposed me to terms like
microaggression, things that maybe I was taking for granted, or things that maybe are
unknown to me regarding experiences with other cultural groups, assumptions made
based on my background. So, it’s, I found my course enlightening because it exposed me
to understand what a microaggression could be. Why those comments, even they’re from
another cultural group affected me or triggered me, you know, because sometimes you
don’t. You don’t quite understand why was that annoying. Why? What was the intent
behind that comment? Was that an innocent comment, was it? Are they referring to
something else that, um, am I misinterpreting the words that are being used? It also made
me check myself before I spoke because maybe I am just attempting to make
conversation with a person. Regardless of where they’re from, I just want to find a
common ground. So, I can have a conversation, and I may have been offending that
person or causing those very same triggers that other cultural groups were causing me. So
that was not my intent, by far. I just wanted to have a conversation. So, it made him
reflect about how words matter, and inferences matter, insinuations matter how you react.
You know, even your facial expression or your body language, how you react to
comments, all that matters.
Participant Summary
Although the introductory narratives are brief and not expansive, they were intended to
provide some context about the individual study participants. I selected the narratives because
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they represented each study participant in some way. Ten semi-structured interviews of
approximately 60 minutes each were conducted to inquire about the experiences of this group of
graduate students in higher education.
Based on the number of reported incidences, the findings of this study revealed two
primary themes that addressed Research Question 1 and two themes that addressed Research
Question 2. Appendix F offers the study codebook and the code frequencies.
Findings: Research Question 1
There were two themes that emerged in response to Research Question 1: What are the
experiences of racially minoritized graduate students? The findings of this phenomenological
study revealed the following:
1. The experiences of the racially minoritized graduate students in this study include
manifestations of racism that are persistent and often normalized.
2. As the racially minoritized students in this study experience racism, they also show
resiliency to navigate and manage those experiences.
The themes pertaining to Research Question 1 were synthesized as manifestations of normalized
and persistent racism and resiliency.
Manifestations of Normalized Racism
During the interviews, the participants shared independent stories about their encounters
with racism. All reported that they experienced racism either as students, at their places of work,
or both. Eight shared stories about racism they experienced as students. With a few exceptions,
incidences of racism included in this chapter are only those associated with the interviewees’
status as students. When the experience with racism did not occur while the participant was a
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student, that point was explicitly made. The circumstances of the racialized experiences cover a
spectrum from overt racism to microaggressions.
Several manifestations of racism were found as the codes were grouped until it was clear
that, as a collective, they exposed and represented the experiences and thoughts associated with
how racism is manifested in the student experience. There was a range of responses to these
incidences. This meant that given the permanency and normalcy of racism, the participants’
status as students at institutions of higher education exposed them to some form of racism. The
forms are the manifestations of that permanency. This finding does not mean that any person of
color is shielded from direct racism outside of the institution. It merely suggests that it is likely
they will encounter additional racism during graduate study. The experiences with racism center
on two principles. First, racism is so ingrained in the experiences of racially minoritized graduate
students that it is often expected and perceived as normal. This is what is meant by normalized
racism. None of the students in this study were surprised by racism directed at them or by their
observations of racism experienced by others. Second, racism is persistent, as evidenced by its
various manifested forms during graduate study.
The first indicators of the normalization of racism were expressed by three of the study
participants. Gia stated, “the hardest part about racism today is a lot of times it’s subtle.” In
addition to its subtly, Kenneth asserted how typical experiences of racism are during graduate
study. Kenneth indicated,
I guess I just kind of felt nothing where it’s like, oh, this is impacting me, but it’s just
kind of almost like it’s nothing new. Like it just seems like it happens all the time. So, I
didn’t really think too much, to be honest.
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According to Mary, the normalcy of racism then makes it acceptable to project assumptions onto
racially minoritized students: “If you get hired right away, even faster than other students,
they’re going to say that you were hired because you are Latina. And so, there’s always that like,
again, having to prove yourself.” For Gia, Kenneth, and Mary, the racism they experienced was
not surprising or unique. Each student conveyed their experiences as normal, and often expected
transgressions.
The most common form of racism the interviewees reported were microaggressions.
Eight of the participants indicated that they experienced some type of microaggression.
Microaggressions are the racist acts and comments that are not always obvious to the casual
onlooker. However, they are identifiable to the individuals who experience them. Examples
include comments directed at BIPOC such as, “you are so articulate for being a Mexican” or the
act of touching a Black woman’s hair without her permission. Microaggressions are the licenses
that transgressors have to knowingly or unknowingly minimize the humanity of a person of
color. In this study, Mary expressed,
There have been a few comments that I’ve heard, like, this was from one of my friends.
“Well, let’s see, you’re in the program because your advisor really likes Latinos.” It
wasn’t really because like, I’m qualified to be here.
Mary also stated that she was told, “You won’t have a problem when you’re out in the job search
because you’re Latina.”
Kenneth expressed that he had not directly experienced racism as a graduate student.
However, he did share an observation that occurred during a course group project. Among the
students in his project group was another racially minoritized female student and a White male.
The following details what occurred from Kenneth’s perspective:
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Nothing in terms of race, but I would say maybe a language barrier will probably be
something that came up. It wasn’t clearly stated because of this person’s race, but you
could tell because that person couldn’t understand the other individual. There were some
issues there. … One of our projects that we had to work on was building a predictive
model. And we all have our ideas, … and there was someone talking. You couldn’t really
understand her, and the guy wanted to go with what I wanted. She wanted to do
something different. And he was just getting very frustrated with her and started like, I
don’t know what you’re talking about, like it doesn’t make any sense. And it was a very,
he’s a very aggressive, so you could tell that he was shooting her down because he
couldn’t understand her. So, we all kind of just said, like, well, let’s just figure something
else out and not like kind of push this any further.
When asked about how the situation was resolved, Kenneth indicated the following:
It was just more settled. Let’s agree to disagree, and let’s just try to go about it in a
different way. If was a keep your thoughts to yourself kind of thing. It was a group
project, so it was almost like, you know, we all have our different boxes, just try not to
make a big deal.
For the racially minoritized graduate students in this study, microaggressions are a method for
how racism is normalized because they can seem benign. Microaggressions took the form of
assumptions and stereotypes directed at the students during their graduate study.
Mary conveyed what is also supported in the literature about bias and racist assumptions
in research. She shared her thought process as she was developing her own research:
In the beginning, I wanted to look at something else. But when I went and looked at the
literature, I noticed that the way that research was painting Latinos was, I guess, this
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homogenous group. Everybody’s the same… Let’s say who we’re actually looking at,
don’t just say Latinos because I don’t know if you’re talking about first, second, third,
fourth generation.
In addition to Mary, three other graduate students spoke about their experiences with
assumptions about homogeneity. For example, while discussing his experience in the military,
Xavier stated,
I didn’t know if it was blatant racism because I’ve experienced that or if it was just
ignorant because I have experienced unintentional racism based on statements. They
don’t know. So, for example, I say I’m Puerto Rican. And they ask where Mexico is, and
it means you speak Mexican. … So, it’s an assumption that if you’re Hispanic, you’re all
the same.
Stereotypes were also identified as assumptions made by others and directed at the study
participants. The graduate students reported experiencing stereotyping from both faculty and
their student peer group. When asked about how faculty would respond to discussions that came
up in class, Adam stated,
When we talked about race, they were scared, or they didn’t know how to. And so like, I
had one professor who would always use the same example of Black students being
disadvantaged. And I just simply said, why do you always keep using that example? And
he didn’t know what to do, he just froze.
Jones also experienced a stereotypical perception from an instructor at his institution. He
described the experience as follows:
I had an instructor who I talked with and worked on my dissertation with initially. We
both had similar backgrounds, and he felt he could come forward with some of his
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stereotypes specifically, with critical race theory. Yeah, and you could tell that he didn’t
really buy into critical race theory, but I would think that even as a person who is in the
profession of education, you should leave the door open for your students to decide one
way or another whether that was a good thing or not. So, I think sometimes, instructors or
professors bring in their own individual bias, and they push their own individual bias on
their students. That’s not their job.
Daniel expressed that he frequently experiences stereotyping and assumptions as a graduate
student. He indicated that those assumptions include comments about his family and his middle-
class upbringing. As Daniel reflected, he expressed that this has caused him to wonder about his
own identity. Daniel was very candid in sharing the following:
The way I interpret it is, oh, yeah, you’re not, like, working-class, like. You are not, like,
you know, part of, you know, this niche. These areas are so predominantly White. I just
feel strange. Like, I had a mental, like a mental crisis at one point because even my
therapist was asking, are you a person of color like, I identify you as White? And I’m
like, this is a problem. It’s not okay, like, just because I’m not fucking coming out with
my serape and huaraches and dancing, it doesn’t mean that I’m not Latino. I have very
strong feelings. Now when people are like, you’re not Latino, I am. My mom is from
Mexico. … I don’t know. It doesn’t feel good. And people tell me those things, it feels
like I’ve been assimilated or gentrified too much, or my parents didn’t bring along the
culture as much as they wanted to because they were assimilating to American culture.
In addition to sharing experiences that reflect the normalization of racism, the BIPOC graduate
students participating in this study also expressed how racialized experiences have persisted in
several subtle and patent forms.
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Manifestations of Persistent Racism
Two of the graduate students shared experiences with racism that occurred during their
undergraduate studies. They have been included because both instances informed the students’
decisions about graduate study and demonstrated a resolve on how they would manage overt
incidents of racism. Adam shared the following:
There was a very hateful video that was put out, and the school never did anything about
it. And they just kind of just made a very weak, you know, we don’t condone this, but
that was it. Nobody ever got punished for it. There were no repercussions. And even
when there were specific individuals who, you know, it was clear that they were
involved, they refused to do anything.
This experience, along with others, reinforced Adam’s decision to attend an historically Black
university for graduate study. This experience with blatant racism also compelled Adam and
Miguel to social activism and drew them both to commit their time to social justice pursuits.
Miguel shared the following experience:
I had a roommate in college from upstate New York. I used to help him with his
homework, all that stuff. I was prior military, so I knew how to do uniforms, make the
bed, all that. I’m an outgoing person. I’m going to help you, you know, whenever I can.
And so, one day, I’m walking through, and I hear him talking to a bunch of other
classmates and talking about, yeah, monkey, this right, monkey that. And I was like, this
guy’s talking about me. Sure enough, right. He was, and that was my first roommate in
college. I never got another White roommate. And all my roommates were Puerto Rican
families. Why? Right? Why would you even make those comments, especially to
someone who’s helping you. I got a letter from him after 30 years. After I published this
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article, after the George Floyd stuff happened. I wanted to let you know, show some
examples of when this happens to us because of what we looked like, not because of who
we are, how capable we are. And his letter to me, and I still have it was, hey, listen, I owe
you an apology after 30 years. I said all those things because you were so much smarter
than me. And you and … our other roommate, you guys were so smart. You didn’t have
to study hard. I have dyslexia.
For Miguel, even the apology was nebulous. From Miguel’s perspective, his former roommate
could have simply apologized. Instead, as part of the apology, the former roommate excused his
behavior by assigning blame to Miguel for being “so smart.” Further, by finding it necessary to
point out his reading disorder, the former roommate suggested this as justification, an excuse for
his behavior. Miguel indicated that he did not offer a response to the letter.
Adam discussed another experience with racism as an undergraduate that informed his
perspectives. In addition to the potential danger and threat both posed to Adam, this particular
experience also highlights the magnitude of the normalcy that such situations have when they
occur as everyday experiences of BIPOC. The experiences of Adam and his BIPOC cohort at
this particular university were ongoing, persistent, and increasing in danger. Yet, the university
administrators did nothing. Adam revealed that he and some other students grew so frustrated
with the ongoing racism that they staged a sit-in at the main administration building. When asked
about what precipitated the sit-in, Adam shared the following:
We had been targeted a lot. We have what was Greek row down by our school, and We,
the first thing a lot of Black students were told is to avoid going there after night, or if
you’re going to go down there go with a friend because they can get very aggressive and
very dangerous. And so we had some students who had gotten attacked or harassed by
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these Greek fraternities, these White Greek fraternities, and so that, along with the Trump
wall that was built that was, you know, you could completely feel that hate, which really
kind of jumpstarted everything, and really just a different, the abuses that were taking
place, and the aggression that was taking place.
The impact of these types of experiences for students like Adam can influence the decision to
remain in school or leave, thereby upholding the racial disparity in degree attainment.
Racial Battle Fatigue
The students who participated in this study also recognized how the racialized
experiences impacted them. Three study participants reported experiencing social-psychological
stress responses because of racism experienced as a student. For one student, the experiences
were quietly endured. Mary reported, “It’s a lot of pressure, especially being one of the only
Latinas in the program.” For Adam, the experiences caused him to reconsider staying in school.
For Jena, the experiences prompted action to get more involved. Jena shared how she believed a
course textbook “was very triggering for me.” She expressed the following:
In the first half, it talked about racism and oppression and slavery and all of these things
that have really impacted the Black community, and then, as you go on, each of the
chapters will be dedicated to other cultures, so there’s a chapter about Hispanic people,
South Asian people and so forth, and so on. But it wasn’t until you’ve gotten past, like,
the first one of the seven chapters about anything that affects Black people. And I used to
read the day of class a couple hours beforehand, so it was fresh, and what I didn’t realize
was happening was that. Excuse me, because what I was reading was triggering to me at
the time. I think this was in 2020, you know, when Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and
Ahmaud Arbery, and all the other stuff was going on. So, you know, socially, in the
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world, I didn’t realize, I will feel like angry reading the book, and I never really had time
to process that. Kind of, like you know, sit with those feelings before we actually got into
class, so I think once we actually got into class, it was like, triggering.
Jena indicated that she decided to use her anger and frustration to become more civically minded.
She shared that she began attending social justice rallies and marches during this period. Jena
also conveyed that she expressed her feelings about the textbook to her instructor.
Adam was able to compare his experiences as an undergraduate attending a
predominately White university to his current experiences at an historically Black university.
The comparison is striking as are the examples of racial battle fatigue. Adam considers himself a
student activist. As a result, his name was often in student and local papers. According to Adam,
“it made me a little bit cautious because now I was always kind of looking over my shoulder.
Whether it was from the police or from other students, because we did have issues with students
or White students who would provoke us.”
Adam had several experiences with racism while an undergraduate student. Adam stated,
“There were racist videos made, they built a Trump wall on campus. … There was a huge riot
over that one. I mean, the list just kind of goes on.” Adam indicated that in addition to being
cautious, he was tired. He added that his grades were affected, and he even considered leaving
school altogether. As a graduate student at his current university, Adam reported a “big
difference.” He stated,
I’ve gotten better grades now than I’ve ever had in my life. And I think that largely, a lot
of that is [attributed] to the fact that I don’t have to worry as much being a student here, I
can really focus on just being a student. … My body felt that I was doing too much. And
I definitely battled with, you know, the mental health aspect of it and the physical toll.
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But with that came a lot of self-realization and trying to understand, you know, what is
my purpose, so it was hard to really get attached to the school and want to be involved in
school activities, and even want to go to class because it just, I didn’t want to do
anything, because I didn’t feel supported as a student. And I didn’t feel like, you know,
my education mattered anymore in terms of, you know, I just didn’t want to be at that
school anymore. And so, my grades kind of went down because I put more of my energy
and focus into my extracurricular activities versus my actual academic studies. But I felt
like I had to pick between one or the other. And so, for me, it was, you know, education
will always be around, but you know, my people won’t be. And so, I’d much rather make
that sacrifice for my people than, you know, for myself, in hindsight, you know, looking
back on it, I don’t regret it, I would have done it again, just because I’ve always felt like
I’ve been a person of the people. But I will say, as a whole, it made me stronger. But
before, it didn’t make me stronger; it did break me down.
Jones shared that he experienced racism regularly during his military career in an elite and
competitive field where he was often the only person of color. Jones conveyed how his
experiences with racism in the military influenced his experiences as a graduate student. When
asked about that specifically, Jones stated the following:
I think there are some of the same kinds of issues or craziness that I experienced in the
military and then as a student. I find that I can be standoffish at times. I find that I can be,
you know, less likely to make connections with certain demographics because of trust.
Right. And, you know, I’m more likely to, to doubt when it comes to discussions, the
hard discussions or discussions on experience or discussions on leadership and race and
things like that, I am more likely to doubt, let’s say, White male instructors. Because, you
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know, it’s my own personal bias, the first thing I say is you’re full of shit. Like you
probably don’t know, you’re the guy that says, you know. I knew it was wrong, but I just
didn’t, you know, I didn’t say anything. So, that’s my own personal hang-up.
Passing and Colorism
The racially minoritized students in this study were not asked about passing and colorism.
However, interestingly, both topics came up during the interviews. In a historical context,
passing and colorism derived from slavery and colonialism as a survival tactic BIPOC used. The
desire for safety is a human need. However, now notions like colorism and passing are the
proverbial cultural dirty laundry that aired and is sometimes used for iniquitous purposes to
promote intra- and inter-group conflict. The topic of passing came up during the interview with
Mary who indicated that there are more racially minoritized graduate students in her program
however, they do not publicly self-identify as such. Mary mentioned that “they’re like more like
closeted Latinos, and I get it. If I could hide it, I probably would, too.” When probed further
about why Mary thinks this is the case, she stated,
I look pretty Latina. I can’t hide it. There are other Latinos in this program. … We did a
similar, like, study to what you’re doing right now. We had to interview, like, other
Latinos, and there’s other Latinos in the program, but they’re more White-passing. So,
they don’t really tell anybody that they are Latino. And I’ve had a conversation with a
couple of these individuals, and they say that they don’t really like to say anything
because they don’t want to feel that burden of representation.
To clarify her point, Mary expressed that her desire to not have the “burden of representation” in
no way means that she is not proud of her racial and cultural background. She stated something
similar to what Adam stated during his interview about it being nice to participate in graduate
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study as merely a student and not a Black student. Mary would like to experience her remaining
time in her doctoral program as a student without enduring “always this big sense of pressure.”
Five study participants brought up the topic of colorism during their respective
interviews. Miguel spoke extensively about the subject and placed his perspective in its historical
context:
You know, I could get into a slew of things about colonialism. Just know. Being Black is
a bad thing. Those kinds of perceptions, right? And you know, Mexicans do it,
Dominicans do it, Puerto Ricans do it, humans do it. In Brazil, they do it. It does go back
to you know, slavery and colonialism. And it’s the mindset that certain people are not the
same as others and that they’re less, or they don’t have the capabilities or the same
potential as others. And our parents perpetuate the myth, right? My mom is Black
Dominican, but she will not tell you that, but, you know, my dad was White, my mom is
Black. My mom never ever said she was Black, especially, you know, differentiating
ourselves, when we came to the United States, from the African American community,
we’re not like them, we’re not them, right, we’re different. That’s not right or true, but
it’s what it is.
Miguel went on to convey that his mother’s perspective is not unique when it comes to colorism.
To that point, Miguel shared another example. While this next experience did not occur during
his time as a student, it represents how colorism can make a lifelong impression as another
flashpoint that BIPOC have to learn to navigate. Miguel stated,
So, I have a buddy who grew up in New Mexico. We went to boot camp together. And
you know, I’m from New York. I’m going to talk to everybody. Right? And my buddy
from New Mexico, whose family was Spanish, didn’t even speak Spanish. But his last
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name is Spanish. And so, he gets caught up in this, you know, he’s White, you know,
White Spaniard, right? Children of White Spaniards. Who gets into an environment
where folks are Latinos, and they’re going, “you’re not Latino enough.” Right, White
folks go, hey, you look White. But there’s something weird about you. Right? And then,
so now, he’s not White enough. So, he has to navigate this world. And then whenever he
tries to speak Spanish, he speaks with an accent. And so, he’s afraid to say, “I’m
Hispanic,” or someone says, “Hey, you’re Latino, you know, what do you think about
that?” He’s like, okay, I grew up in New Mexico. … Because he’s embraced it. … I make
a point of telling people that I’m Afro Latino, in the Caribbean, where, you know, we still
have issues with Black people, which Latinos still tend to downplay that, right? See, we
have our own issues.
Gia also shared her experience with colorism. Like Miguel, Gia recognizes that colorism derived
from slavery. Gia expressed:
It makes me frustrated when there’s assumptions made by other females that they think
that we have this because we’re a little less Black, but they don’t realize that Black is
Black. … Like most of my life, a lot of my recent comes from the Black colorism in
slavery. Honestly, every place I’ve gone to a lot of times when you’re a person of color
and especially if it’s a little lighter skin. I don’t even feel like I’m really that light. But if
someone’s darker to me, it’s just the end, especially being in [redacted]. I didn’t really
experience it as much in [redacted] but being in [redacted] is, like, you know, I know
since you’re light-skinned, your life is perfect. I don’t understand it. You know, for me,
it’s hard because sometimes I wish it was true. I wish because I was lighter-skinned, that
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maybe being a little lighter gave me that advantage in society. That’d be great, but it
doesn’t.
Colorism bore and influenced the perspectives of the study participants in other ways as noted by
Adam who stated, “I also noticed that even though being in a predominantly Black school, you
still deal with different aspects of race, but just in a different capacity.” While three interviewees
expressed that they believe there are different expectations for racially minoritized graduate
students, two other students shared examples of how colorism has manifested in other ways. For
Adam, this took the form of racial authenticity:
Our narrative that Black students who go to a PWI, or scraggly White institution, tend to
be different than those who went to HBCUs. And so, there’s that connotation: We come
from a PWI. We think differently, even though we’re at HBCUs. And so, there’s that,
that kind of contentious nature among students, so I don’t see it that way. I never really
participated in that just because you’re a student, regardless of where you go, you’re
maybe different, but and then I will say, the intentionality behind the words that we
speak, and the conversations we have in class are much stronger.
Daniel also spoke about racial authenticity and assimilation when discussing microaggressions in
the form of stereotyping. He further expressed how this has affected him:
I think this comes from this idea of, like, being White, I guess. It’s just like, I know that
sounds awful. And I’m working through it still, but it’s because I’ve been assimilated for
so long. It’s just like, how do I remove the jokes? Around being Latino? You know, from
the conversation, because sometimes it’s just to defuse tension.
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The Murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd
The interviews conducted for this study occurred approximately 2 years after the murders
of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in the spring of 2020. Since that time, another 2501
individuals have died as a result of an encounter with law enforcement. Since March 13, 2020,
the date that Breonna Taylor was killed, no less than 1034 of those individuals were known to be
racially minoritized individuals, as shown in Appendix G. These figures are presented here to
offer context for the racial battle fatigue experienced by several of the graduate students in
response to personal encounters with the police and the events of 2020. As Daniel expressed,
When I reflect on my experience in this program, a lot of social justice matters nationally
have come up. I mean, during the time we’ve been in the program, not only the pandemic
and some of the disparities there in terms of care … and vaccination, but George Floyd
and some of the police brutality issues have happened during our tenure. … When those
things happen that are in the national spotlight. It has never come up in class.
Six of the graduate students shared their thoughts about the deaths at the hands of law
enforcement and policing. As Miguel put it, “The fact that we’re Black cannot be denied. And
when someone stops you, a White policeman stops you, you’re Black immediately. Whether you
identify yourself that way or not.” Jena conveyed as a young, Black woman how the death of
another young, Black woman affected her, “Breonna Taylor, you know, protests and riots were
going on, and everything was at its highest. And I even expressed concerns to my professor at
the time, you know, I just wondered, what if I am next?”
Jena shared how she really “internalized feelings about that” during this period in class
and at home. Jena expressed that she spoke to one of her professors about what she was
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experiencing and how the textbook was triggering for her, and she feared that she would not be
able to complete the book. Jena shared the following:
I live by myself. What if someone goes online to tell the police that there’s some illegal
activity here, and I got a break stick on the, under the door, because I’m alone, for
protection. So, if someone going live to the police and say this, and they come in here and
can’t get the door down and just start, you know, shooting I’m dying here by myself in
my bed, like, you know, I really have a lot of internalized feelings about that. And my
professor was actually very understanding and empathetic with what I was saying. And I,
I think that prompted some self-reflection within me. I was, like, I probably should talk to
my therapist about this and work through it. But she was very understanding in that
moment when I needed somebody to talk.
Adam conveyed that the events have “made me a little bit cautious because now I was always
kind of looking over my shoulder. Whether it was from the police or from other students.” Adam
shared an experience of an encounter that he had with police that left him with “feelings of
terror.” Adam detailed the experience this way:
I had gotten stopped by police officers in the parking lot at the mall that I was in. I was
just sitting in the car, and I was talking to a friend. And I got surrounded by six. And at
that point, up to that point, I was aware of, you know, police brutality and things of that
nature. But I wasn’t really. It hadn’t really affected me. So, I didn’t really have a personal
relation to it. Outside of just, you know, being part of the demographic affected by it.
And so, when that happened to me, I remember I got home, and I broke down in front of
my mom because I was terrified. She asked me, you know, do I want to file a complaint,
and I told her it’s not going to do anything. And so, from that point on, really, up until
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now, I kind of just went on the warpath of, you know, making it known that this is not
okay.
For students like Adam, these real experiences inform how they navigate the world. However, in
their formal learning environments, there is a perception that these types of events are
extraordinary and not routine.
As Miguel would note, “It’s not part of the curriculum. Right. So, if I’ve got a book on
communications, and there is not one reference to police brutality or the way minorities are
treated, then that gives you an impression.” Miguel shared a couple of experiences he
encountered in his professional career that made him adamant as a leader after having to respond
to a supposed joke among White military law enforcement officers: “You can’t be a policeman if
you’re going to have that mindset. Because that policeman is the one that’s going to go after a
specific group of people. Because they have that mindset. That’s not a joke.”
Resiliency and Coping
A theme regarding the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students is that the
participants of this study endured and managed their experiences with racism through resiliency.
When considering resiliency within the context of critical race theory of education, the resilience
of the study participants to cope and manage their experiences with racism serves as a strategy to
counter dominant ideologies. The racially minoritized graduate students demonstrate resilient
coping without being cognizant that this is what they have been doing.
“Not a Political Victim”
Mary shared a story that she asked me not to share as part of the study. I honored that
request. What I share from that part of the conversation is Mary’s clear retort: “I am not some
political victim.” That statement speaks to the next set of narratives. This group of participants is
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not merely challenging long-held false ideologies, but they are outright actively countering them.
For Mary, this means recognizing each microaggression. Mary stated,
You’re not looking at me as a professional. You’re not looking me as
anything other than this, like, a victim, this minority that you can just sort of make
assumptions about publicly because you wouldn’t go in, say that to any other person.
The knowledge that the microaggressions are racism has been empowering for Mary and
motivated her to keep pursuing her academic goals even when arduous.
Demonstrations of Resilience
Resiliency theory counters the deficit model. Through narrative, the participants
presented principles of resiliency theory as defined in Chapter Two. Five interviewees conveyed
examples of how they have applied the principles of resiliency to overcome experiences with
racism. The first principle of resiliency is social competence. When discussing his experiences
with microaggressions in his work environment, Xavier acknowledged that it is not the
responsibility of people of color “to teach others about their experience.” However, Xavier has
been deliberate in viewing these experiences as “an opportunity. Instead of seeing it as, as a
responsibility, as an overwhelming task to make people understand. Pay attention and figure out
where can you apply your strengths.” Xavier did not view this as a burden but an opportunity to
further understanding with his professional colleagues.
The next principle of resiliency is the capacity to problem-solve. Miguel shared an
example of problem-solving. Like Xavier, Miguel did not view this approach as burdensome or
as a cultural obligation. Miguel stated that among his motivations to pursue his doctorate is
helping to develop leaders. Miguel said, “I like to be able to come up with strategies, you know,
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ways to help for minorities to pursue higher education, become better leaders, right, and actually
help them communicate more and grow within the community.”
The third principle of resiliency is autonomy. When Mary proclaimed that she was not a
“political victim,” she was asserting her autonomy. Similarly, when discussing his cohort in his
doctoral program, Miguel stated, “I feel more empowered in this group because of the diversity.”
He views the differences as a means of better understanding and a more dynamic learning
experience. Adam showed resilience using autonomy when he galvanized a group of Black
students to become socially active. According to Adam,
Although we weren’t the biggest community, we were a very tight-knit community. And
so, you know, it was kind of like you keep your head down. So, you get to the fourth
floor, or you keep your head down to find that group. And then you feel like you’re able
to flourish. And so, for me, it was I felt like I was fighting for these people. And so, if I
kept my head down, then I didn’t want them to feel like they had to keep their heads
down. … I wanted other Black students to feel that pride, just the same, and other
minority students to feel in step inside their own identity and be proud.
By demonstrating resilience, Mary and Jones acknowledged a deeper sense of purpose, the
fourth principle of resiliency. Like Miguel, Mary has decided that she wants to pursue applied
research. She expressed, “I am very interested in practice-oriented things like actually working
with the community, specifically, the Latino community.”
Jones believes he has developed a deeper sense of purpose as he concludes his academic
program. His resolve to use his experiences with racism and those he has observed others endure
was expressed in the following way:
How can I help? How can I make the collective stronger and not weaker as individuals?
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Because quite honestly, that’s how we lose, by divide and conquer, you know? And so,
we have to uplift each other, and we have to get off the sidelines. You know, for
example, if you have other social issues that are going on that may not directly impact
you as a person, but by you getting off the sidelines speaks volumes. And we have to
learn how to do that: just show up for each.
The resilience demonstrated by this group of racially minoritized graduate students in no way
minimizes or makes acceptable the racism that they endured as students. Rather, it shows a
capacity to counter the dominant ideologies that predate their individual experiences. The study
participants also presented a profound sense of self-awareness.
Self-Awareness
In addition to showing resiliency, the interviewees shared insights that indicated a level
of self-awareness that appears to help them cope with racialized experiences. During the
interviews, several participants shared their personal epiphanies expressing their self-awareness
and development. For example, Xavier shared how his experiences in a diversity course helped
him gain some personal understanding:
I used to say something to my group at work. I was in charge of a diverse group. And it
was that I didn’t see color. I didn’t focus on the color of the person’s skin. I focused on
their contribution to the team. But through the diversity class, I learned that
colorblindness isn’t the answer. It’s not the answer. You should see the person for who
they are. And, obviously, I see where they come from, but I wanted to make it a point that
race was not a factor that made or broke their career. It wasn’t enough for me as their
supervisor. I wasn’t focusing on that. I was focusing on what they brought to the team,
but I should have been, I should have, I should have acknowledged them for who they
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were, where they were coming from, not a merit system. I should have made it an all-
inclusive system, which I was trying to do, but I wasn’t using the right words.
Like Xavier, Daniel acknowledged he has been coming to terms with his identity and behavior
and believes he has changed. He said, “I’ve been assimilated for so long. It’s just like, how do I
remove the jokes around being Latino? You know, from the conversation, because sometimes
it’s just to defuse tension, like, hey, I’m gonna make a joke about my own culture, and it’s not
okay. It’s not.”
While the study participants have used their experiences to learn and grow, that is not to
say their experiences have not been challenging. As Adam indicated, he was considering leaving
school. Gia, Jena, and Mary have also experienced challenges. Mary spoke about her experience:
It wasn’t ’til I think COVID started in social isolation and all that started that it was
really that a moment where I finally broke down, where it was, like, I couldn’t work
anymore, because I didn’t have that support system. I had to go to therapy, and even the
therapist was like, listen, you should take, like, emergency leave from school. And even
then, I didn’t feel that I could leave because, well, if I leave, I’m going to fall behind. If I
fall behind, then what? No. So, I think a lot of minorities who are in graduate programs
tend to be very resilient. I think you have to be if you’re going to go into a program that
doesn’t have that much support for you because you have to endure hardships.
Adam conveyed how the classroom setting can be challenging for BIPOC:
It’s almost as if history never happened, it’s kind of how they treat it. And, so, when you
come in, and you have these generational traumas, and you have a lot of just different
things to work through as a student of color as a Black student, and then you go into
university that you don’t feel highlights the significance of, you know, being a minority,
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it does, it is kind of hard, because then you, you don’t really feel like you belong. And I
think that’s kind of the biggest thing is that it’s all about belonging.
The students also reported not believing that they had support from faculty. Adam added that this
lack of support sometimes included faculty of color. He stated, “You had people who were trying
to get tenure, who, you know, didn’t want to put themselves in jeopardy. … I’ve always believed
that is a twisted concept…why would you want to get tenured at a university that won’t support
your identity or what you believe in?”
Life Experiences and Military Service
Six of the study participants have served or are concluding a career in the military. The
recruitment of service members was not intentional. However, their participation added other
perspectives to the study and contributed to the robustness of the interviews. During the initial
analysis, there seemed to be a difference between the participants who served in the military and
those who did not. As analysis proceeded, it was impossible to determine if time in military
service was the difference or if it was simply the result of life experience. It should be noted that
there were several reported incidents of overt racism directed at the veteran interviewees during
their time in the military. Further, the reported thoughts and feelings when those acts occurred
were similar to what is found in the literature and the responses to more recent encounters with
racism.
Two study participants reported they had not experienced or observed some form of
racism as students. When asked about his experiences as a biracial person in his program of
study, Isaac expressed the following:
I, honestly, I don’t know that there have been too many instances. And this fits, honestly,
in either graduate program. And where I feel like race has been an issue, specifically in
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the classroom. And racial differences, racial tension, those are things … It’s something
I’ve just been extremely hyperaware of in the last 5 or 6 years, but honestly, for an online
program, it didn’t come up in international relations. And in this master’s in public
administration, I’d say the topic loosely came up several times. There were some studies
that we wrote about that were about differences in, you know, the utilization of
government, social programs. They were broken down along, you know, racial
demographics. We recently participated in the accreditation for our school’s program. I
think the topic came up then during the accreditation, but the general feedback that we
provided to the accreditation team, myself included, is that all of us are treated pretty
equally and fairly. I think I’m really fortunate with this school.
In addition to Isaac, Xavier reported that while he has experienced racism, he did not believe
those experiences occurred while a student. With such a small study group, it is difficult to know
how common or unique Issacs’s and Xavier’s experiences are to those of other BIPOC graduate
students.
Findings: Research Question 2
The intention of this study was to inquire about the experiences of racially minoritized
graduate students to determine whether there was evidence of cultural taxation as defined by
Padilla (1994). The findings did not reveal any pronounced evidence. However, the
interviewees’ responses did indicate several of the concepts. Two themes that emerged in
response to Research Question 2: What do these experiences mean in the context of cultural
taxation as a phenomenon? The findings of this phenomenological study revealed the following:
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• There is indication that racially minoritized graduate students experience concepts
reflective of Padilla’s definitions as the expert, the educator, the ambassador, the
committee member, the liaison, and the problem-solver.
• The findings of this study support assertions that “issues of legitimacy” as a cultural
taxation concept are sound and should be further explored. Similarly, the findings
offer indication that “activist” should also be further examined as a concept of
cultural taxation.
Evidence of Cultural Taxation
In 1994, when Padilla coined the term “cultural taxation,” he applied its concepts to the
experiences of racially minoritized university faculty. The driving principle of this study was to
explore, as Padilla suggested, the concepts of the student as expert, educator, ambassador,
committee member, liaison, and problem-solver for applicability as cultural taxation.
Recognizing that students’ experiences can differ greatly from those of faculty, the underpinning
of this assertion is that BIPOC students may endure racialized experiences that are burdensome
and potentially impairing of academic achievement. To that end, the racially minoritized
graduate students in this study were asked about their experiences in higher education settings
among faculty and peers to determine cultural taxation as an attributable phenomenon.
The Student Expert
The role of the expert applies to the student called upon to speak on behalf of the racial
community they represent or other people of color. All of the study respondents expressed that at
some point, as either a professional or a student, they were perceived as an expert when it came
to matters affecting communities of color. However, only two of the racially minoritized
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graduate students interviewed shared experiences that aligned with the concept of expert. Mary
expressed her thoughts on being considered an expert:
I feel like a lot of people, they’re like, Okay, well, she’s Latina. And she’s looking at
Latinos in her study. So, she must know a lot about the community. … But I feel like
people always think that I know about everyone and that I can speak for everyone. And I
always say, like, hey, I’m learning here, just like you’re learning here. I don’t know
everything. And I don’t always, like, appreciate being put on the spot.
The matter of expertise came up on four occasions during the interview with Mary about her
experiences in her doctoral program. When probed, Mary expressed that she believes that the
perception of her as an expert can be attributed to the low number of racially minoritized
students in her program. However, she also expressed that her optimistic view wants to attribute
the perception of White colleagues and faulty that she is an expert on her research and not on a
racist assumption. Still, Mary indicated that the experiences can be burdensome:
It was hard because I think that people were relying on me to sort of be like, oh, let’s see,
what Latinos think about this? What are Latinos thinking about that? So, it was always
sort of that. Sometimes that gets annoying. … I’m certainly used to it by this point. I’m
just totally, sometimes, I’m more, like, talkative, and I’ll be, like, well, have you thought
about this? Have you thought about that? But, sometimes, when I really just don’t feel
like it? At this point, I don’t really talk. Unless the professor’s like, let’s see [redacted],
what do you think about this?
For Mary and other students in the study, the experiences of being perceived as experts often
overlapped with the cultural taxation concept of student as educator.
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Miguel indicated that he had similar experiences to those of Mary. However, Miguel
expressed that his life experiences made him less inclined to be burdened by the perceptions of
his White counterparts that he is an expert. Rather, Miguel prefaces the assumption that he is an
expert in the following way:
Others have said I don’t want to be the guy that speaks for Hispanics or Latinos. And I’m
like, hey, look, I mean, I can’t speak for everyone. But I can give you a general idea of
what it’s like to grow up in the Caribbean, right?
The experience of the student as a perceived expert is similar to that of the educator. Whereas the
expert is relied upon to know a community’s sentiments, even when they are not a part of that
community, the educator is often called on to explain or educate their White counterparts about
those sentiments. For example, there may be an assumption that a Latinx student is an expert on
the Latinx community’s religious beliefs, so that student may be asked to speak to the class about
faith communities in the border towns of the Southwest without regard to the fact that the student
is an agnostic individual from the Northwest.
The Student Educator
When considering the concept of educator as Padilla (1994) applied it, student educators
may find themselves being the only or one of a few people of color in an academic setting. In
this instance, they may also be considered experts and be called upon to educate their White
counterparts about the experiences of BIPOC. Six of the study participants indicated that they
have been an educator professionally or as a student. Four of them shared experiences of being
perceived as an educator while a student. Jones shared his perspective on how he observed this in
his diversity course:
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It seemed like a lot of the discussion or pointed questions leaned towards the people of
color. It should have been an opportunity for everyone to learn and have dialogue
regardless of what your position was. And we tried to create a space where everyone felt
safe, but a lot of my White classmates were quiet, where they were very forward-leaning
in other classes. But when it came to this class, they were quiet, and even though they
would admit that I really don’t know more about this stuff, that was still a good
opportunity for them to lean forward. So, they weren’t kind of looking for the Black
students to teach them these things. I thought that was a missed opportunity.
Jena shared an experience she had early in her graduate program that, in retrospect, she believed
was burdensome. Jena expressed,
I don’t know how we got on the topic of Black hair, or something like that. Um, but I
ended up making a PowerPoint about some kind of general basic things about Black hair,
things you shouldn’t say, things you shouldn’t do. And even shared it with the style from
a place of care because, normally, I know a lot of people who they wouldn’t have gotten
that far. Because now I think I’m one of the people that’s like Google, sorry, you have 10
fingers. If even if you have five, you can still make it work. The internet is free. If you
want to know where my hair goes when I get braids, and so on YouTube, if you want to
know what you shouldn’t say or say to a person of color, just Google. If you want to
know how racism impacts people and their mental health, just Google. There are books
on White fragility. There’s a book on racial healing. There’s a book I’m reading now that
talks about healing from race-based stress and racial trauma through the lens of a Black
person and through the lens of a White person, so you see both perspectives. At this day
and age, there is no reason for someone to say I didn’t know.
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When reflecting on this experience, Jena added, “but I don’t know if I’ll ever go that far for
anybody else again.”
Mary also conveyed a sense that there was an expectation that the few people of color in
her courses support the instruction as educators. Mary stated, “We’ll be sitting in class, and the
teacher will make comments. She will look at all the class, and she’ll notice that, you know,
there’s me and there are a few Asian people, so she’ll be like, “Oh, I’m just looking at this class,
and I’m assuming that you guys all believe this, right?” When asked how she responded in these
situations, Mary said,” I obviously never say anything. I just sit down and just nod my head
because I’m trying to graduate.”
The Student Ambassador
Mary and Adam both made statements that can be considered cultural taxation as an
ambassador. Mary stated, “I’m the only one that, like, when they’re doing like diversity
programs, who do they call the most, like, ethnic-looking person, and so there’s me.” Adam
conveyed it this way:
At my HBCU, your identity is not everything, but it’s, it’s, um, what’s the word
celebrated, and you feel celebrated, and you feel seen, and you feel empowered, just
walking through the hallways, and even if it’s just one of those random posters about,
you know, studying, or whatever the case may be just seeing, you know, a Black face on
something that has to do with nothing. It’s just you feel you see yourself and you feel like
you can, you can do it. But when you walk down those other hallways, and, you know,
it’s everything is objectified, everything is objectified, your identity is objective,
everything is objectified, then you begin to itself internally objectify yourself, you know,
and that was definitely something that was a battle for me for the longest time.
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The Committee Member
Mary was the only study participant who shared an experience that would be considered
culturally taxing as a committee member. Mary expressed how she navigates these kinds of
expectations placed on her in her doctoral program:
They’re not recruiting, you know, White-looking people to these diversity committees.
So, you know, they don’t have to carry that burden. … I think a lot of students we’re
trying to graduate. We’re trying to build connections, so you really can’t say no to
people. … I am publishing papers. I am in so many, like, service committees because,
again, I’m trying to prove that I’m, you know, worth hiring once I graduate. And then on
top of that, I have like, you know, somebody else saying, hey, let’s see, you want to
participate in the diversity committee, you know. So, they’re pulling me in all these
directions.
The Student Liaison
Two of the graduate students interviewed shared experiences that seemingly can be
attributed to the role of liaison, the person that serves as an intermediary between the institution
and a community. Adam shared how his experiences as a student activist resulted in him meeting
with university administrators on behalf of students. Adam stated:
There were a couple things that led marches. We had a sit-in at the administration
building. And, so there, we actually got some of the state legislature to take notice of
what we were going through. … After the protests, me and a couple of my colleagues met
with the university president and a couple of other constituents, and there, we had a
couple of meetings. In reality, what I did learn about it, you know, in the game of politics,
is that they like to play the long game because they’re there for their career. We’re there
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for 3 to 4 years unless we go to grad school. So, really, they just have to kind of wait us
out.
The Problem-Solver
The problem-solver is defined as the faculty troubleshooter who intercedes to address a
problem on the institution’s behalf. Since the experiences and potential for leveraged authority
are different between faculty and students, there was no indication from the interviewees that
they were taxed as student problem-solvers. This differs from the capacity that students
demonstrated as resilient problem-solvers revealed in the second theme in response to Research
Question 1.
Other Forms of Cultural Taxation
The fourth theme of the study supports assertions in the literature that suggest two
additional forms of cultural taxation: the legitimate scholar and the student activist. Although I
did not specifically inquire about legitimacy and activism, both subjects came up during the
interviews.
Scholarly legitimacy should be added to the concepts of cultural taxation to challenge
belonging for racially minoritized faculty. Interestingly, legitimacy also came up in the narratives
about the experiences of racially minoritized graduate students. This finding suggests that
legitimacy should be further studied as taxation. Similarly, student activism is uncompensated
labor to hold the academy accountable, impacting students’ ability to focus on being students.
The literature on critical race theory also calls for a commitment to social justice as a key
principle.
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Therefore, this section of the findings provides an overview of the fourth theme revealed
in this study: the legitimate scholar and the student activists as concepts associated with cultural
taxation.
The Legitimate Scholar
The graduate students shared that racism is normalized by what they believe are the
different expectations for them compared to their White counterparts. Gia indicated that there are
different expectations for racially minoritized students academically. Gia expressed that it is also
difficult to know what instructors expect because their perspectives are different. She stated, “I
feel like I have to try to get everything right like I have to double, triple track checklists.” Gia is
a high-achieving student who strives to excel academically. Gia added that she recognizes that
there are different expectations for her. However, she also shared that her course instructors do
not convey their expectations on assignments or provide feedback when grading her work. Gia
expressed, “I don’t know what their expectation of me is. I don’t know if they’re going to want
to subtract all five points because they don’t like the word I use.” Gia reported that in addition to
the ambiguity, another challenge for her has been the lack of diverse faculty and course readings
that do not reflect her perspectives or experiences as an African American woman. She stated,
“You know my course, textbook. That wasn’t in my world, you know, and, so, that’s
frustrating.”
Miguel was even more explicit about how challenging the assumptions and different
expectations can be for racially minoritized graduate students. He indicated that the same
challenges exist in higher education in the same way as in professional settings:
You demonstrate that you are smarter, that you work harder than other people to be
promoted. Right. And to be given that, you know, top marks, you always have to, and
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people say, “oh, it’s not working twice as hard, is working way smarter than everybody
else.” Because, you know, the implication that you work twice as hard means those other
people are only doing half the work. And that’s not always true, right? You might be
doing the same amount of work, but that person will be placed above you no matter what.
Right? So, you have to do a little bit extra, you have to be more proactive, and you have
to, you know, demonstrate higher capability because the expectation is that, oh, you
know, they either got lucky or someone else is helping them you get that all the time.
Who helped you do this? I got that question. So, many times, after doing something. I’m
like, no, no, you got it wrong. I helped such and such to do this. Oh, but you have to
clarify that. Because if we don’t speak up for ourselves, nobody else does.
On two separate occasions during the interview with Mary, she made statements that signal her
experiences with scholarly legitimacy. She said, “I have to work three times as hard as other
people. … I’ve published more papers than many of my other peers. … I’ve written a chapter in
a textbook. … I’ve done multiple studies, …yet they still think of me less than my counterparts.”
Mary also stated, “I feel like I have to prove something. You know, I don’t want people
to think, oh, you’re in this program because you’re Latina, and they’re looking for minorities for
the program.” For Xavier, scholarly legitimacy was an internal perception during his graduate
study. He expressed, “I’ve definitely experienced imposter syndrome, you know, because based
on the people that surround me, my peers, I sometimes felt that I was at a place, you know, why
am I here?”
Although the concept of scholarly legitimacy is currently not considered cultural taxation,
the burden of having something to prove that is placed on graduate students can be taxing and
can impair motivation and academic achievement.
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The Student Activist
Two interviewees expressed that their racialized experiences as students compelled them
to activism. For Jena, she reported initially “minimizing or suppressing” her experiences with
microaggressions. Then, she took a course on race and ethnicity. Jena expressed that she started
“opening that box a little bit, and I would go to protest and started being active, kind of like a
switch of gears for me.” Jena stated that she grew concerned about how the experiences of
BIPOC were condensed into a one-semester course. Jena indicated that she partnered with a
classmate to develop an initiative. She shared the following:
I am trying to be an advocate. … So, we’ve came up with this initiative. I’m going into
really breaking things down. We took our time and plan to discuss breaking down
microaggressions, breaking down how to actually advocate for clients of color in the
mental health field, breaking down how saying you don’t see color is problematic, you
know, all of these other issues, and presented it to the outgoing and incoming program
directors. And the meeting went well. And they actually extended us an invitation to the
diversity recruitment task force they have for the program because they did express
wanting to bring in more students’ voices.
After his experience in the mall parking lot with the police and the other experiences with racism
as an undergraduate, Adam stated,
My first year [in] college was spent at a community college. On that one, I was just a
student. But when I transferred, I promised myself that, you know, I’m going to leave
here with something. And I’m going to make a difference on this campus. And so, I spent
3 years in a program … and making a difference in there. It was centered around young
Black men. We had the lowest retention rate on that campus. And, so, that organization
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was meant to try to, you know, build community around it. And I also participated in [an
event during which] we would have young high schoolers, juniors, and seniors come up
from the local schools, and they would come visit the campus. And, so, we, you know, a
bunch of Black high school students, and we would just be kind of, you know, we’d be
their mentors for the weekend. I did that for 3 years. And I was a director and a team
leader for that one. And then I was part of a student coalition group where it wasn’t just
about race, but it was also about gender and identity as well. I consider myself a very
proud ally. … The student group that addressed hate speech, gender-inclusive bathrooms,
more staff of color.
Summary of Findings
The findings show that racism is a normalized and persistent condition for racially
minoritized students, and they learn to navigate in addition to any academic rigor. The racially
minoritized graduate student in this study utilized resilience to help them navigate and cope as
they encountered a range of racism, from overt to covert acts. The study also found that an
element of the racism experienced is cultural taxation, especially when compelled as experts and
educators for the benefit of the institution and their White counterparts. To a much lesser degree,
the graduate students were compelled as ambassadors, committee members, and liaisons. The
study did not find evidence that the study participants were culturally taxed as problem-solvers.
Finally, the study revealed that from the experiences of racially minoritized students, scholarly
legitimacy and student activism should also be considered concepts of cultural taxation.
The findings presented in this study should encourage further study specifically on the
permanency and manifestations of racism, given its historical foundation and manifestations in
the racially minoritized student experience. There is also an opportunity to further explore and
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consider the impact of resiliency as potential coping and solution strategies for BIPOC students.
Lastly, while the probe into cultural taxation as a phenomenon affecting students did not yield
extensive results, there was enough evidence to warrant further study.

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Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations
The intention of this qualitative phenomenological study was to inquire about the
experiences of racially minoritized graduate students to explore potential themes representative
of cultural taxation as defined. By doing so, the study aimed to understand cultural taxation as an
attributable phenomenon.
The findings of this phenomenological study revealed the following four themes:
1. The experiences of the racially minoritized graduate students in this study include
manifestations of racism that are persistent and often normalized.
2. As the participants in this study experience racism, they also show resiliency to
navigate and manage those experiences.
3. There is indication that racially minoritized graduate students experience concepts
reflective of Padilla’s (1994) definitions as the expert, the educator, the ambassador,
the committee member, the liaison, and the problem-solver.
4. This study’s findings support assertions that issues of legitimacy as a cultural taxation
concept are sound and should be further explored. Similarly, the findings offer
indication that “activist” should also be further examined as a concept of cultural
taxation.
Discussion
The literature review conducted for this study did not reveal any published work
inquiring into the phenomenon of cultural taxation attributable to the experiences of racially
minoritized university students (Gooden et al., 2020; Guillaume & Apodaca, 2020; Hirshfield &
Joseph, 2012; Padilla, 1994; Porter et al., 2018; Turner, 2002). Therefore, the overall intention of
this study was to determine if cultural taxation, as defined by Padilla (1994), is an attributable
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phenomenon in the experiences of racially minoritized students. Although there was not
overwhelming evidence of cultural taxation as an ambassador, committee member, liaison, or
problem-solver, there was enough compelling indication of the role of expert and educator as
taxing experiences for racially minoritized students. Additionally, there was enough evidence to
make a case for scholarly legitimacy to be considered a concept of cultural taxation, as posited
by Joseph and Hirshfield (2011).
In analyzing the narratives of the graduate students who have committed to activism in
response to the academy, it seemed right to recognize this student activism as described by
Linder et al. (2019). The extent of the student activism described by the participants was
unexpected but not surprising. As Linder et al. (2019) suggested, students were drawn to
activism in response to racialized experiences not addressed by the institution. The extent of
student activism revealed in this study suggests that activism should be considered a concept of
cultural taxation.
All 10 participants interviewed have experienced racism on more than one occasion,
ranging from subtle microaggressions to the threat of physical violence. Eight had these
experiences while graduate students and, in two instances, as undergraduates. Despite those
experiences, the graduate students unknowingly have employed the principles of resiliency
theory to help them cope and manage those experiences.
It made sense to consider the four components of resiliency theory in the context of
challenging dominant ideologies. According to Gildersleeve et al. (2011), “active engagement
with struggle” (p. 100) makes resiliency a required ability for racially minoritized graduate
students. The four components of resilience theory are social competence, problem-solving,
autonomy, and a sense of purpose (González, 2007). Social competence is the resourcefulness an
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individual can have to adapt and form positive relationships during adversity. Problem-solving is
the capacity to analyze adversity critically to determine a strategy for overcoming. Autonomy is
the development of self and the recognition of one’s own strengths and power. Lastly, a sense of
purpose is the motivation and driver for obtaining deeper meaning (González, 2007).
A by-product of the permanence of racism is intragroup ideologies that promote intra-
and intergroup conflicts (Burton et al., 2010). For example, colorism derives from the ideas that
convinced people of color that they might have protection and safety from White domination by
passing for or sounding White. However, they did not. They never did. It is important to point
out that the reasons these approaches were taken are understood. As gathered in the literature,
historically, phenomena like passing were attempts at safety for themselves and their families.
The desire for safety is a human need. The intragroup ideologies that hail from racism have real
ramifications for people of color (Burton et al., 2010; Chaney & Clark, 2020; Crutchfield et al.,
2022). Given my positionality as a person of color, I was initially apprehensive about
highlighting and discussing some of the intragroup dynamics several interviewees experienced.
Given my upbringing and firsthand experiences with racism, I did not want to cast light on what
I consider to be inside family business. Like most of the interviewees in this study, I believe I
have a cultural obligation to not magnify subjects that can and have been used against
communities of color. Simply, I did not want to “air the laundry.” However, given that the study
participants were willing to disclose so openly these difficult experiences, it was important to
honor their voices and experiences. Six interviewees shared experiences centered on colorism.
It was extraordinary to hear these narratives. During these candid interviews, there was a
sense that the participants were sharing these stories to process and perhaps reconcile how family
members may have struggled with these ideas. Some of the elaborations about discussions with
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family were not shared here by design. Still, it was clear that the participants had processed these
ideas themselves so as not to perpetuate them. In that way, they were not simply challenging
some of the divisive ideas; they were consciously countering them.
Recommendations
Shugart (2013) asserted, “Colleges and universities are famously resistant to change”
(p. 7). Shugart noted, “the confluence of competing values and priorities that creates a sort of
dynamic tension that works against rapid and strategic change” (p. 7). In this argument, Shugart
contended that higher education institutions must undergo extensive cultural change, beginning
with examining their cultures and traditions, to determine the viability of any proposed strategic
change that promotes long-term sustainability. While this contention is sound and suggests “a
brutally honest look at the existing culture to gain a deep understanding of its origins and
underpinnings” (Shugart, 2013, p. 9), at no point does Shugart make any reference to the racism
that built and continues to permeate higher education. Therein lies the problem. Any strategic
plan for the sustainability of higher education that does not center on an explicit resolve to
confront its racist past is short-sighted. Simply, no plan for chartering a path forward for
relevancy and sustainability can rely on implication, and no canned statement about a
commitment to inclusion and equity can be considered acceptable without an action plan.
According to Newsome et al. (2022), “creating and maintaining diverse and equitable
practices on campus will not happen by the sheer will of well-intentioned professionals and
programs” (p. 135). There is also enough compelling data in the literature to suggest that
“traditional” approaches to improving the experiences of racially minoritized students in higher
education benefit the systemically racist institutions borne out of colonialism with limited
positive impact on the BIPOC student body (Ash et al., 2020; Bonilla-Silva, 2017; Curtis-Boles
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& Bourg, 2010; Devine & Ash, 2022; Dobbin & Kalev, 2018; Fujimoto & Härtel, 2017; Patel,
2015; Porter et al., 2018; Seward & Guiffrida, 2012).
Similarly, focusing resources on attempts to “change minds” are ineffective when the
focus should be on robust and transformative leadership realignment and policy change. Further,
many of the usual approaches are grounded in the deficit model, place the responsibility for
inequities on the students and their communities, and do not address the legacy of systemic
racism (Ash et al., 2020). Recommendations should expand beyond diversity training, mentoring
programs, and after-the-fact support resources for students of color (Ash et al., 2020; Beck et al.,
2022). Perhaps as noted by Ash et al. (2020), it is time for a “deeper conversation on ways to
address racial inequality within higher education” (p. 3).
For long-term sustainability, it is also longer prudent to forget or reframe the abhorrent
history of higher education. Therefore, given the findings of this phenomenological study and the
plethora of literature that denotes the persistence of racism in the academy, this chapter offers
three recommendations that earnest institutions can take to begin the slow but necessary
transformational change. The following sections outline recommendations, their driving factors,
and the sources to support them.
Recommendation 1
The first recommendation is to redesign institutional leadership into an organized woven
structure of shared leadership.
• Acts of racism, from subtle microaggressions to racial violence, continue to occur in
higher education and negatively impact racially minoritized students (Ash et al.,
2020; Hollingsworth et al., 2017). This was also true in this study, where eight of the
10 racially minoritized graduate students have experienced some form of racism.
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Often, when flagrant racism occurs on campus and White administrators respond,
they “believe they are addressing racism effectively” (Ash et al., 2020, p. 5).
However, “these responses, while helpful, never challenge the permanence of racism.
Instead, such public responses lull the dominant White culture into thinking they are
addressing the problem,” allowing the subtle acts of racism to continue (Ash et al.,
2020, p. 5).
• Even well-intended institutions still have a negative impact on the experiences of
racially minoritized students, as evidenced by a study that had been successful at
minority recruitment (Slay et al., 2019). According to Ash et al. (2020), White
administrators are unimpeded when maintaining the status quo, so there is no sense of
urgency to prompt change. In addition to a lack of motivation to change, White
administrators themselves “need remedial education that focuses on systems of
Whiteness, power, and oppression rather than training on embracing individual
tolerance and inclusive excellence.” (Ash et al., 2020, p. 4). This study affirms that
racially minoritized graduate students from various public and private institutions
across the country experience racism that is persistent and normalized.
• Organized shared leadership decentralizes equity work from student affairs, ethnic
study programs, and student cultural centers (Holcombe et al., 2022). Additionally, it
also removes the role of what Ash et al. (2020) refer to as the “chief absolution
officer” (p. 12) and holds all campus leaders accountable for achieving its goals.
• An organized woven structure of shared leadership, shown in Figure 3, undermines
limited access to senior administrative roles by ensuring collaboration with emerging
leaders and a pipeline for the advancement of BIPOC faculty and staff at institutions
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where White people still hold “the overwhelming majority of leadership and faculty
positions” (Ash et al., 2020, p. 14).

Figure 3
An Organized Woven Structure of Shared Leadership

Note. Woven model. Adapted from Organizing Shared Equity Leadership: Four Approaches to
Structuring the Work by E. Holcombe, A, Kezar, J. P. M. Dizon, D. Vigil, & N. Ueda, 2022.
Pullias Center for Higher Education. Copyright 2022 by Pullias Center for Higher Education.

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Recommendation 2
The second recommendation is for institutional leaders and student leaders to work
together to conduct thorough and ongoing assessments of all formal and informal policies to
undermine systemic racism
• According to Bensimon (2020), limiting the focus to perceived “achievement gaps” is
a convenient way to justify inequity in education and “does little more than
perpetuate theories that associate academic achievement with individual effort,
motivation, and drive” (p. 8). Kendi (2019) went further by suggesting that focusing
on student achievement without considering unequal educational structures and
systems merely promotes racist notions of intellectual inferiority.
• Particular attention should be paid to creating a cross-section of collaborators derived
from a university of shared power. This collaboration is essential because, as Banaji et
al. (2021) asserted, endemic to systemic racism is unconscious inference and implicit
bias that perpetuate disrespectful behaviors and racism.
• To create anti-racist policy in higher education, a complete and thorough assessment
of policy should occur at all levels of the institution. The assessments should also
“include the unspoken rules that govern education routines and decision-making, such
as admissions, hiring, evaluation, as well as the criteria that guide judgments about
quality, excellence, and merit” (Bensimon, 2020, p. 10). Appendix H provides the
four-point criteria Bensimon (2020) developed to systematically assess formal and
informal policies in higher education to eliminate racist policies and practices.
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• In addition to the criteria offered by Bensimon (2020) to assess both formal and
informal institutional policies, the change process should use the equity tank’s four
phases, as shown in Figure 4, for methodical implementation.

Figure 4
Equity Tank Model

Note. Equity tank model. Adapted from “Equity Tank: A Model for Critical Inquiry and
Change,” by A. Newsome, A. Folkes, & L. Marchlewski, 2022, Journal of Diversity in Higher
Education, 15(2), p. 136. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000385

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Recommendation 3
The third recommendation is for all institutional leaders and teaching faculty (including
tenured, non-tenured, and adjunct), instructors (including staff and teaching assistants),
especially those teaching courses centered on diversity, social justice, multiculturalism, and
related topics, to have ongoing access to roundtable discussions and training on the respective
subject matter. Only subject matter experts should be able to teach such courses.
• Racially minoritized students should not be responsible for the academy’s diversity
work. A qualitative study with doctoral students of color explored engagement in
diversity work in the forms of peer mentoring and participation in recruitment efforts
and found that the racially minoritized doctoral students felt burdened by the
responsibility and added duties (Porter et al., 2018).
• The burden of students being responsible for educating their White counterparts was
clear in this study and in another study involving graduate students (J. C. Harris &
Linder, 2018). As noted in other literature, this diversity work was not compensated
and detracted from their academic pursuits.
• Institutions deeply committed to full equity will demonstrate a willingness to recruit
qualified people of color to senior leadership, key decision-making positions, and
teaching faculty positions (with demonstrated subject matter expertise). The model
also calls for White educational leaders to commit to reflective self-examination in
decision-making and be re-educated to think critically and build expertise in the
actual history of higher education and not limit themselves to historical dogma.
Boards of trustees and senior leadership are included and required to experience this
“re-education” (Ash et al., 2020).
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Models for Change
As a result of this study, the proposed model for change is actually a combination of three
models. Ash et al. (2020) offered an interesting foundational and philosophical model for change
grounded in anti-racism and critical race theory. Holcombe et al. (2022) provided a structural
format using a woven model that shows how leadership, decision-making, and accountability can
be institutionally organized. Lastly, Newsome et al. (2022) offer the equity think tank as a model
for “critical inquiry and change” (p. 135) proposed as the process for application of the change
process.
Foundational and Philosophical Model: Anti-Racism in Higher Education
The model recognizes the advent and the history of higher education in the United States
as being clearly rooted in systemic racism, and if one is to adhere to the permanence of racism, it
is irrational to consider traditional recommendations (Ash et al., 2020; Banaji et al., 2021; Bell,
1980, 1992; Nash, 2019; Thelin, 2019). Decades of training and loosely supported programs
intended to improve or pacify calls for full access and equity have not yielded prolonged or
sustainable results (Devine & Ash, 2022; Dobbin & Kalev, 2018; Fujimoto & Härtel, 2017).
The anti-racist higher education model for change acknowledges that transforming to a
shared leadership model will be challenging, if not impossible, without collective buy-in from
current decision-makers. To that end, this model has underpinnings of social action to insist on
shared power, especially in public institutions that rely on varying levels of support from public
funds. Additionally, Ash et al. (2020) acknowledged that the term “shared power” itself has
connotations of ownership and Whiteness as property. However, it is important that anticipated
time and resources not be spent on such challenges of little real consequence and focus on the
objectives. There are two objectives in the model. First current leadership structures should begin
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the discussions about redesign. Second, this model includes an element of re-education of White
leadership that cannot be overlooked.
Structural Model: An Organized Woven Structure of Shared Leadership
Holcombe et al. (2022) posited that transformational change in higher education is
required at all levels, “from the president to deans, to staff and faculty” (p. 1). The responsibility
and accountability for equity should be decentralized using a shared equity leadership model.
Holcombe et al. (2022) offered four structures for achieving shared equity leadership. However,
the structural model recommended as a result of these study findings is the woven model, as
shown in Figure 3.
The woven model provides for “the inclusion of more people” in leadership (Holcombe
et al., 2022, p. 5). This distributed leadership model is not intended to deepen bureaucracy.
Rather, with leadership and decision-making “disbursed across multiple organizational levels,”
the structure for leadership is more flexible (Holcombe et al., 2022, p. 5). This flexibility
assumes that decisions and processes should be more easily executed at a decentralized local
level.
This organized woven structure for shared leadership eliminates the need for a dedicated
diversity office and officer. Instead, as the name implies, “woven into the fabric of the institution
as part of institutional strategic plans and goals and into individual roles” is purposeful equity
work (Holcombe et al., 2022, p. 16). As designed, all leaders at all levels in this structure are
responsible for targeted equity work and accountability guided by a diverse senior leadership
team (Holcombe et al., 2022).
Holcombe et al. (2022) encouraged an incentive and reward structure when advancing
shared equity leadership to promote participation. Leaders who have engaged in shared equity
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leadership report having clear expectations and benchmarks that shift the culture where equity
work becomes the norm (Holcombe et al., 2022). Rather than responding to racism with
statements like, “this is not who we are,” shared equity leadership promotes statements like, “this
is just who we are and what we do” (Bensimon, 2020; Holcombe et al., 2022).
Change Process Model: The Equity Tank
As with any proposed model or structure, the question becomes how to begin the change.
The equity tank is grounded in the Equity Scorecard (Bensimon & Malcom, 2012). It is a four-
phased process model designed to identify, probe, and address inequities (Newsome et al., 2022).
With an organized woven structure of shared leadership, the equity think tank teams include
leaders at all levels within a department “to ensure everyone’s voices and perspectives are heard”
(Newsome et al., 2022, p. 137). It is important to note that the think tank teams are not a
hierarchy. When participating in an equity tank, everyone is equal, which ensures accountability
and minimizes the potential for groupthink. The first step in the equity tank is critical inquiry.
Newsome et al. (2022) suggested beginning this process at a local level, “brainstorming issues of
inequity” (p. 137). Bensimon’s four-point criteria to assess policy, shown in Appendix H, can be
a helpful tool in the assessment process.
Figure 4 outlines the equity tank model process for critical inquiry and change. Topics
are identified and thoroughly and critically explored. According to Newsome et al. (2022), the
relative time it takes to explore a topic is 2 months, recognizing that some topics have several
identified inequities. The equity think tank team is responsible for determining the scope of the
probe for each topic (Newsome et al., 2022). After an exhaustive probe into the topics, the team
identifies and proposes a series of short-term, with terms ranging from 3 to 12 months, and long-
term, with terms ranging from 1 to 5 years, actionable recommendations (Newsome et al., 2022).
131

The next phase is the implementation phase. According to Newsome et al. (2022), this
may be the most challenging phase. During this phase, priorities are determined, and delays may
be identified because of limited resources. Newsome et al. (2022) suggested that
recommendations should include best-case scenarios and contingencies along with defensible
reasons why the recommendations are worth the investment of resources. As with most change
models, it is also important to celebrate achievement and not get discouraged by delays and
setbacks. It is also a good idea to anticipate challenges and devise practical methods for
overcoming them. However, despite anticipated or unforeseen barriers, the focus and purpose of
establishing an equitable institution should hold the equity think tank team intact.
Through the combination of a philosophical and foundational model for change, an
organized woven model for shared leadership to provide structure, and the equity tank model for
the application of the change process, institutions can are provided a roadmap for achieving the
recommendations that have the potential to minimize the likelihood of cultural taxation and other
experiences with racism, thereby improving the academic experiences for racially minoritized
students.
Recommendations for Future Research
Given that this was the first known study inquiring on the experiences of cultural taxation
and racially minoritized college students, further research should add to the growing body of
counter-storytelling for the firsthand perspectives of BIPOC students. Similarly, given the
limitations of this study, further research on cultural taxation and students is also recommended
with a larger group of study participants. The data collected during focus groups would also be a
compelling addition.
132

Interesting data were collected about the experiences of graduate students who are also
military veterans. Further exploration into that additional layer of intersectionality is also
recommended, as is a study on some of the coping strategies exhibited by veterans and active-
duty service members in response to racism in higher education.
Conclusion
Studies such as this tend to conclude with the most recent estimates of the anticipated
increase in a multicultural and multilingual citizenry, and inevitably, well-meaning White people
will wonder why the historical context matters and insist that discussions centered on race only
aggravate tension. To them, I would say that this study and others like it are not intended to
exacerbate an already tense climate along racial and political lines. Rather, it is a humanistic call
to everyone to use critical theory to thoroughly examine our institutions, including higher
education, not with the intention to cast villains or victims but to move beyond that, allowing
space for innovation and creativity. Those are the elements that are going to propel us forward.
That is what is going to ensure the relevance and sustainability of our institutions of higher
education. If we are open and candid, first with ourselves and then with each other, we will see
that racism is the root cause of our immobility. The past must be reconciled to understand,
acknowledge, and redirect the traditions and policies that have informed our current policies and
practices in higher education. Otherwise, it is not implausible that our institutions of higher
learning will remain stagnant, grow irrelevant, and ultimately become obsolete.

133

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Appendix A: Information Sheet
Key Information About the Research Study
(EXEMPT RESEARCH)

Study title: A Phenomenological Study on Cultural Taxation and Racially Minoritized Students
in Graduate Postsecondary Education

Principal investigator: Justine Gradillas
Faculty advisor: Patricia Tobey, PhD

You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything unclear to you.

Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to learn about the experiences of university students who identify as
a racial minority or person of color currently enrolled in graduate study. By doing so, this study
aims to identify and explore possible themes indicative of cultural taxation.

Participant involvement:
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to sign an informed consent form via DocuSign; a
USC-approved electronic signature service. You will also have the opportunity to provide verbal
consent at the onset of the interview. The permission will include agreeing to have the interview
recorded and subsequently transcribed. To not miss any details, the researcher may also take
notes during the interview.

The interviews will be conducted online via Zoom, a USC-approved meeting platform. An
individual, one-time access code will allow entry into the meeting platform for each participant.
Using an online platform, you will have the comfort of the setting of your choice, and travel will
not be required. This will also limit the time necessary for participation. You will be asked to
select a pseudonym during the interview. The interview will last approximately 60 minutes.

You will be asked questions about your experiences, thoughts, and feelings as a graduate student
of color. Your participation in this study is appreciated; however, it is your choice to participate.
There are no right or wrong answers, and you may choose to skip any questions you do not wish
to answer or stop at any time. You may also stop the interview at any point if you have a
question or if a question is unclear.

There will not be any identifying information on the notes or transcription connecting them to
you. There will be two transcriptions via Zoom and Otter, an online transcription service.

149

Payment/Compensation for Participation:

You will receive a $20 visa gift card for your time. You do not have to answer all of the
questions to receive the card. The card will be discretely emailed to you after the completion of
the interview.

Confidentiality:

The Principal Investigator, the Faculty Advisor, and the University of Southern California
Institutional Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research
studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

No one other than the researcher will know that you participated in the study or how you
answered. You will also not be asked to provide any personally identifiable information in this
study. Everything that you share during the interview will be kept confidential by the researcher.
Any direct quotes will not be connected to you in any way – that includes your name, your
program of study, and your institution. There is only one unique exception to that if, during the
interview, you say something that puts you at risk of serious harm, the researcher is required to
report it. However, if that happens, the researcher will stop the interview and tell you what
information must be shared.

After the interview, the audio will be saved for transcription, and the visual recording will be
destroyed. The two transcripts will be compiled into one final copy. Once that has been done,
you will be contacted by the researcher and asked if the transcript accurately reflects your
responses during the interview. After the study, all data, including notes and transcripts, will be
destroyed.

Investigator contact information:
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Justine Gradillas at jgradill@usc.edu.
You may also contact Dr. Patricia Tobey at tobey@usc.edu.

IRB contact information:
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at email irb@usc.edu.

150

Appendix B: Informed Consent Form
Informed Consent for Research

Study title: A Phenomenological Study on Cultural Taxation and Racially Minoritized Students
in Graduate Postsecondary Education

Principal investigator: Justine Gradillas

Department: Rossier School of Education
Waite Phillips Hall
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

We invite you to take part in a research study. Please take as much time as you need to read the
consent form. If you find any of the language difficult to understand, please ask questions. If you
decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. A copy of the signed form will be
provided to you for your records.

Key information:

The following is a summary of this study to help you decide whether you should participate.
More detailed information is listed later in this form.

1. Being in this research study is voluntary–it is your choice.
2. You are being asked to participate in this study because you are a graduate student
who identifies as a person of color or racial minority. The purpose of this study is to
learn about the experiences of university students who identify as a racial minority or
person of color currently enrolled in graduate study. By doing so, this study aims to
identify and explore possible themes indicative of cultural taxation. Your part in the
study will be to respond to questions asked during the interview about your
experiences. There are no right or wrong answers.
3. There are risks from participating in this study. The most common risks are: some of
the questions may make you feel uneasy or embarrassed. You can choose to skip or
stop answering any questions you do not want to answer.
There is a small risk that people who are not connected with this study will learn your
identity by linking this signed document to you. The only record linking you with your
participation in this study is the consent document, and the sole known risk, as a result,
is a breach of confidentiality.
4. You may not receive any direct benefit from taking part in this study. However, your
participation in this study may help us learn more about the experiences of graduate
students.
5. Participation is voluntary. The only alternative is not to participate.

151

Detailed Information
Purpose:
This study aims to learn about the experiences of university students who identify as a racial
minority or person of color currently enrolled in graduate study. By doing so, this study aims to
identify and explore possible themes indicative of cultural taxation.

Procedures:

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to sign an informed consent form via DocuSign; a
USC-approved electronic signature service. You will also have the opportunity to provide verbal
consent at the onset of the interview. The permission will include agreeing to have the interview
recorded and subsequently transcribed. To not miss any details, the researcher may also take
notes during the interview.

The interviews will be conducted online via Zoom, a USC-approved meeting platform. An
individual, one-time access code will allow entry into the meeting platform for each participant.
Using an online platform, you will have the comfort of the setting of your choice, and travel will
not be required. This will also limit the time necessary for participation. You will be asked to
select a pseudonym during the interview. The interview will last approximately 60 minutes. Your
entire participation time in the study should not exceed 90 minutes.

You will be asked questions about your experiences, thoughts, and feelings as a graduate student
of color. Your participation in this study is appreciated; however, it is your choice to participate.
There are no right or wrong answers, and you may choose to skip any questions you do not wish
to answer or stop at any time. You may also stop the interview at any point if you have a
question or if a question is unclear.

There will not be any identifying information on the notes or transcription connecting them to
you. There will be two transcriptions via Zoom and Otter, an online transcription service.

Risks and discomforts:

Interviews: Some of the questions may make you feel uneasy or embarrassed. You can choose to
skip or stop answering any questions you don’t want to.

Breach of Confidentiality:

There is a small risk that people who are not connected with this study will learn your identity or
personal information.

152

Benefits:

There are no direct benefits to you from taking part in this study. However, your participation in
this study may help us learn more about the experiences of college, specifically, those who
identify as a person of color, in graduate study.

Privacy/confidentiality:

We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we
are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. Efforts will be
made to limit the use and disclosure of your personal information, including research study, to
people required to review this information. We may publish the data from this study in journals
or present it at meetings. If we do, we will not use your name or identify your college or
university.

The University of Southern California’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Subject’s
Protections Program (HSPP) may review your records.

The research team includes individuals who are mandatory reporters. Your personal information
may be disclosed if required by law. This means that there may be rare situations that require us
to release personal information about you. Your participation in the survey will only be made
known if, during the conversation, the researcher sees or hears about you being at risk of serious
harm.

Your responses, also called data, will be stored locally by the researcher on a password-protected
fixed desktop computer within a secure office. A backup copy of the data transcripts will be
secured separately on another password-protected locally stored computer. However, there will
be nothing on either copy of the dataset that connects you to the data. Only you and I will know
your selected pseudonym. All data, including notes and transcripts, will be destroyed at the end
of the study. As such, your data collected as part of this research will not be used or distributed
for future research studies.

Alternatives:
Participation is voluntary, and the only alternative is to not participate in this study.
Payments/compensation:

You will receive a $20 visa gift card for your time. You do not have to answer all of the
questions to receive the card. The e-card will be discretely emailed to you after the completion of
the interview.

Payments for research participation are considered taxable income, and participants may be
required to pay taxes on this income. Suppose participants are paid $600 or more in total within a
calendar year for participation in one or more research studies. In that case, the university will
report this as income to the IRS, and participants may receive an Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
153

Form 1099. This does not include any payments you accept to pay you back for expenses like
parking fees.

Voluntary participation:

It is your choice whether to participate. If you choose to participate, you may change your mind
and leave the study at any time. If you decide not to participate or decide to end your
participation in this study, you will not be penalized or lose any benefits that you are otherwise
entitled.

Contact information:

If you have questions, concerns, complaints, or think the research has hurt you, talk to the study
investigator, Justine Gradillas, at jgradill@usc.edu.

This research has been reviewed by the USC Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a
research review board that reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and
welfare of research participants. Contact the IRB if you have questions about your rights as a
research participant or have complaints about the research. You may contact the IRB at (323)
442-0114 or by email at irb@usc.edu

Statement of consent:

I have read the information provided above. I have been given a chance to ask questions. All my
questions have been answered. By signing this form, I agree to take part in this study.

Name of research participant Signature Date

I have personally explained the research to the participant using non-technical language. I have
answered all the participant’s questions. I believe that the participant understands the information
described in this informed consent and freely consents to participate.

Name of person obtaining Signature Date
informed consent

154

Appendix C: Interview Protocol
Two research questions guide this study:
1. What are the experiences of racially minoritized college graduate students?
2. What do these experiences mean in the context of cultural taxation as a phenomenon?
Introduction to the Interview
Hi. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. I would like to reintroduce myself.
My name is Justine. I am a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. I am also
the researcher on this study. I am intentionally not going to use your name during our meeting
today, so please forgive me if I do not call you by name.
Before we begin, I wanted to thank you for agreeing to be interviewed today by signing
the informed consent form. I will go over the critical information from that form just to ensure
that you do not have any questions since you signed it and give you the opportunity to provide
verbal consent in addition to your signed consent. Is that ok?
The purpose of this study is to learn about the experiences of graduate students who self-
identify as a racial minority or a person of color. I asked you to participate because you indicated
that you are a graduate student who identifies as a person of color.
Please know that your participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and if there is a
question that you do not want to answer, we can skip it, or if for any reason you wish to stop the
interview, you can do so. I also want to stress that there is no right or wrong answer. I merely
want to know about your experiences and your opinions and feelings about those experiences.
The interview should take approximately 60 minutes. It consists of nine questions.
However, sometimes a response to one question may raise another question, so I may ask follow-
up questions or a clarifying question to ensure that I am getting your information accurately. You
155

may also stop me if you have a question or if a question, I ask is unclear. Please stop me at any
point if you need to stop and take a restroom break or stop to get something to drink. I want you
to feel comfortable.
I may take a few notes during our conversation. Does that sound ok? Do you have any
questions before I go on?
I also want to ask your permission to record our meeting. I want to ensure that I do not
miss any details. After our meeting, I will have the audio of our discussion transcribed on Zoom.
I am also going to have the audio transcribed by another transcription service called Otter. Then,
I will destroy the recordings. None of the information I will have – the recording, transcription,
or notes- will include your name. Additionally, I will not include your name, or any other
information directly tied to you in my dissertation. Do I have your permission to record our
meeting today?
Thank you. I want to make sure that you understand that our conversation today is
confidential. I may use direct quotes of things you say in my dissertation. However, again,
nothing you say will be connected to you in any way – that includes your name, your program of
study, and your institution. All your responses to my questions will be compiled with other
participants’ answers to help me and others learn more about the experiences of graduate
students of color. There is only one unique limit to your confidentiality. If I hear or see
something that puts you at risk of serious harm during our conversation, I am required to report
it. However, if that happens, I will stop the interview and let you know what information will
have to be shared. Do you have any questions? Is it ok if I start the recording and we proceed
with the interview? Ok, let’s get started.
156

I will ask you a series of questions about your experiences and your thoughts and feelings
about those experiences. Please know that just because I ask you about a specific kind of
experience does not mean that it was YOUR experience. I am only interested in learning about
YOUR experiences. If I ask you about something that has not been your experience, it is
perfectly fine to say so. Again, if anything I ask is unclear, please stop me and let me know so I
can clarify my question. Do you have any questions about that?
Here is the first question:

Table C1
Interview Questions
RQ Topic Question and potential probes
Background
Tell me about your graduate program. What
made you interested in (this program)?

What made you decide to study (this field)?
What are the
experiences of
racially minoritized
college graduate
students? Experiences
I would like to know more about your
experiences as a (self-identifier/SI) person in
the (name of the program of study) program.

Tell me about your experiences as a(n) (SI)…
In the classroom?
With other students?
With program faculty?

Please tell me about any experiences you have
had in your program that you believe
occurred because you are (SI).

Now, I would like to shift outside of the classes
in your program and learn about any other
activities that you are involved in as a(n) (SI)
graduate student.

Please tell me about what kinds of activities you
are engaged in outside of class.

Tell me about your experiences as a(n) (SI) in
(each identified activity).
What do these
experiences mean Meaning
Tell me how you think you being (SI) has
affected any of these experiences.
157

RQ Topic Question and potential probes
in the context of
cultural taxation as
a phenomenon?

How did that make you feel?

During any of the experiences as a graduate
student of color that you mentioned (offer an
example), tell me how you handled this
situation.

Please tell me your thoughts about that.
How does that make you feel?
How do you handle discussions about race?

We have talked quite a bit about your
experiences at your university as a(n) (SI)
person. Is there anything we haven’t
discussed that you would like to share about
those experiences?

Conclusion to the Interview
Thank you. I appreciate your time and your willingness to share your experiences with
me. That concludes the interview. I will go ahead and stop the recording. Do you have any
questions for me? After I have completed the study, I will be happy to share it with you since
you have been instrumental in its development. Please let me know should you have any
questions after today.

158

Appendix D: Email Communication Process
The following sections describe my personal working document used for organization
during the research.
Recruitment Email
Hello, my name is Justine Gradillas and I am a doctoral student at the University of
Southern California. I am writing you today to invite you to participate in a research study.
During this project, I will be inquiring about the experiences of graduate students who identify as
a person of color or a racially minoritized individual. To be eligible for participation, in addition
to identifying as a person of color, you will be enrolled in a graduate program and will have
completed at least one semester of graduate study.
This study is important to learn more about the experiences of graduate students who
identify as persons of color in postsecondary education. Your decision to participate is
completely voluntary.
If you are selected to participate in an online interview, you will receive a $20 Visa gift
card. You will be asked to electronically sign a consent form and participate in one online
interview with me. No traveling is required to participate in the study. Your entire participation
should last from 60–90 minutes. More information is available on the attached information sheet.
If you are interested in participating, please reply to this email with your contact
information. I will ask you to confirm that you meet the eligibility criteria to determine if you
qualify for participation in this study. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your consideration,

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Informed Consent Email, DocuSign Envelope
Thank you for your willingness to participate in this study. The next step in the process is
obtaining your signed consent. The next email you receive from me will be a consent form that
provides important information about the study. Please review it thoroughly. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me.
If you do not have any questions and would like to participate, please follow the
instructions for your electronic signature. Please also email me three dates and times that are
most convenient for you to meet for the online interview.
Once I receive your signed consent form and your preferred meeting dates and times, I
will send you an email and a calendar invitation confirming our interview.
Then, the day before our scheduled meeting, I will email you a Zoom link to a passcode
protected meeting room. I am really looking forward to meeting with you. Thanks again for your
interest in this study.
DocuSign Message
Hello again! Enclosed is the consent form. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you
have any questions. Otherwise, please sign the enclosed form and remember to email me your
available dates and times. Our meeting should last no more than an hour. Thanks again - Justine
Interview Confirmation
Thank you for signing and returning the consent form. Based on your availability, I have
scheduled our interview for [date and time]. I will send you the link to the Zoom meeting room
along with the access passcode the day before our scheduled meeting. If something comes up and
you need to reschedule the interview, please let me know. I will be happy to accommodate that.
Otherwise, I look forward to meeting with you on [date].
160

Sincerely,
Day Before Interview Zoom Link
Greetings! Below is the access information for the Zoom meeting platform including the
passcode. Please ensure that your video and audio is on during our scheduled interview. As
indicated, the interview will consist of nine questions with perhaps a few follow-ups or clarifying
questions. The interview should last approximately 60 minutes.
See you tomorrow!
Post Interview Thank You Email (include $20 Visa e-card)
Thank you again for your time on [date]. I truly appreciate your insights. Attached is a
small token of gratitude. It has been a pleasure to meet you. If you have any questions, please let
me know.
Sincerely,

161

Appendix E: Research Design Matrix
Interview questions Potential probes
RQ
addressed
Key
concept
addressed
Q type
(Patton,
2002)
Tell me about your
graduate program.
What made you
interested in…
Demo Background Opinions,
values
What made you decide to
study (this field)?
Opinions,
values,
feelings
I would like to know
more about your
experiences as a(n)
(self-identifier/SI)
person in the (name of
program of study)
program. Tell me about
your experiences as
(SI).
In the classroom?
With members of
cohort/other
students?
With program
faculty?
1, 2 Experience Opinions,
values,
feelings,
sensory
Please tell me about any
experiences you have
had in program that you
believe occurred
because you are (SI)

Now, I’d like to shift
outside of the classes in
your program and learn
about any other
activities that you are
involved in as a
graduate student. Please
tell me about what
kinds of activities you
are engaged in outside
of class.
In identified organized
groups?
In identified
research project?
In identified
placements
(internships,
assistantships, field
study)? Etc.

Tell me about your
experiences in (each
identified activity).

Tell me how you think
your being (SI) has
affected any of these
experiences.
How does that make
you feel?
1, 2 Meaning Opinions,
values,
feelings,
sensory
162

During any experiences
as a(n) SI that you
mentioned (offer an
example), tell me how
you handled this
situation.
Please tell me your
thoughts about that.
How does that make
you feel?
How do you handle
discussions about
race?

We have talked quite a bit
about your experiences
at (name of institution)
as a(n) (SI) person. Is
there anything we
haven’t discussed that
you would like to share
about those
experiences?
1, 2 Experience
meaning
Opinions,
values,
feelings,
sensory

163

Appendix F: Qualitative Codebook
Quirk title Parent Description Code freq.
First gen college student

2
Military and/or veteran
experiences

10
Outside experiences

7
Family

3
Intersectionality

7
Centrality of experiential
knowledge
Centrality of
experiential
knowledge
Center stories and
narratives from
the perspectives
of individuals of
color. 29
Total
58
Educator

13
Liaison

3
Problem-solver

0
Committee member

2
Mitigation of microaggressions

1
Faculty avoidance

3
Interest convergence Interest convergence Acts and decisions
that seemingly
benefit all
individuals, but
White individuals
are the primary
beneficiaries. 10
Total

32
Annoyance

2
Pressure

8
Something to prove/legitimacy

4
Expert

6
Assumptions

5
Microaggression

14
Self-Doubt

1
Different expectations/also legit

5
PWI

5
Burden of representation

7
Identity concealment (Dif than
WP)

2
164

Quirk title Parent Description Code freq.
Feel trapped

1
Culture adjustment

1
Imposter syndrome

1
Types of racism

Overt vs covert
13
Cultural obligation

2
Stress

4
Tired

4
Isolation

1
Broke down

1
Laundry

Intergroup -
colorism,
“pocho” and
“whitewash” from
DeMirjyn article 10
Language barrier

2
Language

1
Racial battle fatigue

5
Evidence of faculty cultural
taxation

Sundown city

1
Suppressing and minimizing as
coping

Sought therapy

1
Maladaptive coping

0
Thoughts of dropping out
and/or poor grades

Psychosocial costs

1
Permanence of racism Permanence of racism Racism is a
persistent and
normalized part of
American life. 21
Total

134
Onlyism

12
Not a political victim

1
Activism

10
Invisibility

2
Challenge dominant ideology Challenge dominant
ideology
Critique of
liberalism -
colorblindness,
neutrality of the 25
165

Quirk title Parent Description Code freq.
law, and equality
for all.
Total

50
Sense of Support/Comfort

7
Adaptability

3
Self-awareness

4
Student centered

2
Recommendations

5
Sees opportunity and optimism

8
Be OK with discomfort

2
Code switching

1
Empowered by diversity

1
Resiliency and coping Resiliency and coping
3
Purpose and service

2
Networks

2
Total

40
Paid grad ed

2
DEI coursework

8
Lack of diverse faculty

Along with faculty
unprepared or
unwilling to guide
the class in
discussion 16
HBCU

9
No occupational career models

2
Occupational options

3
No career guidance or academic
support

The academy

1
Lack of social support (merged)

5
No DEI content in coursework

No DEI content in
the curriculum.
Also includes: no
discussions when
important events
occur, no
discussion of
impact, no check
in 8
Total

62
166

Quirk title Parent Description Code freq.
White passing

2
Tokenism

2
Ambassador (merged)

3
Assimilation

1
Whiteness as property Whiteness as property Property rights over
human rights -
rights of
disposition, rights
to use and
enjoyment,
reputation and
status property,
and the absolute
right to exclude.
Majoritarian.
Baseline 7
Total

15
Total number of codes
391

Total number of quirks
77

167

Appendix G: Individuals Killed During Encounter with Law Enforcement
Between March 13, 2020 – May 20, 2022
Identifier: Race/ethnicity Deaths
African American or Black 563
Asian 22
Latino or Latinx 410
Native American 26
Native Hawaiian 13
White 937
Empty data field 84
Race unknown 448
Total number of deaths 2503

Note. Individuals killed during encounter with law enforcement between March 13, 2020, and
May 20, 2022. Adapted from Mapping Police Violence [Data set] by Campaign Zero, 2022.
Copyright 2022 by Campaign Zero.

168

Appendix H: Four-Point Criteria to Assess Anti-Racist Higher Education Policy
Guiding question Anti-racist stance Racist stance
Does the policy identify
its intended outcomes
as anti-racist?

Policy is specific and names
race. Policy is intentional in
numerically identifying
improved outcomes for
BIPOC. Policy takes into
account perspectives
beyond Whiteness. Policy
demonstrates comfort and
commitment to discussions
about race.
Policy specifically avoids
naming race. Outcomes
use racial euphemisms that
demonstrate an avoidance to
discussions about race.
Outcomes are generically
identified as benefitting “all
students.” The policy does not
offer strategies beyond the
perspective of Whiteness.
Does the policy explain
the problem it seeks to
address from an anti-
racist standpoint?
The institution’s racial history
is transparent. Policy
demonstrates a clear
understanding of the impact
of institutional racism.

The institution’s racial history is
avoided. Policy includes the use
of deficit-based terms like
“achievement gap,” “at-risk
students,” etc. as the problem.
Does the policy offer
solutions/practices
that are identifiably
anti-racist?

Critical race consciousness
about institutional failure is
the guiding principle. All
solutions include strategies
designed to remove barriers
that disproportionately
disadvantage BIPOC.
Lack of critical race consciousness
leads to superficial analysis and
solutions. Solutions are limited
to a White perspective and only
aim to remediate BIPOC
students.
Does the policy provide
guidance on anti-
racist implementation?

Whiteness is understood as a
threat to anti-racist policy
implementation. Policy
acknowledges that
Whiteness is the dominant
perspective. Therefore,
policy development and
implementation are guided
by experts in racial equity.
Policy supports an inaccurate and
romanticized view about the
equalizing role of higher
education. Similarly, policy
assumes a colorblind
perspective.

Note. Criteria to assess higher education policy. Adapted from “The case for an anti-racist stance
toward paying off higher education’s racial debt,” by E. M. Bensimon, 2020, Change: The
Magazine of Higher Learning, 52(2), 7–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2020.1732752

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Asset Metadata

Creator Gradillas, Justine Rene (author)

Core Title A phenomenological study on cultural taxation and racially minoritized students in graduate postsecondary education

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2022-12

Publication Date 09/19/2022

Defense Date 07/11/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag critical race theory,cultural taxation,OAI-PMH Harvest,phenomenological inquiry,systemic racism

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tobey, Patricia (committee chair), Ahmadi, Shafiqa (committee member), Kim, Esther (committee member)

Creator Email jgradill@usc.edu,justinegradillas@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC112013902

Unique identifier UC112013902

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Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

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Source 20220921-usctheses-batch-983 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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