YOU’RE NOT OVERREACTING: MICROAGGRESSIONS ARE

REAL

by
Bejeana Breneville
Gahouray Dukuray
Annemarie Jagielo
Tyla Philip
Claire Sheehan
Kylie Wilson
Grace Yang

Capstone • Spring 2017

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

EPIGRAPHS 1

INTRODUCTION 2

ESSAYS 4

“WAIT, WHAT IS THAT?”: AN INTRODUCTION TO MICROAGGRESSIONS

GAHOURAY DUKURAY 4

MY ACTIONS REFLECT ME, NOT MY ETHNICITY GRACE YANG 13

MICROAGGRESSIONS AND MIDDLE AMERICA: A PLEA OR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BY

ANNEMARIE JAGIELO 22

HOW DO MICROAGGRESSIONS SHAPE THE LIFE OF A BLACK WOMAN OVER A LIFETIME?

TYLA PHILIP 30

MICROAGGRESSIONS THROUGH THE LENS OF A WHITE WOMAN

CLAIRE SHEEHAN 38

CHINA DOLL OR BARBIE DOLL: UNEARTHING MICROAGGRESSIONS

KYLIE WILSON 46

WHAT IS BOSTON UNIVERSITY DOING AS A PWI TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE AND

COMMUNITY FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS? BEJEANA BRENEVILLE 57

BIBLIOGRAPHY 66
 Epigraph

Most offensive actions are not gross and crippling. They are subtle and stunning.
Chester Pierce

One must bare in mind the culture makes offensive mechanisms automatic and perhaps almost
obligatory on the part of the whites. These mechanisms may be seen as conscious, unconscious,
or preconscious.
Chester Pierce

There is a feeling a lot of black students share, which is that even though you got a letter of
acceptance, you’re never fully accepted on this campus.
Mastuda Lawrence

Grief, then, for these deceased others might align some of use, for the first time, with the living.

Claudia Rankine

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, […] until
you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
Harper Lee

never
trust anyone
who says
they do not see color.
this means
to them,
you are invisible.
Nayyirah Waheed

“Unfortunately, 'post racism' is also a myth, like unicorns and black people who survive to the
end of a horror movie.”
Justin Simien

1
 Introduction

People of the 21st century are so consumed by their own lives and concerns, and thus

often lack the capability to step outside of his/her own perspective and understand someone

else’s. However, in order to ensure everyone is given equal opportunity to cultivate their own

identity and realize their full potential, we must be willing to acknowledge and understand the

experiences of others.

Our Capstone team is composed of members of all different ethnicities and backgrounds.

For our topic, we wanted to shed light on the unifying experiences in shaping our identities and

show the cumulative effects of microaggressions. Although specific instances may have varied

for each of us, the collective negative impacts were analogous. Even though we often noticed the

emotional consequences of derogatory slights, we never acknowledged them as

microaggressions. Sharing these experiences revealed how microaggressions work in invisible

ways to shape our visible, physical identities.

Although we have all experienced or seen microaggressions, they affect us differently on

both a micro and macro level. Whether it’s as a Black woman at a predominately white

institution, or a White woman using her privilege to her advantage, all of the essays examine the

way microaggressions work in our social interactions with others and ourselves. We aimed to

discover possible solutions to bring these subtle assaults to the forefront of society. It is

important to familiarize oneself with microaggressions because the ability to detect them allows

the aggressor to realize the derogatory nature of their comments. Therefore, the aggressor will

realize the implicitly harmful effects and stop oppressing others in the future.

2
 3
 In this essay, Gahouray explores microaggressions through a psychological lens. Through

a combination of her personal experiences and extended research of prominent authors like

Derald Wing Sue and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, she breaks down exactly what a

microaggression is and in what contexts they can cause deleterious effects on a person, in

particular the black woman. She explores her identity as a Black Muslim Woman, and what that

means in our present day society, as those are all three highly marginalized groups in America

today. Gahouray also speaks on the mental effects that constant repetition of microaggressions

can bring, and presents ways of combatting this dilemma in present day society.

-Tyla Phillip

4
Gahouray Dukuray

“Wait, What Is That?”: An Introduction to Microaggressions

“Wait what are you doing your project on” asked a friend of mine, and I replied with

“Microaggressions.” He thinks about that for a second and asks “what is that?” I gave him a

stunned face, genuinely surprised that he hadn’t heard this word, especially since it has gotten

more attention in more recent years with the internet and social media. At that moment I realized

that microaggressions truly are something invisible to most people.

Although I have only just heard of the word microaggression about three years ago,

through the social media, I did not know it was a term first coined by Chester Pierce in the

1970s. Pierce, who was a former faculty member of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard

University, introduced the word microaggressions as small bombardments by white people to

black people that become significant when compiled.1 A more modern definition of

Microaggressions, according to professor of counseling psychology at Columbia University

Derald Wing Sue, is “everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults,

whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative

messages” directed towards a person based on their marginalized group.2 Marginalized groups in

the United States include, but are not limited to, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, women,

religious minorities, and disabled people. An example of this type of behavior would be a white

woman clutching her purse closer when a Black or Latino man passes by her, because she

assumes that Black or Latino men are criminals. This may or may have not been intentional on

her part, but it is what she is conditioned to believe. Another example, would be a student calling

a fellow student “gay” for not following the norm, assuming that being gay is odd or strange.

Microaggressions are not to be confused with outright prejudices, as they are “micro.”

5
 I identify myself as Black, Muslim, and a woman; all three of those characteristics place

me in three different marginalized groups which subjects me to racial, religious, and gender

microaggressions. I have gotten my fair share of stares in public because of my hijab, which is

the head covering I wear for religious purposes. From my own family, I have gotten “why are

you doing engineering? Why don’t you do something that’s for women like nursing?” I have

gotten the infamous “you only got into that school to fill the racial quota.” I go back and forth

with myself as to whether I should dismiss these acts or comments as menial. Will people think I

am overreacting when I call them out for their small insults? Frankly it is less stressful to deal

with outright prejudice, at least then I don’t have to wonder whether or not it was intended to

insult me. I experience so many microaggressions even in just a week, it’s hard to keep count. I

notice them even more now that I have taken on this concept as my capstone topic. Just a couple

of weeks ago, my boss sent me an email with a link for a talk on campus about Coretta Scott

King with the comment “I thought you might be interested” along with it, and the first thought

that came to mind was that she might have only sent this email to me just because I am the only

black person that works in that office. On the other hand, she may have sent it to me because I

was the only black person in that office and she thought that I may have been interested in a talk

that directly affects me. One thing I know for sure is that she had good intentions when she sent

the email, but she isn’t aware of the turmoil I am going through with something as trivial as an

email.

Sue puts microaggressions into three forms: microinsults, microassaults, and

microinvalidation.3 He defines microinsults as remarks, often unconscious, that are rude and

demean a person’s identity; for example, telling a woman that she is “surprisingly” good at a

sport that is known to only validate male players tells the woman that it is abnormal for her

6
gender to be good at a male dominated sport. Microassaults, often conscious, are derogations that

are primarily violent verbal or nonverbal attacks intended to hurt the victim.4 An example of a

microassault would be parents of a certain race preventing their son or daughter from dating or

marrying anyone of another race. Finally, microinvalidations, often unconscious, are behaviors

that negate the thoughts, feelings, or experiences of marginalized people.5 In the essay “We

Should All Be Feminist,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer and feminist, writes of

different stories where she has witnessed sexism, whether it was in a minor form or in a major

one. While reading the piece, I noted a microinvalidation when she talks about how every time

she goes to a restaurant in Nigeria with a male, the waiter overlooks Adichie and acknowledges

the man she’s with because he/she believes, not intentionally but through cultural conditioning,

that the man’s presence is more valuable and important than hers.6

As they pile up, microaggressions end up having a harmful effect on those who are

victims to it. In his book Microaggressions and Marginality, Sue talks about the psychological

dilemmas brought on by microaggressions: a “clash of realities between the dominant group and

socially devalued group members,” “the invisibility of unintentional bias and discrimination,”

the perceived harmlessness of microaggressions, and the dilemma of responding.7 There is a

clash of realities between the dominant group and the socially devalued group when their

perceptions of reality vary. Sue uses race as an example stating that the racial reality of people of

color is very different from that of White Americans, because White people like to believe that

racism is indeed over. Even though we have had a Black president, that does not mean racism

has disappeared. Even though racism is still alive and well in overt ways, such as the use of

derogatory terms like the N-word, there has been a new type of racism that has taken over, subtle

racism. The invisibility of unintentional bias and discrimination, which we characterize as

7
microaggressions, comes from cultural conditioning, according to Sue. Most people in this day

and age would like to believe that they are moral and upstanding citizens incapable of acts so

evil such as racism, sexism, or homophobia; and it is true that most people are good people, but

most people also carry invisible biases that they are unaware of at times. We do not believe that

wealthier people are better than working class people, but our actions overall show that we do

indeed put them at a higher standard. The way that we treat a restaurant waiter is different from

how we treat a CEO of major company. We do not brush off the CEO of a major company while

they are doing their job, we want to be just like them; and at the same time, we do not usually

praise a waiter for their hard work and aspire to be in their position, making minimum wage to

serve people food. This conduct is the type of conditioning that makes us believe that anyone

with more money is to be held at a higher standard than someone with less. Although they are

only small offenses in the offender's eyes, microaggressions can be consequential for

marginalized people. Sue states that microaggression accumulate and result in a number of

problems such as the creation of a “hostile and invalidating campus and work climate,” devalue

marginalized groups, perpetuate stereotypes, lower workplace productivity and educational

learning, and cause health problems (mental and physical).8 Finally, for those who are victims of

microaggressions, it can be hard to gauge what to do when you are put in that situation. Do you

respond or do you brush it off? Was the incident big enough to bring up? There’s a dilemma

when trying to decide whether or not to respond, because on one hand, if a person does not

respond to an offensive action, “he or she may suffer from a sense of low self-esteem,” but on

the other hand, if they do respond, they may face backlash from the offender or others around

them.9

8
 As my group and I were putting together our sculpture, which was our creative piece in

the capstone project, we had to gain inspiration from the many microaggressions we faced, as a

group of women, most of us women of color. The sculpture started off as a figure of a young

woman, representing all of us in the group, sitting with her shoulders slumped and her head

facing the ground to show the psychological effects of microaggressions on a person overtime.

The figure ended up being non-binary, an anonymous figure with no particular identity, able to

represent anyone, coined Mica. Mica represents everyone affected by microaggressions, and we

filled her head with all of the microaggressions we have faced. Having the ones we can even

remember all written down and put into Mica’s head only made it more real to us how these

“minor” offenses are daily occurrences.

Sue brings up the biological and emotional effects of microaggressions in

Microaggressions and Marginality, stating that they are detrimental to a person’s well being,

causing stress, lower self esteem, and anxiety among other things. With all these

microaggressions a person may face, there are detrimental effects to their mental or

psychological well being, calling for clinical help. However, marginalized groups can’t seem to

escape microaggressions, even when seeking counseling. In my research, I have stumbled upon

an article “Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice,” about

the effects of microaggressions in clinical offices, specifically with white therapist and clients of

color. According to this article, racial microaggressions in therapists’ offices are problematic and

damaging to the “therapeutic alliance,” the coalition between therapist and client. The authors

cite that “for effective therapy to occur, there needs to be some form of positive coalition

between the parties involved.”10 For example, a black client may talk about how they have

anxiety every time they walk into a store because they feel they are being followed by employees

9
who think they are trying to steal merchandise, but the white therapist may ask the black client if

they are doing anything to appear suspicious instead of assuring them that they are not doing

anything wrong. As someone who suffers from anxiety and other mental issues, I try to seek out

therapeutic help, and in my experience, there are not many therapist of color so I am left with a

white therapist. This, however, does not mean that they cannot be effective, in fact, the article

states that with proper training, white therapists will be less likely to perpetrate microaggressions

they are unaware of. According to the article, for white therapists to deliver effective service to a

client of color, they must have: “(a) awareness of oneself as a racial/cultural being and of the

biases, stereotypes, and assumptions that influence world views and (b) awareness of the world

views of culturally diverse clients.”11 Understanding these cases can play a major role in the

effectiveness of their service, and can be a deciding factor for whether or not clients of color

return to their offices to get the help they need. Because my own therapist has not made me feel

uncomfortable, or expressed any microaggressions towards me, I feel that we are on a successful

path to helping me deal with my problems.

The harmful effects of microaggressions are getting harder and harder for me to ignore

these days. I believe if we want to start solving social issues in our society, we should at least

start somewhere small, with microaggressions. My group and I decided to make

microaggressions our focus because it is something that affects everyone in our group, and it is

an issue that includes such “minor” incidents that we considered “invisible,” because they are

usually brushed off. Although the perpetrator might brush it off for good and go about his or her

day, the victim may or may not be left with the thought “did that actually happen?” The

perpetrator does not have to be someone who is a stranger to the victim, it could very well be

someone they are very close with. We believe it is important to bring to light these kinds of

10
“small” things that add up into a culture of microaggressions or invisible prejudice as I like to

call them. There comes a time when these “harmless” notions become a huge problem, whether

it be with marginalized groups’ mental health or with everyone being okay with insensitivity

towards others.

11
 Notes

1. Barbour, Floyd B. The Black Seventies. Boston: P. Sargent, 1970. 266.

2. Sue, Derald Wing. Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics

and Impact. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 3.

3. Ibid, 7.

4. Ibid, 8.

5. Ibid, 8.

6. Adichie, Ngozi Chimamanda. We Should All Be Feminists. Paw Prints, 2016. 20.

7. Sue, Derald Wing. Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics

and Impact. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 11.

8. Ibid, 14-15.

9. Ibid, 17.

10. Sue, et al. "Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical

Practice." American Psychologist 62, no. 4 (2007): 280.

11. Sue, et al. "Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical

Practice." American Psychologist 62, no. 4 (2007): 271.

12
 Comparing her personal experiences with microaggressions while she was growing up,

with the sources of her research, Grace Yang explores our interactions with microaggressions.

Her research highlights where microaggressions stem from in order to portray how they continue

to have a presence in today’s society. Grace offers insightful information about the journey our

capstone topic took us on, most importantly noting the difficulty in getting viewers to understand

our research and personal experiences with microaggressions. Not only did the group discuss

how to convey our topic through an art piece, but also researchers are confronted with a similar

issue by categorizing microaggressions. Thematicizing microaggressions causes us to overlook

details of particular experiences, which ultimately causes society to become oblivious and unable

to detect microaggressions. In order to move away from a path of blindly living in a world full of

microaggressions, Grace argues we must hone in on the details of the individual’s experience. It

was through working with a team of women who all have differing backgrounds, and have

encountered differing microaggressions that Grace realized we have all been molded by society

to become oblivious.

-Kylie Wilson

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Grace Yang

My Actions Reflect Me, Not My Ethnic Identity

“Yeah, but you’re pretty for an Asian!” These deceptively complimentary words are one

of many that have echoed in a world that upholds Eurocentric beauty ideals. I took comments

like this to be a good thing- I was the exception to an otherwise aesthetically inferior race. I

should be proud. I assumed these were the types of compliments I was meant to receive because

of my social circumstance, not realizing that these types of comments actually implicitly

contained social commentary. Even though comments and compliments like such are actually

derogatory slights, why did I for so long take these to be the exact opposite? It appears to be

because I was socially conditioned in a way that did not open my eyes to the existence of social

phenomena like microaggressions that works in subtle and cumulative ways to create the

foundation for not only how I view myself, but how I take others to view me and how I view

others. In order to ensure a clear conception of an “invisible” social phenomena like

microaggressions, let it first be established what exactly a microaggression is: “Microaggressions

are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether

intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and

insults to the target person or group.”1 These can occur in so many different forms of instances

and ways of communication, people typically don’t realize these actions and statements can be

labeled under an umbrella term. This makes it impossible to easily find a way to combat the

individual and social issues that arise as a result, because in order to combat the negative

impacts, the root of it must be identified. Opening my eyes and examining the ways this invisible

social phenomenon has visibly shaped the way I am led me to wonder: What are the ways in

14
which we can make visible the experience and lasting impact of social phenomena that are

mostly experienced on a subjective and individual basis?

Perhaps we should begin by looking at the root of this social phenomena and how such a

phenomena came to be so impactful, and yet remain so overlooked in the way we view our social

interactions. Microaggressions did not come about because they were a part of explicitly

implemented social structures. Rather, they seem to be a phenomenon that have naturally come

about from the preconceived notions about people that stem from the historical interactions

between different cultures and ethnicities at the start of globalization. The perception of

marginalized peoples’ identities has only ever been spoken about with a rhetoric that is implicitly

derogatory and degrading, making this the only perception of themselves they are exposed to.

Being a minority in a white dominated environment, I was only given the opportunity to view

myself in a marginalized and oppressed light, leading me to view any compliment I was given in

a positive manner.

The cultural root of microaggressions is explored by Avihu Shoshana, who explored the

way that Palestinian professionals are forcefully subjected to inequality and unequal treatment

because of the implicit structure of the Hebrew language towards Arabs. A phrase in Jewish

culture that stood out to me that exemplified this microaggressive foundation in many cultures’

languages was the equivocation of the word “Arab” for anything that appeared unsightly or

filthy. Colloquialisms like such have been around since the start of the establishment of the state,

and it is familiarized sayings like these that are socially accepted and normalized due to cultural

foundations. However, thinking like this is dangerous not only for oppressed individuals, but also

for the social collective. When everyone in a society is not given equal opportunity to flourish

and realize their potential, the ability for rapid progression and advancement is limited.

15
Microaggressions keep marginalized people from realizing the potential they carry within them

because of the reflexive impact of derogatory slights: “This type of discourse with oneself, or

internal conversations in response to hearing the language of racism, incites the sociological

imagination in a unique way.”2 Microaggressions work to shape someone’s conception of

themselves and their potential as human beings by concealing itself under a facade of normative

phrases in everyday language. Similarly, a large majority of the compliments and comments I

frequently received growing up carried the same rhetoric: Asians are perpetually foreign, so the

things they do should always be approached within the context of their ethnic identity. Thus, like

the Palestinians, the only rhetoric towards me as an Asian woman was limited to that of an

oppressive and derogatory sort. Not realizing this was not the norm, I internalized this

marginalization and accepted it as my fated position and stance in society. Thus, there should be

more emphasis and visibility placed on the rhetorical foundations of the phrasing we use when

interacting not only with anyone, but most specifically with members of socially marginalized

groups. With factors like globalization, societies are rapidly changing and progressing, and it is

harmful for both the individual and the collective to partake in language and activities rooted in

outdated and “traditional” conceptions.

Furthermore, perhaps another reason why microaggressions are overlooked and made

invisible is because of the way that we are traditionally used to acquiring information to structure

our understanding of how and why things work the way they do. We are traditionally used to

learning things by learning verbal facts and information, and then subsequently seeing how the

explored system or phenomena is practically applied. In the case of microaggressions, we are

first made aware of the ways microaggressions interact within society, and then a system is

structured and established in order to make it intelligible to a universal audience. This challenge

16
arose in our group’s attempt to find the most effective way to convey our researched and

experienced information to others not only in a practical way, but in an abstract but still

communicatively effective way. When it comes to something as subjective of an experience as

microaggressions, in order to make its existence in many people’s lives obvious, the traditional

approach is to find a way to take the idea, no matter how abstract, and fit it into the boundaries of

conducted scientific research and its terms and labels.

This was the exact attempt made by researchers trying to reveal the visible mental and

physical impacts of microaggressions on Asian-Americans. More specifically, in the context of

microaggressions towards Asian-Americans, one research created subcategories that were the

most prominent themes: “alien in their own land,” “ascription of intelligence,” “denial of racial

reality,” “exoticization of women,” “invalidation of interethnic differences,” “pathologizing of

cultural values and communication styles,” “second class citizenship,” and “invisibility.”3

Although this enlightens people by revealing some of the different forms of microaggression, it

still fails to disregard all the other aspects of Asian identity that can be targeted for

microaggressions. So, in order to effectively communicate and convey the true impacts of

microaggressions, perhaps we need to transcend the limitations of mere logical and structured

forms of expounding ideas, and find ways to communicate these ideas and their impacts in more

sensually engaging and striking ways. This way, people not only understand the role

microaggressions play in socialization and communication from a logical and objective

perspective, but also feel the emotional turmoil and tribulation that the victims of

microaggressions themselves go through.

Much of the expounding of social ideas, events and phenomena focuses on the big

picture, making us apt to focus on the larger and objective elements of situations, particularly if

17
they are negative situations. In the education system, the social phenomena we are educated on

focuses on big events like war and slavery that have impacted a large group of people, and how

those people are impacted from a larger social perspective. Quite naturally, it was a struggle for

our group to figure out how to find a unifying thread for all these very subjective and individual

experiences, and then find an appropriate focal point to convey microaggressions to a universal

audience. It was hard to find an area of concentration that we could focus on in the message we

were trying to convey that was consistent throughout all our research and experiences. Although

a black woman and I can both agree that we have dealt with slights in regards to our cultural and

ethnic identities, the aspects of ourselves and culture that are attacked are very different. So, how

do we find a way to universalize the impacts of experiences with implicit racism, and then

convey that universalized experience in a way that still captures the subjective turmoil that

individuals experience? When it comes to “big picture” social phenomena you cannot talk about

every single detail- you have to go through and highlight the most important and relevant factors

that impact the victims on a large scale. This is easier to do when you are talking about a

collective experience from an objective perspective. It was really hard to do this with individual

experiences that are only made into a collective experience by grouping all the individual

experiences under an umbrella term, such as microaggressions.

Furthermore, the term “Asian” itself is a very broad umbrella term, and in itself erases the

subjectivity of the racist experiences different types of Asian people face. In a study that was

conducted to shed light on the ways that microaggressions impact the lives and mental and

physical well-being of Asians in American society, the researchers tried their best to be as

objective as possible by accounting for several factors and variables. However, they noted their

imperfection and inability to capture every relevant variable: “As a result, studies with regional

18
samples are often generalized to apply to the national Asian American population, when in fact

there may be significant regional differences that are not being studied.”4 By only focusing on

educating people about large and obvious aspects of society and social interaction, this

conditions them to not only be oblivious, but disregard altogether the importance of the

experience of the individuals within a collective experience. By not finding effective ways to

verbally communicate the relevant aspects of an individual’s experience with microaggressions,

this subjects victims to yet another form of erasure in the attempt to make their experience more

visible and known. If my experiences with racism are placed in the same social grouping as

Southeast or South Asians, this doesn’t allow for awareness to be made about the individual

experience and why universally educating people on microaggressions is crucial. People may be

made aware of the existence of implicit, subtle, everyday racism, but they will not care or take

action until it is revealed in a genuine manner the way that this phenomenon largely impacts and

shapes the individual’s experience with their social reality. Since the collective is constituted by

many individuals, perhaps more emphasis should be placed on revealing the many aspects of

experience for individual people. This in turn should lead us to become more empathetic and

understanding of people different from us, and from a larger perspective, allow for more

potential and growth and social mobility of marginalized group members.

Living in an interconnected world leads to us interacting with people of different cultures,

ethnicities, and ideologies as ours. This adds a new layer of a social dynamic and interactions,

creating more complexity in the ways in our comments can have different implications and

nuances. As our society advances and progresses and the influence of globalization intensifies,

we should take care as a collective to not allow our foundational ideologies and rhetoric to

remain rooted in a stagnant traditions and views towards marginalized groups of society. Rather

19
than only opening our eyes and paying attention to the large, big picture and objective matters at

hand, perhaps we should begin to focus on the details and the individual experiences of people

who are the constituents of the collective experience that is typically paid attention to. This was

one of the apparent solutions to the biggest challenge we faced as a group, which was solved by

deciding not to focus on the experience of microaggressions themselves, but rather, the end result

of microaggressions- the “so what?” aspect of the matter. We can tell people all we want about

the experience of microaggressions and why they should be educated on this being an actual

phenomenon, but people will not pay any mind until we reveal the lasting impacts these have on

individuals. The biggest breakthrough in making microaggressions a universally intelligible

experience came in realizing that the universal experience was not so much in the journey of the

experience itself, but how we all may have had different journeys and experiences, but our

conceptions of ourselves and our social reality have been manipulated in the same ways.

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 Notes

1. Ong, Anthony D., Christian Cerrada, Rebecca A. Lee, and David R. Williams. "Stigma

Consciousness, Racial Microaggressions, and Sleep Disturbance Among Asian

Americans." Asian American Journal of Psychology 8.1 (2017): 72-81. EBSCOhost

Online Research Databases. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

2. Shoshana, Avihu. "The Language of Everyday Racism and Microaggression in the

Workplace: Palestinian Professionals in Israel." Ethnic and Racial Studies 39.6 (2016):

1052-069. Taylor & Francis Online. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.

3. Ong, Anthony D., Christian Cerrada, Rebecca A. Lee, and David R. Williams. "Stigma

Consciousness, Racial Microaggressions, and Sleep Disturbance Among Asian

Americans." Asian American Journal of Psychology 8.1 (2017): 72-81. EBSCOhost

Online Research Databases. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

4. Nadal, Kevin L., Yinglee Wong, Julie Sriken, Katie Griffin, and Whitney Fujii-Doe.

"Racial Microaggressions and Asian Americans: An Exploratory Study on Within-Group

Differences and Mental Health." Asian American Journal of Psychology 6.2 (2015): 136-

44. EBSCOhost Online Research Databases. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

21
 Annemarie is a student and a valuable group member that truly cares to understands the

inequalities and systematic of race in our society. She acknowledges the power in her privilege to

find solutions to make microaggression visible. In her essay, Annemarie describes how her

perceptions of microaggression have changed through the capstone journey. From her own sexist

microaggression comments to her group's members racially targeted microaggression comments,

she focuses on the complexity of the topic. This essay also focuses on her view as an “outsider

looking in” at microaggression and how as a majority, she can help bring microaggressions to the

fore point in micro and macro scale.

-Bejeana Breneville

22
Annemarie Jagielo

Microaggressions and Middle America: A Plea for Mutual Understanding

Have you ever experienced the omnipresence and prolonging sting of a slight, rude, or

insensitive comment directed towards yourself? You feel victimized, naked, vulnerable - truly as

if you have been punched right in the gut. “Did they really just say that?” you wonder. Such

comments may be passive in nature, but tend to confess our deepest insecurities and self-

criticisms.

I am only twenty years old, yet I can vividly recall many of these comments blasted

towards me throughout my lifetime. These moments have stuck with me, harboring a home in

my mind, and are continually exposed in my everyday life, always in new, unexpected ways.

When I log a personal record distance run, the recollection of a third grade boy yelling “girls

can’t play sports” rings in my ears. When I ace an exam, I recall my classmates who laughingly

repeated “blonde jokes” until I felt my purple cheeks through every pore of my being. As I walk

towards my apartment, I glare as a man standing on the corner of the street, smoking a cigarette,

tells me to “smile.” These comments produce a multitude of different feelings: crazed,

powerless, hopeless, and dejected (to name a few). I recently learned these feelings, along with

these comments, are real and have a name: microaggressions.

Microaggressions are defined as “brief and commonplace daily interactions that, whether

intentional or unintentional, communicate rudeness and insults or negate the experiential reality

of minority individuals.”1As I began to study and understand the meaning of microaggressions, I

learned they have layers, and thus began peeling them back. My perception of microaggressions

shifted as I learned more from past research. While I, a White female, have surely been the

23
victim of countless sexist microaggressions, microaggressions most specifically target people of

color and ethnic minorities, and go so far as to limit these people's’ capacities as humans.

Learning about microaggressions, especially how they plague minority groups, shocked

and appalled me. If I had felt victimized because of gender in the past, it was almost

incomprehensible to me that people of color are constantly made to feel this way - as an outsider

looking in. When I shared experiences with my Capstone group and heard about their own, I

realized the scope of microaggressions that I have not had to face. This saddened me and opened

my eyes. It is important to note that the microaggressions I have faced are in no way diminished,

however, my “Whiteness” also numbs me to much of the torment that impinges my colored

peers.

The topic of microaggressions forced me to leave my comfort zone and check my

privilege. If I had felt victimized due to my gender, and I have, I began to wonder how people of

color felt all the time. In a world so outwardly judgmental, what might it be like to feel like an

alien in your own land? I was reminded of a telling quote, "You never really understand a person

until you consider things from his point of view, […] until you climb into his skin and walk

around in it.”2 I narrowed my research to specifically study mostly people of colors’ experiences

with microaggressions. I was so overwhelmed and influenced by Claudia Rankine’s Citizen that I

felt microaggressions, specifically relating to people of color, were something I needed to know

more about. I wanted to understand what I could do to help combat the problem, both in myself

and those around me. If I could identify these issues, I would be one step closer to improving

them.

Microaggressions are deep-seeded and rooted in the culture we live in, a culture steeped

in sexist and racist thinking. Many stressors, including risks of heart disease, diabetes, increased

24
mortality rates, and adverse birth outcomes are unique to Black women, and contribute to the

health disparities among Black women and their white counterparts.3 Heightened emotional

stress responses, specifically traumatic stress symptoms, are aroused when discrimination occurs

repeatedly. Research proved microaggressions may even lead to more severe psychological

consequences than “overt” discrimination because of its deceptive form.4

Microaggressions are truly “micro”; they are so tiny in scale that they are often unseen

by perpetrator. Microaggressions are difficult to identify and thus difficult to solve. They are also

not limited to face to face encounters. Past research exemplified this through a study of

perceptions of Internet memes.5 Many memes are racially insensitive, yet are also intended to be

humorous. They often act as a microaggression, because people are unaware of their own

discrimination and justify the memes along a dimension other than race.6 The more aware you

become of microaggressions, the better able you will be to spot them in your daily life. Since the

beginning of this project, our Capstone group has continued to message one another with a

detailed account of every microaggression she has experienced. Because microaggressions are so

microscopic in nature, if you are not armed with the right tools and information, they can be

difficult, if not impossible, to recognize.

A brilliant professor of mine once said, “Where everyone thinks the same, no one thinks

much.” I grew up in a tiny Western suburb outside of Chicago, Illinois… a town which

epitomizes “everyone thinking the same.” While I am eternally grateful for my upbringing, my

home, and my family, the urgency to leave dawned on me from an early age. Where I am from,

people act, look, and (for the most part) believe the same things. There is little diversity; at my

Catholic high school, seeing a Black person was both an oddity and a wonder. Was it a

coincidence that my best friends were the only Latina, Indian, and Hispanic students in my

25
school? Perhaps it was, in hindsight. In high school, I noticed a strong contradiction among my

classmates. Despite my fellow students holding “moral” religious beliefs: serving as peer

ministers, retreat leaders, or Eucharistic ministers at school masses, many of them frequently

spoke with racial slurs spoke with vile language about people of color. Researcher Derald Wing

explained this when he said, “Most White Americans experience themselves as good, moral, and

decent human beings who believe in equality and democracy. Thus, they find it difficult to

believe that they possess biased racial attitudes and may engage in behaviors that are

discriminatory.”7 I knew this to be true about my former classmates. The question arose: could

they ever become more sensitive?

When it came time to apply for colleges, I felt the urge to experience something new, so I

could grow and learn from others who are vastly different than me. I knew I needed to expand

my worldview, mind, and culture. I chose Boston University because it best and most

remarkably juxtaposed St. Francis High School. While Boston University is far from perfect, it is

an urban, diverse, and thriving university where topics like “microaggressions” can be explored.

Boston University could - and should - do more to increase diversity and understanding among

its students and faculty. However, for me, Boston University has served as a much needed

culture-shock, and a critical step in the right direction towards a wise head and enlightened heart.

Through my research and studies on microaggressions, I realized the crucial need for the

term itself and the experiences of both women and people of color to come to the forefront of

society. It is especially needed in places like my hometown, in middle America, where people

are unable to step outside of themselves and see beyond their daily, routine, similar lives. I

remain shocked at their continued insensitivity, especially the amount of Facebook posts

supporting right-wing conservatives, including President Trump, Tomi Lahren, and Bill

26
O’Reilly. For example, when Bill O’Reilly created a podcast after being fired from Fox News for

numerous counts of sexual assault, my Facebook feed read, “THE KING IS BACK!” Over the

semester, I have grappled with the thought of people from my hometown being “bad” or “cruel”

people. However, through this Capstone, I decided that I do not believe they are. I know them,

have grown up with them, and watched them mature over time. Perhaps, because they have not

been exposed to anything different, the way they act is engrained in their human nature. I started

to ask myself questions. Do they mock the unknowing because they are comfortable where they

are? Are they afraid of what they could find, both about people of color, and about themselves if

they did learn more? How could their world-view ever be changed? How do you start to get

people to really understand one another? These questions were vital in my research. As a whole,

people from home are aloof and crass, but not outwardly racist. Nonetheless, they are still

perpetrators of racism, and thus contribute to the cumulative effect of disregarding the lives of

people of color.

Perhaps an increase in the study and sharing of tales of microaggressions could allow for

a sort of cross-cultural understanding and acceptance. I remain hopeful that people could learn

and change if they were exposed to the effects of their actions. This is why the topic of

microaggressions is paramount and significant in today’s divided world. Microaggressions are a

relatively new term, and are largely under-studied. If women and minorities were not made to

feel inferior, they could talk about the daily encounters which afflict them. The trend of the

resistance movement, seen through Black Lives Matter and the Women’s March, are two prime

examples of White male hegemony being challenged in society. If women and people of color

continue to be told that their voices matter, perhaps they will continue to challenge the status

quo, thus forcing people in middle America to be exposed to an alternative way of thinking.

27
Through public figures and leaders such as Serena Williams and Elizabeth Warren, the “all boys

club” has already been protested. Soon, the era of White men ruling the country and the world

will cease. I look forward to that day.

Over the past semester, seven students have made the invisible visible, by exposing

microaggressions and their detriments. Together, as a Capstone group, we have learned and

grown from one another by sharing our collective stories, creating art, and empathizing with one

another. If we could gain so much in only a few months, where could the topic of

microaggressions go in the future? The possibilities are endless. It is through projects like this

and with a new, impassioned generation that such problems get addressed. Dylan Thomas once

wrote, “Do not go gentle into that good night.”8 We refuse to do just that. We will not be silent;

we will not back down.

28
 Notes

1. Sue, Derald Wing. "Racial Microaggressions and Worldviews." American

Psychologist 64, no. 3 (2009): 220-21.

2. Lee, Harper, Christa PaÌlsson, and Louise Meincke. To Kill a Mockingbird. London:

Mandarin, 1995.

3. Lewis, Jioni A. "Gendered Racial Microaggressions Among Black Women:

Construction and Initial Validation of a Scale." Journal of Counseling Psychology: 289-

302.

4. Ibid, 291.

5. Williams, Amanda, Clio Oliver, Katherine Aumer, and Chanel Meyers. "Racial

Microaggressions and Perceptions of Internet Memes." Computers in Human Behavior

63 (2016): 424-32.

6. Ibid, 427.

7. Sue, Derald Wing. "Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life." American

Psychologist 64.3 (2009): 220-21. Web.

8. Thomas, Dylan. Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.

29
 When one is born black in America, they have a path set out for them that is shaped by

other people’s conception of them and the way that black people are perceived due to the history

of the oppression of black people in America. America has created a foundation that conditions

people to view black people as automatically inferior because of the color of their skin.

However, it’s not just black people that are oppressed- the darker the skin color, the more they

face oppression and discrimination because of their skin color and hair texture. Black girls are

not given an open and proper outlet for them to fully embody and express their blackness;

instead, they are shamed for being black, making them feel as if they need to assimilate into

“white culture” to feel fully accepted by their peers. Tyla beautifully analyzes and captures her

own experience with growing up and cultivating her identity, and the way her different

environments have played their own hands in shaping her conception of herself. She compares

and contrasts the many identities she has embodied throughout her childhood that brought her to

this point in her life as a black woman at Boston University fully comfortable in her ethnic and

cultural identity.

-Grace Yang

30
Tyla Phillip

How do Microaggressions Shape the Life of a Black Woman Over a

Lifetime?

At birth, dark skinned female babies are often subject to a lot of hate: “her face looks like

a man” ... “was she really born that dark…?” However, light skinned babies often receive a lot of

praise for their lighter complexions and lighter eyes. So much to the point that black light

skinned babies with light colored eyes are often assumed to be “mixed,” as many people find it

hard to conceptualize that two completely black people can produce a light skinned baby.

Although many people don't mean anything by their comments, this idea that lighter skin is

“better” than dark skin is a microaggression in itself (and also colorism). By definition, a

microaggression is “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or

unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic

minority.” From birth, the media often puts young black girls in a bad light. For example, on
1

Instagram, there are plenty of “mixed baby” pages that celebrate a mix of Eurocentric and black

features… but where are the pages that celebrate black babies with 4c (a hair type that is often

seen as undesirable within the black community) curls and chocolate brown eyes? What’s even

worse is not only does society not like black girls for their natural features, but black young girls

also suffer from low self esteem and often self hate because they know they are not favored in

society. The Clark Doll Test, a study conducted in 1989, concluded that “children are aware of

the advantages as well as the negative attributes assigned to White and Black racial groups.”

Majority of the black children in the study expressed some form of self hate: 65% of black kids

preferred the white doll to the black doll, and 76% of the black kids thought the black doll was

bad. Meanwhile, the white kids in the study had no problem bashing the black doll as 82% of

31
them thought the black doll was bad. This study was conducted in 1989 ; unfortunately, this
2

mindset still prevails. This “preference” for white skin in young girls of color stems from the

constant microaggressions these girls face regarding their skin color and their hair styles. When

the black girls in the study were asked which doll is mean, one of them pointed to the white doll

and said “this one, because she makes fun of black girls for their dark skin.” Microaggressions at
3

such a young age have a very powerful effect in young black girls lives.

The amount of memes the tear down black women and their features are endless. Some

of the memes include dark skinned women that are claimed to be “as dark as night” and give the

implication that nothing that their eyes and teeth can be seen in the dark. Other memes focus on

young black girls and their physical appearance. Just last year, a toddler by the name of Mariah

became the center of multiple memes online. Mariah has an “extremely rare condition of

Chromosome 2 duplication,” which has a number of side effects including altering her facial

appearance. People said all sorts of mean things about this poor two-year-old like “she looks like

someone’s ‘Aunt Paula’” or “someone get this grandma off my timeline.” These comments were

extremely painful for the family to internalize. The person who made the meme microaggressed

this young girl and her family, as the memes spread rapidly through the internet and the situation

got out of control. Memes are all fun and games until you are one. Thankfully, Maria is

probably too young to remember this horrible experience, but her family will carry that pain in

their hearts forever. The only thing the person who posted the meme got out of it was a good

laugh at the family's expense. This is a prime example of how microaggressions work. The

person who says the microaggression often does not see anything wrong with what they're doing,

but the victims carry on that pain forever.

32
 As a toddler, I attended a predominantly black school. I also lived about three blocks

away from my school in a predominantly black neighborhood. I am grateful for the environment

that I grew up in, because watching the Clark Doll Study video was absolutely heartbreaking as a

young black woman. As a child I was constantly showered with praise for my beauty and

intelligence and the light skinned girls and boys in my class were treated the same way. I don’t

mean to say that black mothers should seclude their children from interacting with children from

other races at a young age, but it’s very important to build your child’s self confidence at a

young age and that is just what going to that school did for me. I do also think it’s important to

expose your children to kids of other races at a young age, so that when they grow older they

don’t have a big culture shock when their environment changes. For example, my brother who is

five attends an International Pre-school in a predominantly Asian area of Queens. However, he is

very confident in who he is and interacts frequently with other black kids in different social

settings such as extracurricular activities and church. Might I note he is also the only black kid in

the school, aside from one girl who is half Chinese half black.

My brother’s childhood differs from mine in exposure. Although I did interact with

children from other races in other social settings, when I changed schools it was a big culture

shock for me. Fifth grade was the last year I spent at the predominantly black school on the other

side of town. In sixth grade I went to a new school in a predominantly wealthy white area. The

town was full of local (and expensive) family owned businesses. It was a place where everyone

went to the same hangout spots after school to get ice cream… basically, a place where I initially

did not fit in. I was delighted when I first saw the only other black girl in my class. Let’s just call

her Maya. So when I saw Maya for the first time, the first thing I noticed was that her hair was

straight and long, she had a perm. I was very insecure, as I’ve rocked my 4c curls natural in

33
various protective styles my entire life. I came from a place where I was comfortable to rock my

fro, to a new school where the only black girl I knew had a perm… I felt like Cady in that scene

of Mean Girls when Gretchen says to her the infamous line, “you can’t sit with us” because she’s

wearing sweatpants on Monday. Except, I was wearing my 4c curls so I could never sit with any

of the popular girls because I never “fit in” with any of them. There went my confidence. Maya’s

perm made me insecure in ways that I couldn’t imagine back then. However, I instantaneously

became friends with Maya, I mean did I really have another option she was the only other black

girl in my class… Although I never ended up getting a perm, I counted down to the days of

school shows and special family events because I would get my hair straightened. But then the

questions came rolling in one after another. “Is that your ‘real’ hair?” Looking back since I now

know the definition of a microaggression, my entire middle- high school experience was filled

with microaggressions that completely shot my confidence. There was a sort of on going battle to

be better than everyone else, because I literally had to work 10 times harder.

In the sixth grade, I had two friends: one of which who was black and the other who was

Asian… we were the only minorities in that class. That class year I grew tremendously as an

individual. The next school year, a new black girl came into our class. You would think that I

was happy to see another black girl in my class (one who actually rocked her curls like I did), but

I was not. I hated that new girl, for I had gotten to such a point of insecurity that I did not want to

see anyone else who looked like me. If you ask any of my friends from middle school how I

acted at that age, they would respond “like a white girl.” The phrase “like a white girl” is also

another microaggression in itself, however they were essentially right. My two friends from sixth

grade had transferred schools and butted heads too much with the new black girl in my class to

befriend her, so I essentially changed my identity. “White Tyla” had two white best friends, and

34
basically emulated everything that those two friends did. I begged my mom to hem my skirt, and

to let me go out more as we often made trips to Claire’s and purchased ‘best friends forever’

rings and necklaces. Don’t get me wrong though, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of

the things I did during that school year, but the people who knew me prior, knew that it was not a

true representation of me. But in that year, I had finally felt like I had earned my seat at a table

that I could not sit at in the sixth grade. My personal experiences with microaggressions

essentially forced me into becoming something that I was not because my identity was constantly

being torn apart.

Fast Forward to my senior year in high school, I as known as ‘the mother of the class.’ I

learned a lot in my seven years in college prep school. It prepped me for college in a way I could

never imagine. I went through numerous “phases” during my seven years trying to “find myself.”

When I graduated, I was the most complete version of me that I could imagine. I learned to

accept my cultural and racial differences between some of my classmates and to stay true to me.

Freshman year at Boston University made me feel like I made a wrong turn down a

wrong road. I often found myself in situations where I felt like “I couldn’t sit with them” because

I did not fit in. To add onto my stress, I entered Boston University in the Spring semester of

freshman year. By the end of fall, everyone essentially had their “friend group” defined. When

you look at the demographics, only about 50% of Boston University students identify as white.

However, it was very hard for me to find friends of color as only about 5% identify as such . I 4

never assimilated to any “culture” like I did in high school though. Rather, I forced myself to

completely dive into numerous student organizations on campus and to make my face know, for

I knew that I could not have been alone.

35
 As babies, we are often seen as ugly...in educational settings, we are not seen… in social

setting we are seen as a sort of eye sore. These series of microaggressions build up over a

lifetime which lead to a lot of problems within the black community. As we get older, the

struggles we face only become harder. The overt racism and microaggressions that often build up

to macroaggressions can cause life long damage in both physical and mental ways. Society is

constructed against you in areas where it is for the white woman. Even though slavery was

abolished in 1865, the black woman is a slave to society. With everything pinned against you,

how can you live life without becoming “The Angry Black Woman.” The media is quick to

depict black women as bitter and scorned in many movies, so even as a young girl it is hard to

combat/erase a notion the society has already set for you.

The microaggressions I experienced as a child hurt me initially, however I learned from

them. I learned to not only ignore the pre conceived notions that society sets for black women,

but I also learned to break down those barriers and challenge them. As a young black woman, I

rose above and chose not to let my microaggressions define me, rather I used them as learning

experience and grew as an individual from them.

36
 Notes

1. Sue, Derald Wing. Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics

and Impact. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

2. Clark, Kenneth B., and Mamie P. Clark. "Emotional Factors in Racial

Identification and Preference in Negro Children." Mental Health and Segregation,

1966, 53-63. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-37819-9_7.

3. Ibid.

4. "College Match - Find the Right Colleges for You." COLLEGEdata. Accessed

April 26, 2017.

37
 Claire is an incredibly observant student who, over the course of this Capstone, has come

out of her shell and provided invaluable insight into our study of microaggressions. In her

exploratory essay, Claire writes about how her perceptions of microaggressions have shifted over

the past semester and how she has acted as both a victim and perpetrator of microaggressions in

the past. Claire also narrates the journey of our Capstone project, from its beginning stages

through its progression and final culmination. It is clear through this process, Claire has learned

more about herself and the culture she lives in than she could have ever anticipated.

-Annemarie Jagielo

38
Claire Sheehan

Microaggressions Through the Lens of a White Woman

I was randomly assigned to my capstone group and because I don't really talk to people

much if it seems like they already know people or they aren’t someone I think that I would

immediately be friend with. That being said, in CGS I don't know many people so going into a

massive group project like capstone which is worth a huge amount of your grade I was really

nervous. In our first meeting my apprehension about this project vanished as my group mates had

obviously been brainstorming ideas. Our project started out as a vague idea to do a documentary

about feminism in relation with what was happening in the women’s march. But after emailing

the professors we were told that our idea was much too broad and we should begin trying to

focus in on a narrower topic. With our enthusiasm slightly diminished we began to focus in on a

topic. When our topic became more race oriented and then eventually narrowed down to

microaggressions, this was the first time in capstone where I had to push my comfort zone and

think a bit differently.

Going into this project I had no idea what a microaggression even was. Having grow up

in a wealthy white town and gone to mostly White schools up until college, talking about racism

is something that has always made me rather uncomfortable. As a result, I would often just try

and avoid the topic whenever it came up, “well I don't think I’m racist so I just don't need to deal

with it.” This phrase mostly explained my experience with actually thinking about things like

microaggressions up until this Capstone. Learning what a micro aggression was was jarring for

me, all these little things that I’ve heard people say or in some cases even said myself were

microaggressions. It was unbelievable, as it turns out avoiding an issue like the plague for most

of your life and then doing and in-depth project on it in college forces you to do some soul

39
searching. The more about microaggressions I read, the more I started to notice them in my daily

life. I noticed them most on the Internet, and I spend a lot of time online. It’s probably the

anonymity of being online but as I started actively looking for microaggressions more and more

seemed to catch my eye, things that I normally would have just scrolled past became focal points

in my browsing habits and pages that seemed normally mundane took on a different meaning

when I actually took a close look at them. This could be attributed to the anonymity of being

online, something my parents always warned me about just when the Internet started becoming a

part of day to day life. They said, “People aren’t always who they say they are online; you have

to be careful.” While there are always people pretending to be someone else there are many

people who would rather just be far too honest online. Some of the more notable things I came

across during this time were stories about casting for movies and television shows that were

white washed by American film companies. While these articles all had valid claims about how

the casting of Ghost in the Shell didn't make sense given the setting and original story the

majority of the comments were mostly about people telling the author of the article to just get

over it because it wasn't a big deal anyway. Before this Capstone, I probably would have agreed

with them on some level, and asked myself, “why did one white actress getting cast as the lead of

a movie matter that much?” But then I did some more research, and found it wasn't just one

movie, it was one role at a time over tons of films and people like me were just turning a blind

eye to it because... why does it matter? In one of the books I used, America on Film:

Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies it talked about how in an effort to

make more diverse casts studios will force actors into roles based on their race . And things like
1

this have been happening for years. All because people like me who have never been forced to

40
actually look at micro aggressions have said “why does it matter?” it's just a joke, a movie, a

picture, a phrase, I’m just trying to be nice. “Why does it matter?”

This indifference was something that I realized was always part of my way of thinking. I

never wanted to feel uncomfortable or think that I might subconsciously put myself above others.

In high school that feeling of not wanting to think about things that made me uncomfortable

became something of an obsession of mine. I hated thinking about it and whenever it would

come up in a book or lecture I would tune it out because “why does it matter?” I mean yeah, I’m

white and fairly “well off,” but I’m still a woman, so I face my own kind of discrimination. My

best friend is gay so this makes me a good person I just don't need to think about this stuff. Being

around people just like me for most of my life who also didn't want to be faced with the

discomfort of facing their own shortcomings just helped me avoid confrontations even more.

One of the articles I used for my research was about a female psychiatrist with a black patent. In

the article “Racial Microaggressions, Whiteness, and Feminist Therapy." Women & Therapy

Mazzula and Kevin talk to a 40-year-old African-American woman who is in treatment with a

White female therapist. The article shows how even in a professional setting microaggressions

can occur. The main arguments in this article are that even though the female therapist fought

hard to get where she is and of course very cognizant of sexism in her own field that same

awareness of her sex can blind her to the fact that because she is white there is a positive bias

toward her as well. The point of the article is to show the bias that people have spreads into their

professional lives no matter what they do because no matter what their profession is they grew

up in surrounded by stereotypes of some type. Those stereotypes in turn become

microaggressions that spread into every one’s personal and professional life no matter who had

people try to prevent it (Mazzula, 2015) .

2

41
 Reading more about microaggressions I realized that there were some that had been

directed at me over the years. There was the obvious “smile” something every woman has heard

from a stranger or “wow, you’re really good at that, for a girl” or my personal favorite “is it that

time of the month?” no, you’re just an ass. It also made me realize how ingrained they are in us

from childhood. my parents are probably the ones who police my interests the most out of

anyone I know, from my mom rolling her eyes whenever I would ask for something videogame

related as a child to the point where I won’t ever ask her for video game to my dad telling me

that sitting a certain way or scratching my face “isn’t very pretty”. Those little comments are

something you internalize and just accept. They’re the reason why I spend the majority of my

time alone, because none of my family members ever care what I’m interested in. I get vague

nods if I bring up comics or video games (my parents) or out right told to shut up (my sisters)

and forget laughing at something on my computer “it can’t be that funny”. This was always

something that was just a part of my life. They'll never be interested in what I am so I’ll just stay

quiet “why does it matter?” I have friends who like the same things I do and they’ll talk to me

about it and I got a boyfriend even when I wasn't sitting up straight with my elbows of the table

so whatever I’m “pretty” enough. But this does matter because now I’m always nervous to talk

about my interests and family dinners are something to be weary of lest I be told that I’m not

pretty enough. In the moment small things like that don't seem to matter but over time it has

changed the way I interact with people. I hesitate to express my interest in things because of how

I fear people will perceive me.

One of the most difficult parts of this project for us was settling on a design for our

sculpture because going into it we all had lots of ideas, and compromising and figuring out how

all of the pieces would fit together was one of the most rewarding parts of capstone for me.

42
Getting all of the individual pieces of the sculpture to fit and seeing how each person’s

contribution fit into the overall piece was something that we would miss out on seeing if we had

written a paper. The micro aggressions that fill their head were written by each of us and we all

had a part in the sculpting and painting of the body so our sculpture has parts of each of us in it.

Everyone in our group was really motivated to get things done with plenty of time before the

deadline and even when we couldn't all meet at once people would show work on the project on

their own time. This motivation to get things done is part of what made capstone a relatively

painless experience, annotated bibliography notwithstanding, the freedom to create something

and the motivation to learn about something that I wouldn't have ever learned about was

surprisingly enjoyable for me. Figuring out how to make a humanoid sculpture that conveyed all

of the things we wanted it to was really cool because it seemed like as soon as we go started

more and more ideas surfaced about how we could use symbolism to make the impact of our

sculpture stronger.

While the final product of our capstone is certainly visible the research that I did and the

conversations I had with my group mates are probably what will stick with me most out of all the

things that we did for capstone. Because of this capstone I have realized just how many micro

aggressions we hear or say on a daily basis. Going from being completely baffled by the idea of

micro aggressions to being aware for them everywhere I go in the span of a month is amazing.

Nothing I’ve ever done a project on has been so obvious to me in my daily life. Projects are often

much more abstract concepts which is why I don't have knowledge of them, but

microaggressions are definitely something that I’m amazed I’ve never noticed before because

now that I know what they are, they’re everywhere and it amazes me how de-sensitized I was to

them. Hearing a someone tell me to smile more is just something I’ve become accustomed to and

43
don't bat an eye at anymore. This project has made me aware of something that has been

engrained in everyday life and made it very visible to me, more than I thought it ever would

be.

44
 Notes

1. Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin, America on film: race, class, gender and

sexuality at the movies (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004).

2. Silvia L. Mazzula and Kevin L. Nadal, "Racial Microaggressions, Whiteness, and

Feminist Therapy," Women & Therapy 38, no. 3-4 (2015): Accessed April 06, 2017,

doi:10.1080/02703149.2015.1059214.

45
 Kylie is a focused student who throughout the course of our project worked hard to

coordinate schedules and keep our group ahead of deadlines. Her Essay explores the challenges

she’s faced as an adopted child. In her essay she shares how the research she has done has

opened her eyes to the microaggressions frequently faced by adopted children. Over the course

of this project I got to know Kylie well and know how deeply she cares about the

microaggressions faced by everyone in the BU community.

-Claire Sheehan

46
Kylie Wilson

China Doll or Barbie Doll: Unearthing Microaggressions

At first glance you will notice my eyes and see I’m clearly Asian. Hear my last name and

you will not be able to put two and two together because how could an Asian looking person

have a White last name? Confusion and speculation will cloud your mind causing you to make

assumptions about me like “she’s probably a Hapa.” However, if you take the time to get to

know me I promise I will prove your assumptions wrong.

For starters, nineteen years ago my parents adopted me from China. My mom is of Chinese

descent, born in Toronto, and my dad is Caucasian, so that’s why my last name is not what people

expect it to be. Also, having parents of two different races means I was not raised like the

“stereotypical Asian child” whose parents are thought to be tough if anything less than an A shows

up on a report card. Growing up I was constantly switching between whether I should act more

Chinese or American, which got me names from my peers like “dumb Asian” or “Americanized

Asian," which did little to help me understand who I am. I used to think those nicknames were

harmless, until I realized it became my label in high school. This label covered aspects of my

personality, so that I was only known for being the “Americanized Asian.” It didn’t matter that I

ran cross country, or enjoyed discovering restaurants in my free time because all I was seen as was

the label. I felt misunderstood, and wondered if other people had ever experienced a

misrepresentation of their identity. The name calling seemed so small and harmless, could it be

bigger than I was making it out to be? Maybe I am being oversensitive?

In seeking answers to my questions I consulted psychologists Karin J. Garber’s and Harold

D. Grotevant’s scientific article “’YOU Were Adopted?!’: Microaggressions Toward Adolescent

Adopted Individuals in Same-Race Families.” They performed a study to discover whether the
1

47
“microaggression framework accurately describes adopted people’s experiences,” and then2

analyzed the various microaggressions adopted people experience. The title of the source

immediately intrigued me because it is directed toward adopted individuals, and I never thought

my issues were common enough to be categorized and studied. As I started reading I discovered

many of my experiences matched insults received by other adoptees such as “questioning

authenticity,” which is when people “react with disbelief or willfully reject the person’s adoptive
3

status.” This insult stood out to me because I find people questioning me about how I got my last
4

name to be insensitive. One time in particular stands out in my mind when a doctor repeatedly

asked me, “how did you get the last name Wilson?” The insulting part was not that he asked me,

but was the skeptical look on his face when I told him I am adopted. Being adopted is part of my

identity, and when people act suspicious it feels like they are attempting to undermine who I am

since they are not acknowledging this part of me. How am I supposed to reconcile the Chinese and

American sides of me if other people cannot accept I am adopted?

Garber and Grotevant’s study helped me realize adopted individuals are a marginalized

group, which validated my anger at people who made rude remarks and bred insecurity about my

identity. However, this study was about adoptees within same-race families which mine is not.

Because my Mother’s side is Chinese I have always felt a closer connection because it is easier for

me to identify with them. Whenever people see photos of me with my Mother’s family, or see us

at dinner I am never given questioning looks as to where I belong. On the other hand, when I am

with my Father and his family I stand out because nobody looks like me. Therefore, from Garber

and Grotevant’s study I asked myself if it is normal to feel out of place when you are surrounded

by people who only love and care for you. Am I being obtuse only looking at the physical features

48
of my Father’s side to come to the conclusion I do not fit in? I am fortunate to have an accepting

family, but can the family ever be the one alienating the members of a different race?

In order to find more answers, I turned to psychologist Kevin Nadal’s article

“Microaggressions Within Families: Experiences of Multiracial People.” He, along with several
5

of his colleagues, unearthed microaggressions multiracial people face within their families. One

of the themes of microaggressions found in the study is “feelings of isolation,” which is when
6

multiracial people feel “isolated within their families or distant to particular family members

because of their multiracial identities.” This description perfectly matches all of my awkward
7

encounters with my Father’s side of the family whether it’s a formal event like Christmas dinner,

or informal visits to my Uncle’s house. Skin color sets me apart from them, and that will never

change.

When people feel isolated because of phenotypic differences it is not because the

multiracial individual dislikes their family. Rather, it is a subconscious thought nagging at the

backs of our brains telling us we do not belong. Nobody wants to reveal feeling apart from their

family due to physical differences because it seems petty, and superficial to think this way. Also,

bringing this thought to light would make family members feel bad they are unintentionally

excluding members. Reading testimonies of microaggressions people in the study experienced left

me feeling settled knowing issues of isolation within a family due to differing racial features are

not things I experience alone.

Reflecting on the sources I sought out I realized I was able to answer my personal questions

about being marginalized by others, and within my own family, but it concerned me how

commonplace the sources said it is to feel and be attacked. If people are microaggressed daily,

why is this the first time I am learning about it? If microaggressions can “manifest in many types

49
of situations” why is nobody openly discussing how to stop them from spreading? People held a
8

Pussy Riot for women’s rights, so why don’t people care enough to even educate themselves on

microaggressions? All of these questions came into my head after learning such a specific group

of adopted individuals are microaggressed because that means there are countless other

marginalized individuals. I decided to look beyond the group I identified with, and find broader

sources that would teach me more about microaggressions.

While I was searching for sources I came across an article by Derald Sue, “Racial

Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience.” Even though the article is specific to a
9

certain race I was drawn to it because the author discusses how racism toward Asian Americans

has been overlooked. This went against my initial thoughts of microaggressions only affecting

minorities because if they impact a larger group like Asian Americans, then microaggressions

should not be invisible. Sue’s reason for arguing this group has been overlooked is due to “White

Americans [tendencies] to dichotomize racial issues in Black and White terms.” Asian Americans
10

are overshadowed because in the past, racial issues were mostly between Whites and Blacks. This

is a nation founded on slavery, so racial tension between Whites and Blacks existed long before

Asians came to America. However, this does not mean it is okay to ignore the microaggressions

Asian Americans face. Sue categorized microaggressions from multiple Asian American’s

statements, and one of the themes is being an “alien in your own land,” which is a 11

“microaggression that embodies the assumption all Asian Americans are foreigners or foreign-

born.” This kind of microaggression can take the form of questions such as “where are you
12

from?” or “where were you born?” These questions make it difficult to detect whether they are
13 14

microaggressions because the comments may be an expression of interest, or a bias assumption.

Without knowing the intentions of the question you cannot accuse the initiator of being

50
disrespectful. The danger in asking people where they were born, or where they are from lies in

“perceptions that [people are] foreigners and do not belong in America.” Asking someone where
15

they are from with the intention of proving they are not from America makes it a microaggression

because the initiator fails to acknowledge the American side of the person’s identity.

One of the reasons I found this theme to stand out is it relates to people telling me I am

“too White to be Chinese,” which implies I do not belong to the American or Chinese side. One

does not have to be born in America to call oneself American, but perhaps people think this because

there is an air of superiority around the term “American.” Sue found “White Americans, on an

implicit level, equated ‘White’ and ‘American’ with one another while Asian and African

Americans were less likely associated with the term ‘American’.” This discovery demonstrates
16

how some White Americans believe people who are not born in the US cannot call themselves

“real” Americans, and are therefore inferior. This kind of microaggression led me to the conclusion

that microaggressions can stem from racist beliefs. Through Sue’s analyses and discoveries of

being an “alien in [your] own land” I understand why the world does not openly discuss
17

microaggressions. They are difficult to detect because they can be as subtle as asking where

someone is from, or obvious like people believing being born in America makes one superior.

There are countless times people have approached me speaking Mandarin, meaning the initiator

assumed I’m not from America.

In addition to the subtle microaggression of asking where somebody is from Sue also

discusses an obvious form of microaggression called the “exoticization of Asian American

Women.” The qualities of this microaggression are “White men [believing] Asian women don’t
18

back-talk” and “have beautiful skin…and silky hair.” This kind of microaggression infuriates me
19

because it shows some men do not see women as equals, and treat them merely as sexual objects.

51
This past summer at a baseball game the relative of my friend asked me if I wanted a present

because he “buys all his pretty Asian women gifts.” Though the gesture was intended to be kind,

his remark was condescending because it speaks only on my physical features. By only paying

attention to my physical traits the man was stripping me of my personality, and failing to recognize

my other qualities such as intelligence. In that moment I felt belittled, like I was only worth what

I look like. Sue’s classification of the exoticization of women deeply affected me because I realize

it goes beyond Asian American women. If a group as significant as an entire gender is targeted

what could be encouraging the spread of these sexual microaggressions? Is there no force large

enough to stop them? What are ways women overall are affected?

In furthering my search of microaggressions toward women I read Emily Kaskan, and Ivy

Ho’s article on “Microaggression and Female Athletes.” 20

Even though the examples of

microaggressions are based off of situations female athletes’ have been in, they are also applicable

to women in general. Female athletes are increasingly viewed as women before they are thought

of as Olympians, which perpetuates biases and stereotypes that women are “inferior athletes

compared to males,” and that they “ought to look attractive and sexy for men.” The authors
21 22

classify this microaggression more specifically as a microinsult because “sexual objectification,” 23

reduces a woman “to her body or body parts” in order to incorrectly “represent the woman as a
24

whole.” The athletes’ accomplishments and abilities are often overshadowed by their sexual
25

appeal. This situation mirrors Sue’s “exoticization of Asian American women” because both
26

involve superficial qualities, like a woman’s appearance to encompass her whole being. According

to the authors, the perpetrator is often “the media, [which is a] barrier in the struggle to earn more

respect for women’s sports.” When female athletes are in Sports Illustrated or Playboy it is “a
27

further indication that a woman’s worth is often measured by her sexual desirability,” and this 28

52
issue extends beyond athletes. Sexualizing women is prevalent in all forms of media whether it be

online, on television or in store in magazines. The messages the media conveys about women

corrupts viewers’ minds, and causes them to unknowingly spread microaggressions.

I walked into the beginning of capstone with a grand idea that I would educate people on

racism, and stereotypes because it is an ongoing battle that affects everyone. The more my team

and I discussed examples of aggressions made toward us the more we realized they are insults in

disguise. We share a bond founded on emotions being misunderstood by others. We realized the

bigger issue at hand are the hidden microaggressions and feelings associated with them versus

teaching people about overarching themes that bred the microaggressions. People already know

racism exists. What they don’t know is how it has evolved into subtler forms of aggression.

Before this project I had no knowledge of microaggressions, and that is how a majority of

society lives. Identifying with the specific groups who are targeted in microaggressions opened

my eyes to the span of people who are affected. Microaggressions go beyond minorities, and

affect large groups such as women in general. This experience has taught me to detect

microaggressions, and understand that initiators can have pure intentions, but make ignorant

comments.

Eradicating microaggressions is not possible because you cannot control what people say,

or if someone thinks it is okay to make rude assumptions based off of race. However, you can

make microaggressions visible by educating people. Knowing they exist allows people to detect

them, and if you are aggressed you can tell the initiator they are wrong because if they do not

confront them, the event remains invisible. To all the people who have microaggressed me, I

shouldn’t have to choose between my Chinese and American side. The microaggressions I face

shouldn’t box me in, and define who I am. Going through this eye-opening experience with people

53
who, even though experience different microaggressions than me, feel the same emotions I do

taught me this is a cause that must be fought in a team. No matter what their background or stories

are, everyone experiences discomfort and inferiority due to microaggressions.

54
 Notes

1. Garber and Grotevant, “’YOU Were Adopted?!’: Microaggressions Toward

Adolescent Adopted Individuals in Same-Race Families,” The Counseling Psychologist,

vol. 43, no. 3 (2015): 435-462

2. Ibid, 435

3. Ibid, 451

4. Ibid

5. Kevin Nadal, et al, “Microaggressions Within Families: Experiences of Multiracial

People,” Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, vol. 62, no 1 (2013): 190-

201

6. Ibid, 195

7. Ibid

8. Ibid, 88

9. Sue, et al, “Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience,” Cultural

Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, vol 13, no 1 (2007): 72-81

10. Ibid, 88

11. Ibid, 75

12. Ibid

13. Ibid

14. Ibid

15. Ibid, 76

16. Sue, et al, “Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience,” Cultural

Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, vol 13, no 1 (2007), 76

55
 17. Ibid

18. Ibid, 94

19. Ibid

20. Kaskan and Ho, “Microaggression and Female Athletes.” Sex Roles, vol 74, no. 7

(2014): 275-287

21. Ibid, 277

22. Ibid

23. Ibid, 278

24. Ibid

25. Ibid

26. Sue, 94

27. Kaskan and Ho, 278

28. Ibid

56
 Bejeana Breneville is a student I know that truly cares about campus environments and

how they are accommodating underrepresented groups. In this essay, Bejeana starts off with her

story, and her experiences with microaggressions throughout her high school and college careers.

She then talks about how these microaggressions affect her, and how microaggressions affect

other people as well. She focuses especially on how they play a role at predominantly white

institutions, such as Boston University. Frustrated at the lack of support from the administration

when it comes to creating a safe environment to those susceptible to microaggressions, Bejeana

gives examples of microaggressions Boston University perpetrates themselves.

-Gahouray Dukuray

57
Bejeana Breneville

What is Boston University Doing as a PWI to Create a Safe Space and

Community for Underrepresented Minority Students?

I was always consciously aware of what microaggressions were growing up especially as

an adolescent. When I was in high school, I took a class called “Race, Class and Gender,”

whereas a class we learnt and broke down systematically the topic of microaggression. During

high school I remember MTV played commercials demonstrating types of microaggression

towards race, gender, sexuality and religion. This was part of their #Look Different campaign.

The commercial shows the victims saying microaggressions while a glass crashes to their face to

show the sudden impact. Microaggressions include: “Bin Laden” towards a Middle Eastern man,

“I don’t look Jewish” towards a white woman, “my English is so good” towards a black man,

“how did I get into that school” towards a black girl” and “can’t tell Asians apart” towards an

Asian girl. I love this campaign and how it's so relatable because it's directed towards teens and

used common microaggression phases that I even heard in high school.

In high school I was called an “Oreo,” which meant they saw me as ‘white on the inside’

although I’m black. I was called this by both members within and outside my race. To most

people, this phrase is thrown around without thinking. But just saying this to a fellow black

student shows the system of racism and stereotypes. Due to our racial history, people are

conditioned to see black people as dumb or inferior. So the minute someone does something

outside their race, they are seen as outsider. If I talk ‘smart’ or don’t use slang, people see this as

intellectual and ‘white,’ meaning I’m not from the stereotypical ‘ghetto’ that most people

associate with black people. Or If I don’t listen to ‘black music’ like Jazz, R&B, hip-hop or rap,

58
I’m considered as ‘white’ and not part of the culture. ‘Oreo’ or ‘banana’ is an interesting concept

because who can tell me I’m not black because I don’t follow the black book of stereotypes.

When we first started this project, I didn’t consider microaggression to be something

invisible. I thought it was visible and known by many people. I was surprised when even some of

my professors didn’t fully understand the concept of microaggression and was shocked when

given examples. What I didn’t realize though as a minority, microaggressions are extremely

visible to me because I’m attacked by it daily. Whereas, if you think about a cis white male, what

microaggression will they be dealing with? It only falls on the shoulder of the minority

regardless if their race, gender or religion minority. Throughout this journey, it became more

apparent microaggression are only visible to minorities and only visible to majorities if they want

it to. What I mean by that is, someone of the majority will only acknowledged microaggression if

they really want to understand. So what does it mean to minorities when their microaggressions

are invisible and overlooked by the majority? Each one weighs on the victim until it becomes

physically and mentally taxing. As a minority, it's very interesting to dissect this topic because

even I have overlooked some comments, forgave the aggressor or even didn’t want to admit the

effect it caused.

Though at first glance microaggressions seem a simple topic and ‘micro,’ it begins to

unweave itself to a complex web. In a journal article, "Racism, College, and the Power of

Words,” University of Wisconsin professor, Julie Minikel-Lacocque breaks down

microaggression into three parts; Microinsult, Microassault and Microinvalidation. Microinsult is

often unconscious and is remarks that is convey as rude, insensitive and belittle someone’s

identity and heritage. For example, assuming someone's identity, intelligence, status, safety
1

based on race. Saying that I got admitted to Boston University(BU) due to affirmative action is a

59
microinsult. Microassault is often conscious and is “explicit racial derogations characterized

primarily by a verbal attack meant to hurt the victim and attack” . At a macro level, this is seen as
2

an environmental microaggression, microaggression that are felt everyday due to our

surroundings and social climate. Lastly, there’s microinvalidation, which is also often

unconscious. These are actions or comments that ignore or invalidate the psychological

“thoughts, feeling and experiential reality of a person of color.” For example, many white

students at my high school used to dismiss the racism topic with the “I don’t see color”

argument. Also, another microinvalidation I’ve experienced is when students and faculty ask me,

“where I am from or where I’m really from?” It’s frustrating that society has been conditioned to

think, if you’re not white than you must be an immigrant from another country and never

acknowledge white people are immigrants as well. Yes, my ethnicity is Haitian but I’m a first

generation immigrant, so I was born in America. My hometown will never be Haiti, it’ll always

be Weston, Massachusetts; which is also a source for many of my microinsults. Weston is a very

affluent, rich and predominantly white town. While at BU, when I told students and faculty alike

that I’m from Weston, I immediately get a “how did you end up living there?” It instantly makes

me self conscious because I’m instantly put in a box that’s says ‘I’m too black and poor to live in

a town like Weston.’ Now subconsciously, I tell them that my mom got lucky and won a housing

lottery because I feel like I owe them an explanation which I don’t.

In relation to a PWI (predominately white institution) like BU, what does this mean to the

minorities communities? Because microaggression are not recognized or not talked about unless

during a minority class or discussion facilitated by a minority, we internalize these comments

and actions that isolate us from the university. So far, during my time at BU, I notice that there’s

not really a space or resources for black students to reach out. Another thing about

60
microaggression to understand is that they can be actions as well, not just verbal comments. BU

fails at recognizing the need for resources, events, representations for their minority. I feel that

through small actions, BU has afflicted numerous microaggressions towards the black

community.

Firstly, let's talk about the Howard Thurman Center. The space is honored by Howard

Thurman, Martin Luther King’s mentor and has become a hub for black students and

organizations to relax and hang out. However, as many times that BU likes to pride themselves

on having Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an alum, how is the center dedicated to him in the

basement of the student union? During BUNITED, a student diversity conference, the keynote

Derecka Purnell, a Harvard grad student said it best; “How is an institution going to pride itself

on the legacy of MLK, but his room is in the basement and it’s suppose to be a space for the

black students”. Not only is this apparent within the black minorities on campus but also non-BU

individuals. Though finally the HTC is getting the respect it's deserved and expanding, it took 21

years, since it was first built for that change to happen.

Second, the lack of support from the Deans and Students Activities Office, when a

cultural organization wants to hold an event that provides as space for marginalized students to

talk about topics that matters most is baffling. This year, I was apart of the planning process for

BUNITED, the student diversity conference, and our mission for the conference was to provide a

safe environment to enhance attendees' cultural capability by recognizing and understanding the

social issues that prevail in our society. Last year, BU aided in the funding of the conference and

this year they completely pulled out of funding of the conference. This year, BUNITED was self-

funded entirely and fortunately we succeeded in continuing with our conference. But what

perplexed me was that once BU pulled out their funding, the deans discouraged us from

61
continuing in planning our conference. It speaks volumes when you see other social groups on

campus with minimal programming but a surplus of funding. I went to an event earlier in the

year and it was a general body meeting and they had $200 dollars in catering. That much funding

for a regular meeting and here we are going in our pocket to provide workshops and speakers

that cater to BU community, especially the minorities in the BU Community.

Thirdly, not only are minority students feeling a lack of support from BU, so are

underrepresented minority faculty as well. In "Listening to Our Voices: Experiences of Black

Faculty at Predominantly White Research Universities with Microaggression," from the Journal

of Black Studies, underrepresented black faculty at Predominantly White Institutions were the

focus. Due to underrepresentation, black faculty members, there’s a lot of pressure to make up

for the lack of diversity and mentorship for students . Students of color are more likely to seek
3

mentorship and guidance from them. Though black faculty members recognize their

“sociocultural responsibility” in advising underrepresented students, it adds an extra burden on

top of their teaching responsibilities and racial inequities. Administration expects them to take
4

on these roles. Due to their racial background, black faculty members have an additional

responsibility that is not placed on their White counterparts.

The articles refer this as cultural taxation. When putting an entire student group on the

backs of limited faculty, it threatens their progress for advancement. Professor Saida Grundy can

contest to this. Last week, at an event a new cultural group, Minority Connection Initiative

hosted, Professor Office Hours, Prof Grundy spoke about her experience as a minority faculty at

BU. When asked if she feels the burden of being the spokesperson for a whole community, she

agrees like the faculty described in the study. She mentions out of the five black professors in the

African Studies department, there’s tremendous pressure on wanting to help out the black

62
community but also doing 200% more than their majority counterparts. She mentions her and her

colleagues wanted to plan events for Black History Month. However, when they brought it up to

administration, they were silenced with, “the students are taking care of it.” She goes on further

by saying, it’s not the student's’ job to be providing a space and events for themselves to feel

included and part of the community, that should be the institutions jobs. As students, we are not

being paid to do this labor to provide social events. It's not our job to fill the void and have a

continuing struggle with administration to prove why the black community is important enough

and worth it to have a platform. One of my biggest takeaways from her office hours was that

“this institution is not made for [minorities] and it will never will be, “and all we really can do is

to continue to fight with administration to make sure we have a voice on campus and we

ourselves have to build or community. This itself is disappointing that as marginalized students

we have to advocate for building a space that BU should already have for us. Having a small

minority student body is one thing, but also having a decreasingly smaller faculty representation

is a double whammy. Not having enough representation within faculty or in a school setting can

be enough to trigger a stereotype that undermines their performance. As a black student, you’re

already feeling misunderstood and discriminated in society and the media, so to be

underrepresented at school, or any local setting can tax someone mentally.

In the future, I would like to see Boston University take the responsibility on building a

bridge between the students and administrators and faculty. I would like to them to make efforts

in adding to the cultural organizations and community. Instead of relying on the minorities to

build their own community. It all starts with support from the administration. Every year, we get

an email from President Brown, on how he’s happy about the conversations and events that are

happening at BU. However, I have never seen him or the Dean support students' organizations

63
and events by attending, speaking, or briefly showing up. By physically showing support, it

shows that they care to see what their students are doing to benefit the community. However, just

like it takes time and the wanting to understand the complexity of microaggression, it’s going

take that same wanting and time to make macro changes at Boston University. I know that

myself and my six members are ready to be at the forefront of change.

64
 Notes

1. Shandra Forrest-Bank and Jeffrey Jenson, "Differences in Experiences of

Racial and Ethnic Microaggression among Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Black, and

White Young Adults." Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 42.1 (2015): 141-

61. Web.

2. Ibid.

3. Dave Louis et al. "Listening to Our Voices: Experiences of Black Faculty at

Predominantly White Research Universities with Microaggression." Journal of

Black Studies 47.5 (2016): 454. Web.

4. Ibid.

65
 Bibliography

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