Bridging Worlds: The Role of An Affinity Group in How Students of Color Negotiate Race and Identity in An Elite Prep School

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: In my research, I explored the experiences of students of color in an elite prep school and the role of an affinity group in their experiences through in-depth interviews with eleven individuals of color who attended an elite prep school in the Midwest. Through these conversations, I examined how students of color perceived and related to the school, the affinity group, and their racial identity. My analysis revealed that, first, the participants conceived of the school as a wealthy, white education environment where they experienced both racial and class marginalization. Second, in such an environment, the participants found the self-affirming and community-building functions of the affinity group for students of color to be vital. On the other hand, the group was also perceived to be a group for black students that harbored resentment towards white students. Finally, the participants’ diverse racial experiences reveal the ways in which the student of color category is not as straightforward or racially monolithic as it appears to be. My research thus confirms the major social, psychological, and cultural issues the literature has found to be common to students of color in elite, white educational elite. It also contributes to findings regarding the importance of creating race-based support spaces reserved for students with marginalized racial identities – and the crucial limitations of these initiatives.

Type of resource	text
Date created	2017

Author	Bui, Ngoc

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/zw180tk6076

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Bui, Ngoc. (2017). Bridging Worlds: The Role of An Affinity Group in How Students of Color Negotiate Race and Identity in An Elite Prep School. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.

Undergraduate Honors Theses, Graduate School of Education

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