ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: DIFFERENCE AMONGST YOUR OWN: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF LOW-INCOME AFRICAN- AMERICAN STUDENTS AND THEIR ENCOUNTERS WITH CLASS WITHIN ELITE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE (HBCU) ENVIRONMENTS Steve Derrick Mobley, Jr. Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Noah D. Drezner, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education Professor Francine H. Hultgren, Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership The subtle and deeply impactful nuances of Black intra-racial social class differences that manifest amongst students who attend historically Black colleges (HBCU) has remained untouched and understudied in higher-education scholarship.
In this phenomenological study, I explore how low-income African-American students encounter social class within elite HBCU environments. The men and women in this study graduated between the years of 2001 and 2010. Contemporary HBCU student experiences are underscored and reveal great tension between self, community, and place. The philosophical works of Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Edward Casey are joined with the voices of Black scholars including W.
DuBois, Audre Lorde, Frantz Fanon, bell hooks, and Toni Morrison to provide critical context for the phenomenon being studied. Max van Manen’s key phenomenological insights also provide a methodological foundation for the study. My co-researchers encountered significant shifts and evolved within their oppressed identities during their undergraduate years. During their undergraduate years they felt a difference amongst their own that they still reconcile today.
The participants within this study endured feelings of alienation, wonder, and even confusion within their distinct higher education environments. This study concludes with phenomenological insights for myriad educational stakeholders that include higher educational researchers, higher education practitioners, families, and students. I provide pedagogical insights into how elite HBCU environments can not only intercede and provide a more enriching cultural environment for their low-income students, but their families as well. The pedagogical insights that “end” this study also summon the need for future research to continue to explore Black intra-racial differences that are present within both elite HBCU communities and elite PWI institutions as well.
Exposure to the pertinent issues that are outlined in this scholarship provide a new entry into critical discourses that must now be had. This dialogue is needed so that students within elite HBCU environments do not continue to suffer in silence within their oppressed identities. DIFFERENCE AMONGST YOUR OWN: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF LOW- INCOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS AND THEIR ENCOUNTERS WITH CLASS WITHIN ELITE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE (HBCU) ENVIRONMENTS by Steve Derrick Mobley, Jr. Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor Noah Drezner, Advisor and Co-Chair Professor Francine Hultgren, Co-Chair Professor Sharon Fries-Britt Professor Kimberly Griffin Professor Joseph B.
©Copyright by Steve Derrick Mobley, Jr. 2015 Dedication "An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end."- Proverbs 20:21 For my mother, Cheryl Denise Bonner-Mobley (September 9, 1957-March 5, 2015). You are and will always be my muse and my strength. To “My Perfect Ten:” Alonzo, Blair, Emmanuel, Kodi, Nia, Nicole, Nora, Roman, Summer, and Xavier.
You all are so much more than “participants” in a study. Words cannot adequately express how grateful I am for all of you. You helped me to give voice to those like “us” who have been silenced. All I can say is thank you! You know who you are.
To my many ancestors who have long departed. You perpetually stand watch, cover me, and have bestowed me with the fortitude to courageously live and walk in my own truth. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must give honor and thanks to God for giving me the strength and fortitude to persist through my doctoral journey. I must also again thank my mommy Cheryl Denise Bonner-Mobley.
Since her very recent death, I realize that legacy is a precious gift. My mother was the first to bestow me with many gifts including Howard University. Whether she realized it or not, she was the one who sent me on my phenomenological path so long ago. For so many years she taught me many things.
She was and still is so much a part of me. Now that she is gone, I hope that she sees that she truly made me free. She made me free to explore, free to challenge, and most of all free to seek the truths that often hide in our humanity! Dissertation Committee I was very deliberate in selecting my village to help me through this fortuitous process. Each individual who comprises my dissertation committee has guided me and they all remind me how blessed I am to have mentors that shall and will transcend my dissertation process.
I know and have immense faith that they will be here for me once I graduate to guide me in all of my life and professional endeavors. I know this because they have already shown me. Noah Daniel Drezner It has been my honor and pleasure to be your friend and one of your first advisees. Our times have been precious and I am in awe of your unyielding service to your students.
You have known me since I was a young master’s student at the University of Pennsylvania and never left me. Your guidance and friendship have truly been a privilege. You were a considerable factor to my retention as a master’s student and integral to my not only pursuing a Ph. but also deciding to complete doctoral study at the University of Maryland.
Noah, you have always let me know that my voice mattered and that the academy needed “people like me.” I am blessed to have had you in my life through the turbulent storms and the eminent rainbows. You have truly cultivated me and it is my hope that I have made you proud! Francine Hultgren As a child I was in awe with the motion picture The Wizard Of Oz. When I first came into contact with you I knew that you reminded me of someone. I now know that to me you are a semblance of the eminent character “Glinda the Good.” Like the character from the movie, you came into my life, guided me, and bestowed me with a precious gift—it was phenomenology.
This methodology and its lessons can never be taken away from me and I shall forever be thankful. You too pushed me, but like Glinda the Good reminded me that “You’ve always had the power, my dear. You’ve had it all along.” You must know that you aided in providing me with the power I sought to complete my dissertation. Hultgren, I thank you! I truly do.
You believed in me and taught me how to be audacious and caring in my treatment of those who I choose to engage within the academy. Thank you…Thank You…THANK YOU! iii Sharon Fries-Britt Dr. Fries-Britt our times together have been oh so precious. I have been in tremendous awe of you since I met you at your house during our programs “Preview Day.” You once stated, “My students are my lifeline…We have pieces of each other’s hearts.” I have been incredibly blessed to have you as a mentor throughout the entirety of my doctoral study.
From day one you embraced me. I will never forget my time as a student in your classes, serving as your TA, and our amazing meetings and phone chats. Our connection is special and I look forward to witnessing our mentor-mentee relationship grow even stronger. As much as you have been here for me please know that I am here for you.
After all “we” truly do retain each other! Kimberly Griffin Dr. Griffin I saw you from across the room while you were on a panel during my first ASHE conference and thought to myself, “I must know this woman.” I do not think that you realize the impact that your mentorship has had on me. You always ask me “How can I help?” or “What do you need from me?” These questions are often hard for me to respond to, but, what I do know is that you are there. That truly means a lot.
Thank you for truly taking an interest in my growth and development and serving as a conduit for my light to truly shine. Joseph Richardson Dr. Richardson thank you so very much for taking a chance on me and serving on my dissertation committee. I am extremely thankful for your insights and the manner in which you have pushed me to think about how social class impacts Black students who are present at both HBCUs and PWIs.
I must admit, before my proposal defense I had not taken the time to seriously consider how my brothers and sisters who attend(ed) elite PWIs face similar social class differences to those who are present at elite HBCUs. Your gentle nudging prompted me to expand my future research trajectory and I am forever thankful for your presence during my doctoral journey. My Family My family has been there for me and supported each and every scholastic endeavor that I have chosen to pursue in my life. They are a mighty and formidable force in my life! To my grand-mothers: Pauline Bonner & Annette Burwell To my sister: Monique Mobley To my niece: Ayanna Coleman To my aunts: Cynthia Bonner-Burke, Maria Mobley, Cynthia Young, & Rosemary Bonner To my cousins: LaMarris Bonner, Shayla Jackson, Terrance Young, Candice Burke, Ashley Mobley, Christina Bonner, & Javai Bonner Thank you all for loving me and lifting up forever and always.
My University of Maryland Family First, I must give thanks to the faculty members who gave me immense support during my entire time at Maryland and guided me along the way. Thank you Dr. Marvin Titus iv for taking a chance on me early on and always making sure that I knew I was worthy of Maryland and the academy. Alberto Cabrera the lessons that you imparted and your unyielding guidance and mentorship shall never be forgotten! I will never forget our times in the classroom together when I was your student and TA.
You never stopped believing in me. Your words of wisdom and constant pushing came from a place of immense love. For this I am forever grateful. I was also blessed with an AMAZING cohort.
Jennifer Johnson and Dr. Rebecca Villarreal for being there for me and ushering me throughout this process. You two ladies constantly showed me and told me that my scholarly voice was necessary and pushed me toward the finish line. You would not let me give up! Words cannot express how grateful I am to call both of you my friends.
We are bound forever. I must also acknowledge Dr. Kimberly Holmes, Dr. Joseph Williams, and Michael Puma for being here for me during my doctoral journey! Also, thank you AAP: Sharon VanWright, Tiffany Cox, and Dr.
Thank you UMD College of Education Student Services: Janis Cornell-DeMoss, Jenny Froh, Shannon Hayes, Clarissa Coughlin, Valerie Wedge, and last but certainly not least Mr. Derrick Morton and Jessica Bancroft-you two made an indelible impact on my UMD experience and I am blessed that I had you both to keep me sane and focused on my end goal. Thank you Letters & Sciences: Dr. Evelyn Cooper, Dr.
Deborah Reid Bryant, Miki Yoshioka Brooks, and Brent Hernandez. The administrative support staff in the UMD College of Education has also been there for me. It is imperative for me to thank Elaine Henry, Caroline Scott and Valerie Foster in CHSE and Lattisha Hall in TLPL. Tish” you held me accountable during my dissertation writing process and were a tremendous port in this beautiful storm.
THANK YOU! My Higher Education family has also been a tremendous support network for me during my doctoral journey. I would be remiss if I did not recognize Dr. Jason Garvey, Dr. Chrystal George Mwangi, Dr.
Amy Martin, Pamela Hernandez, Nina Daoud, Tykeia Robinson, Dr.