Black college women’s lived memories of racialization in predominantly white educational spaces: I’m Black, I´m a migrant, I’m a woman, so what?

ABSTRACT

Research on experiences of gender and racial discrimination among young, racialized college women in Europe is scarce, particularly in Spain where Black women have traditionally had a minority presence in universities. As a result of processes of social mobility, these women are now occupying higher education spaces to an unprecedented extent, where they are becoming increasingly visible. These women's experiences of gender and racial discrimination throughout the education cycle are invisible. The aim of this article is to explore the personal experiences of racialization and discrimination among Black female college students in southern Spain. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed to shed light on the experiences of young Black female students in predominantly white educational institutions. The stories of these women show that gender and race intersect and are constructed simultaneously through interactions with their mostly white peers. These women display responses of significant resilience.

KEYWORDS:

• Racialized experiences
• Black women bodies
• Black student women
• racism and discrimination in southern Spain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We would like to thank the funding support provided by two funder: I+D+I project, ‘Digital transition, social cohesion and gender equality: mobile banking and digital female empowerment in Africa' (DIGITALFEM), reference: TED2021-130586B-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR’ and the I+D+I project MOMIGEN: Multi-methodological analysis of pedestrian mobility and the perception of fear in public spaces with a gender approach (B-SEJ-238-UGR20), funded by the Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía and FEDER.

Notes on contributors

Roser Manzanera-Ruiz

Roser Manzanera-Ruiz is a full professor at the department of sociology at the University of Granada working on inequalities, gender and social change. She is also part of the research team at the Institute of Women and Gender Studies.

Carmen Lizárraga

Carmen Lizarraga is a full professor at the department of applied economics at the University of Granada who works in urban mobilities.

Gemma M. Gonzalez-Garcia

Gemma M. Gonzalez-Garcia is a Ph.D. student at the Women Studies Program at the University of Granada. She workss on racialized women and inequalities.