Spoke tokenism : Black women talking back about graduate school experiences

Black women still experience racial oppression in the academy. In this study, I draw on Black feminist theory and oral narrative research to examine the narratives of Black women graduate students discussing their educational experiences. Black female graduate students deal with acts of everyday racism and instances of structural and internalized oppression. I explore the communicative strategies Black women use to get through their graduate programs. More specifically, I address two emergent themes: (1) Black women as spoketokens; and (2) the risks and consequences of talking back in the face of racial oppression. Ultimately, the academic experiences of Black women have a profound impact on how they wish to be perceived and how they see their role in representing Black female identity.