#NoFilter: Exploring the Experiences of BIPOC Students at a HPWI

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) undergraduate students face many obstacles and barriers when navigating historically and predominantly white institutions (HPWI’s). BIPOC students also possess and employ an array community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) as they navigate a racially hostile climate (Samuelson & Litzler, 2016; Stanton et al., 2022). This study applies a participatory action research frameworkand employs photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997) to explore BIPOC undergraduate students’ community cultural wealth strategies as they navigate space at an HPWI. The PAR Team consists of four undergraduate women of color, one undergraduate man of color, and a woman of color PhD student. The study found that BIPOC undergraduate students leverage community cultural wealth during experiences of emotional and academic distress due to lack of support and isolation while (re)imagining Mountain State University. We argue that when grounded in a community cultural wealth framework, photovoice offers a way for undergraduate researchers to document hostile campuses while affirming their dignity, agency, and expertise.