There’s no place like home? African American women in the residence halls of a predominantly white Midwestern University

Despite an increase in scholarship exploring the challenges African American women face in the classrooms of predominantly White institutions, there is surprisingly little research on the experiences of these women as they navigate the social spaces of PWIs. I address this shortcoming by investigating how African American women navigate socio-spatial interactions in residence halls. I use qualitative evidence from interviews with academically successful African American women at a Midwestern PWI. While I find that African American women do not have an aversion to developing friendships with White students, racial and gender tensions motivate African American women to self-segregate. Because they are marginalized both inside and outside the classroom, African American women develop socio-spatial practices that insulate them from White students in the dorms.