This unique book charts the journeys of Black doctoral students through UK higher education.
Using powerful firsthand accounts, the book details the experiences of Black PhD students. From application through to graduation and beyond, the book offers key insights into the workings of higher education, highlighting the structural barriers that impede progress. Challenges and recommendations are issued for the sector and wider community. This text is a witness to the tenacity and brilliance of Black students to achieve against the odds.
A game changer for the sector. Essential reading for anyone interested in equity and inclusion in higher education.
Recenzijos
This indispensable volume chronicles narratives on the Black PhD experience in the UK. It is an essential resource highlighting this marginalised yet powerful community, challenging readers to support racial justice and equity in academia and beyond. Richard J. Reddick, The University of Texas at Austin A must-read for understanding the complex realities faced by Black PhD students in UK academia today, offering personal insights into their experiences, emotions, systemic racism, institutional barriers, hopes and triumphs. Richard Oreffo, Founder of The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation The Black PhD experience presents a rich and rare collection of diverse perspectives, capturing the nuanced journeys and challenges of Black doctoral candidates in UK academia. It is crucial for anyone seeking to understand the multifaceted experiences of these scholars. Billy Wong, University of Reading
This book is a powerful and timely testimony to the lived experiences of Black PhD students as they navigate the institutionally racist system of higher education in the UK and, in many instances, succeed against the odds. The book contains valuable insights and offers hope for those who struggle for a future free from racism. Leon Tikly, FAcSS, University of Bristol
Foreword - Jason Arday and Wayne A. Mitchell
Introduction: Black PhD Journeys in Context - William Ackah
Part 1: The Weighted, Waiting Game: Being Black and Applying To Do a PhD -
Wayne A. Mitchell
1. Underrepresented and Undervalued: My Reflections on School, University and
the Doctoral Application Process - Sophie Martin
2. Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain: Getting into a PhD Programme -
Katty Wadda
3. What I Wish I Knew: Deciding on when to Pursue the PhD - Esther
Osarfo-Mensah
4. The Long and Winding Road: Tackling Barriers and Prejudice on the Journey
to PhD Study - Sigourney Bonner
5. Ignorance Is Not Bliss: What Every Potential Black PhD Science Student
Needs to Know - Jason Amartey
6. Being One of the Few Among the Many: My Journey to the PhD Starting Point
- Nina Higson-Sweeney
7. Making the Garments Fit: Transitions to a Better Place - Dwaynica Greaves
Reflections on Part 1 and Prompts for Action - Wayne A. Mitchell
Part 2: Being Black Is Not an Optional Luxury! Struggles for Rights and
Recognition in the White Academic Space - Madina Wane
8. Studying While Black: Reflections on Researching Blackness in White Space
Alanah Mortlock
9. Through, Around or Over the Gate? Navigating Academia from a Black Muslim
Woman's Perspective - Amira Samatar
10. Fighting the Power: Challenging Institutional Discrimination A Personal
Perspective - Hanna Akalu
11. The Missing Ones
Reflections on Part 2 and Prompts for Action - Madina Wane
Part 3: For Us, by Us: Finding One Another Amid the Storm - Jacqueline
Darkwa
12. That Aint It, So Well Create It: Supporting Black Students When and
Where Our Institutions Fail - De-Shaine Murray
13. Finding the Black Immunologists in a Pandemic - Madina Wane
14. In the Meantime: Creating Change Through Community - Paulette Williams
15. Networks, Networking and Finding My Place in the Academic Space - Deyl
Djama
16. #BlackInTheIvory: Social Media as a Tool for Racial Healing - Louisa
Brotherson
17. Unravelling the Tapestry of Unspoken Rules: Living with Being Different
in the Academic Space - Mary Agyapong
18. Making Space for Black Voices and Black Visions: The Formation and Work
of the African Diaspora Postgraduate Network - William Ackah
Reflections on Part 3 and Prompts for Action - Jacqueline Darkwa
Part 4: Academic Support: The Right Thing, in the Right Place, at the Right
Time De-Shaine Murray
19. Reaching Beyond the Horizon: Being Inspired to Succeed Against the Odds -
Simone Webb
20. In and Out of Prison: My Personal Research Journey of Being a Black
Woman, Researching Black Women - Angela Charles
21. Not in This Alone: Being Supported to Break Down Barriers to PhD Success
- Peggy Warren
22. When Seasons Change: Dealing with a Change in my Situation While Studying
for a PhD - Rees Johnson
23. Believing That the Impossible Is Possible: My Story of Being Supported to
Succeed - Clķona Kelly
Reflections on Part 4 and prompts for Action - De-Shaine Murray
Part 5: Reflections at the Completion of the PhD Journey - Madina Wane
24. What It Means To Be the First: My Journey from Windrush to PhD - Julia
Morris
25. Why the P in PhD Stands for (Black) Power - April-Louise Pennant
26. (Un)Making the Imposter Syndrome - Barbara Adewumi
27. I Came All This Way for This?! An International Student's Experience of
UK Higher Education Anon
Reflections on Part 5 and Prompts for Action - Madina Wane
Conclusion and Recommendations - De-Shaine Murray
Our Ancestors Wildest Dreams (Fictionalisation) - Jacqueline Darkwa
Afterword: For Our Community - De-Shaine Murray
William Ackah is Senior Lecturer in Black and Community Geographies at Birkbeck, University of London.
Jacqueline Darkwa is a documentary filmmaker and science communicator.
Wayne A. Mitchell is Associate Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Principal Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London.
De-Shaine Murray is a Wu Tsai Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University.
Madina Wane is a research scientist working in the biomedical sector and the co-founder of non-profit organisation, Black In Immuno.
