Hanging out on Crenshaw: examining the role of racial identity on the academic acheivement of black students at a southern California community college

Unrestricted The main purpose for conducting this investigation is to examine the relationship between academic achievement and the racial identity of Black college students attending a Southern California Community College. Nigrescence (the process of becoming Black) and racial identity has been studied extensively however, absent from the current literature are studies conducted with community college students as a sample population. This current investigation is unique and adds to the existing literature by employing community college students as its sample population. This study emphasizes the racial identity attitudes of Black students attending community college in Southern California.; Moreover, this investigation uses a mixed methods research design optimizing the best practices of quantitative and qualitative measures producing richer and comprehensive data pertaining to this sample population. Additionally this study also provides an extensive review of literature on Nigrescence and racial identity including some historical antecedents informing racial identity. Subsequently, 76 students participated in the racial identity attitude scale survey (RIAS B), the quantitative component of this study, while 8 students participated in semi-structured interviews.; Findings from this study should prove to be valuable for educators and administrators within the community college system as well as the K-12 system and four-year colleges alike. More importantly, this study seeks to inform readers about (1) within group variation amongst Black college students (2) normal/healthy development is not normal for African Americans due to racism and social oppression and (3) lastly, this study hopes to provide empirical support that academic excellence is related to a strong Black Identity.