Give and Take, the Love and Hate Relationship

Abstract

Navigating the academic terrain as unapologetically Black, multiracial, multiethnic women can be an uphill battle. Constantly negotiating obstacles and the emotional labor of teaching critical content is exhausting. Black women are underrepresented in higher education, particularly given the demographics of the students, faculty, and staff at PWIs; the recruitment, retention, support, and sustainability of Black women across colleges and universities throughout the U.S. remains problematic. This is compounded by a culture of business, or “busyness,” as usual. Higher Education enforces a work-centric system with increased initiatives and limited resources that aren't enough in a post-George Floyd era, in which colleges are leaning even more on EDI roles, where bias is a buzzword and action, advocacy, and activism aren't “really” seen as scholarship and where respect, empathy, accountability, and communication are some comm”UNITY” norms that we strive to “REACH” while engaged in emotional labor that rarely is acknowledged and hardly gets rewarded and is often gendered and racialized.