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Abstract
The study explored the experiences with authenticity of Black new student affairs professionals and how their identity status influences their experiences at predominately White institutions. The existing scholarly literature has focused on Black professionals in higher education in general; very few studies have focused on authenticity and Black professionals at predominately White institutions. The research questions that explored this phenomenon was: (1) What are the Black new student affairs professionals’ perceptions of being authentic?, (2) How do Black new student affairs professionals’ experience their identities at a predominately White institution?, and (3) What strategies do Black new student affairs professionals’ use to succeed at a predominately White institution? A qualitative approach was used to provide an understanding of the experiences with authenticity of these Black new student affairs professionals. The study included eight Black new student affairs professionals working at predominately White institutions across the United States. The data revealed experiences with being authentic, racial battle fatigue, burden of identities, tokenism, and feelings of separation while navigating their professional identity at a predominately White institution. This study also highlighted how these Black new student affairs professionals experience resiliency, advocacy, and community building to contribute to their success as professionals.