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Abstract
Though first-generation doctoral students are more likely to be Students of Color (Gardner & Holley, 2011), there is a dearth of literature on Black first-generation doctoral students in recent higher education and student affairs scholarship. With almost half of Black doctoral recipients self-identifying as first-generation (National Science Foundation, 2015), it is imperative that higher education professionals not only focus on the needs of Black first-generation doctoral students but recognize the assets they bring to college campuses. The purpose of this critical qualitative narrative study was to understand how Black first-generation doctoral recipients successfully navigated barriers to terminal degree completion at non-Black serving institutions. Using an asset-based lens, this study explored the strengths of Black first-generation doctoral recipients focusing on their cultural capital as it relates to their academic pursuits. Major findings from this study include: (1) Black first-generation doctoral recipients in this study used 10 different forms of cultural capital to navigate their doctoral journey, (2) institutional and systemic structures, such as racism, classism, sexism, misogynoir, intersectional homoantagonism, and discrimination based on perceived intellect, impede Black first-generation doctoral recipients’ terminal degree journeys, (3) academic elitism uniquely impacts Black first-generation doctoral students, (4) Black first-generation doctoral students must engage in physical and mental labor to advocate for their needs unlike their white counterparts, (5) Black first-generation doctoral students compartmentalize experiences with structural oppression, an act that can lead to poor mental health or exhaustion, (6) Black first-generation doctoral students who hold multiple minoritized identities experience additional harm in their educational pursuit, (7) Black first-generation doctoral students carry the weight of their family(ies) and community(ies) while navigating their terminal degree journey, and (8) despite current literature that solely suggest challenges and barriers, Black first-generation doctoral students persist and graduate from non-Black serving institutions. These findings have significant implications for higher education research, theory, and practice.