The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to discover the issues of racial microaggression, as perceived by African Americans who earned doctoral degrees in music from predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), in order to better understand the perceptions and lived experiences of African-American students in regard to unequal and racist treatment from the personnel at PWIs in the U.S. South. Members of this particular population were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. Based on the themes from the interview responses, (a) the existence of White privilege was found to be a common occurrence for all of the participants, (b) both particular instances of microaggression and a general climate of microaggression were experienced by the participants, and, (c) microaggressions were experienced with faculty in classroom and advising contexts and in general with peers in the program. Participants noted that the PWIs’ attempts to address microaggressions were chaotic and ineffective, due in large part to poor communication and policy enforcement.
