Black and Queer on Campus

by Michael P. Jeffries

An inside look at Black LGBTQ college students and their experiences

Black and Queer on Campus offers an inside look at what life is like for LGBTQ college students on campuses across the United States. Michael P. Jeffries shows that Black and queer college students often struggle to find safe spaces and a sense of belonging when they arrive on campus at both predominantly white institutions and historically black colleges and universities. Many report that in predominantly white queer social spaces, they feel unwelcome and pressured to temper their criticisms of racism amongst their white peers. Conversely, in predominantly straight Black social spaces, they feel ignored or pressured to minimize their queer identity in order to be accepted. This fraught dynamic has an impact on Black LGBTQ students in higher education, as they experience different forms of marginalization at the intersection of their race, gender, and sexuality.

Drawing on interviews with students from over a dozen colleges, Jeffries provides a new, much-needed perspective on the specific challenges Black LGBTQ students face and the ways they overcome them. We learn through these intimate portraits that despite the gains of the LGBTQ rights movement, many of the most harmful stereotypes and threats to black queer safety continue to haunt this generation of students. We also learn how students build queer identities. The traditional narrative of “coming out” does not fit most of these students, rather, Jeffries describes a more gradual transition to queer acceptance and pride.

Black and Queer on Campus sheds light on the oft-hidden lives of Black LGBTQ students, and how educational institutions can better serve them. It also highlights the quiet beauty and joy of Black queer social life, and the bonds of friendship that sustain the students and fuel their imagination.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer

288 pages, Hardcover

Published March 21, 2023

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "cure" for homophobia and transphobia is not reduction of personal fear or hatred of queer and trans people; it is institutional and legal change in partnership with cultural embrace of diverse expressions of gender and sexuality.

And the same can be said for racism, as well.

This is a wonderful but uneven dive into the experiences of queer Black youth and young adults just come to university or college. Meticulously conducted qualitative research with diverse voices. But:

・Interspersed throughout are essays about other matters having to do with queer and/or Blackdome. Examples: the legacy of the television series Pose, the devastation wrought by Trump and increasing conservatism, police violence. All of these interludes were excellent ... all of these issues need to be raised ... but these inclusions are also barely relevant to the central story and struck me as inappropriate filler. Two texts mashed together that deserve their own limelight.

・Not "indigenous," "Indigenous."

・Focused on the negative, at least when it comes to the details. Tell us more about these professors who were "indispensable" to these students. We want to know how to be allies and agents of change! We want to know what worked for these students!

Nevertheless, this is an original and fundamental glimpse at highly marginalized folks. I recommend it to all working in academic spaces ... especially in the US.

Thank you to NetGalley and NYU Press for the advance copy.

[Jelke]

Thank you to NetGalley and NYU Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Black and Queer on Campus talks about the experiences of black queer students during college.

I, unfortunately, was not able to finish this book. I had a bit of trouble with the format and had different expectations of it. Even though I did not manage to read this book completely, I still recommend picking it up to educate yourself.

[beth.inprogress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really intriguing and informative non fiction case study type of read. While the author was very transparent in the introduction that he identified as a black cisgendered male, he recruited LGBTIA+ black participants who were studying in either black educational institutions or more prominently white educational institutions. Any findings or observations argued by the author were always bolstered by the direct words expressed by the interviewees. The author also explored and acknowledged all the diverse opinions of all the different interviewees on different topics areas. Some of the chapters were diving into issues such as coming out, choosing which university to attend as a black LGBT person, discussing gay black celebrity identity’s, Black Lives Matter, institutional racism and homophobia and political and sexual identities of black LGBT individuals while at university. That is just a small selection of the topics discussed. I enjoyed the complexity of interviewee’s answers and while this book is not reflective of all black LGBT people, it actually helped highlight the individuality of answers, black LGBT people will give. Racial and sexual identity as well as a political stance and the experience of making friends or being accepted by colleges and administrators at the university are experiences unique to the person. While it is clear that black LGBT people are marginalised and have challenges they are also people who enjoy their studies, their friends and joining organisations. This really addressed the complexity and individuality of the broad topic area. A promising addition to the literature around this topic.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable research book on a group who doesn't get much attention but should. Through interviews with Black queer students on the campuses of both HBCUs and PWIs, as well as other scholarly queer works, Jeffries paints a picture of the lives of queer Black college students and their experiences in their communities. He presents the concept of "the Black queertidian" which revels in the everyday, average experiences of these young people and emphasizes the subtle ways their Blackness and queerness influence their everyday lives, while also emphasizing that they share many of the same struggles, fears, and worries that accompany most students in college. The author states up front that he does not personally identify as queer, which does occasionally lead him to becoming over-sensitive in his language to a point which becomes distracting from the main text. However, those points were overall few and far between, so it is not something to be entirely worried about. I believe most readers will find it incredibly readable and relatable for an academic text. If you are at all interested in queer studies or race studies, I think it is an interesting, important, and worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will be recommending this to professors and people engaged in academia in general. Very open and holistic view of all sides of these issues, but most importantly did a fantastic job at outlining communities that have been oppressed and ignored and what people should take away from that to be better allies and activists. Thanks for this important work.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit with this book. I hadn't known it would be more of a straightforward case-study-ish format--I would love to have a companion book with more detail and even more conceptual analysis of what's going on in these folks' lives.

[Elizabeth Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides valuable insight into Black, queer college students at both HBCUs and other institutions. Jeffries points out, rightly, that these areas are under studied and need more attention. I also appreciated Jeffries's candor throughout in discussing not only what he learned, but also possible limitations to his discussions.

For an academic text, I found it very readable. There are some parts that dive into more theory, and some readers may find that difficult to parse. For the most part, though, all the steps taken to obtain interviews for the book, the contents of the interviews, and the discussions are well-explained and easy to follow. The most important areas, of course, were the interviews themselves and the numerous, varied experiences they contained.

I think this text would be interesting to anyone interested in Black, queer individuals, but particularly useful for those in academic contexts.