Description
Black men in America have a long-standing, strained relationship with authority in this country. History has shown time and again that racism has allowed authority figures to abuse their power and for some this subjugation causes Black men to be resistant to authority all together. In the field of higher education, limited research exists exploring the relationships Black male college students share with campus authority figures. This study aimed to investigate: what connections exist between Black men’s trust, perceptions and engagement with authority, which campus roles have influence over Black men’s perceptions of authority, and how does race impact Black men’s likelihood to engage with authority. An online survey was distributed to men currently enrolled in a two or four year institution who identified as Black and completed at least one year of postsecondary education to assess the attitudes they held toward authority. Analyses of responses from the survey found: there were significant correlations between Black men’s trust in, perceptions of and engagement with authority, Campus Police and Academic Counselors were identified as roles that strongly influence Black men’s perceptions of campus authority, and Black men were more likely to engage with Black professionals than white professionals on campus.
