Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department

School for Social Work

Keywords

African American gay men-Social conditions, African American bisexual men-Social conditions, Universities and college, Black, African American college students-Social conditions, AAGBM, HBCU, African American, College, Gay, Bisexual, Academic, Social, Qualitative

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the social and academic experiences of African American gay and bisexual men (AAGBM) who graduated from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from 2008 – 2013; and strives to answer the question: What are the social and academic experience(s) of AAGBM who attended HBCUs? The study's specific aims were to describe: (1) How AAGBM describe their social and academic experiences, positively or negatively, on an HBCU campus; and (2) How HBCUs can help facilitate satisfying social and academic experiences for its AAGBM. These aims were addressed by asking seven open-ended questions to ten (10) AAGBM who graduated from HBCUs from 2008-2013. This study found that participants had diverse social and academic experiences. Overall, participants described having positive experiences at the HBCUs they attended. Some participants chose not to reveal their sexuality while attending undergraduate college and therefore did not experience social or academic challenges related to sexuality. A few participants, once their sexuality was revealed, felt isolation from their heterosexual classmates, and one participant became the "go to" person for advice and answers. The majority of the participants reported that their sexuality did not impact their academic experiences. Several recommendations were offered to improve the social and academic experiences of AAGBM at HBCUs.

Language

English

Comments

iii, 68 pages. Thesis (M.S.W.)-Smith College School for Social Work, 2014. Includes bibliographical references (pages 46-58)

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