Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Javier Flores
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Timeka Gordon
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Tim Slater
Abstract
Black undergraduate men (BUM) at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) have often been portrayed through deficit-oriented narratives that emphasize barriers and premature departure while minimizing the voices of those who persist and cultivate belonging. The researcher addressed this problem by examining how BUM at a private PWI narrated their persistence and belonging, and how their narratives disrupted the dominant discourse about Black men in higher education. Literature regarding BUM at PWIs has too often centered obstacles and attrition while overlooking the voices, strategies, and experiences of BUM who persist. Therefore, Black men’s narratives were solicited to better understand what enabled persistence and how belonging was cultivated within a PWI where acceptance could not be assumed. Through purposive sampling, six BUM at a private PWI in the southwestern United States were recruited and subsequently interviewed using semistructured individual interviews and follow-up meetings conducted via Zoom. This qualitative study was grounded in narrative inquiry, and findings were interpreted through counterstorytelling and Strayhorn’s sense of belonging. Findings coalesced into four themes: (a) persistence as commitment, responsibility, and agency; (b) strategic navigation of institutional barriers; (c) counterspaces as sites of support and affirmation; and (d) belonging as an active and continual process. Overall, participants’ narratives challenged deficit portrayals by emphasizing purposeful decision-making, relational support, and community making as central to persistence at a PWI. The study concluded that persistence and belonging were mutually reinforcing and that PWIs should treat belonging, transparent support systems, viii counterspaces/mentoring networks, and culturally responsive care pathways as institutional responsibilities rather than student burdens.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Mack, Michael M., ""We're Not the Exception. We're the Expectation.": Black Undergraduate Men Disrupting the Dominant Discourse Through Narratives of Persistence and Belonging at a Predominantly White Institution" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1024.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1024