Black College Students and Sexual Orientation Experiences: Oral Histories of Maturation and Resilience helps readers better understand the challenges and struggles Black college students who identify as members of the LGBTQ community face. Through a combination of research-based material and transcribed student interviews, the book highlights the ways in which rejection or acceptance can impact Black students' coming out experiences and their ability to live as their authentic selves.
Part I examines five key areas that can highly affect Black students' experiences with coming out, including self-identity, family dynamics, religion, community support (or the lack thereof), and mental health. The chapters explore challenges related to negotiating several identities simultaneously, navigating the fear of rejection by family and the church, and battling anxiety and depression as individuals discover their true selves. In Part II, readers engage with personal narratives from undergraduate and graduate students who identify as Black and a member of the LGBTQ community.
Intensely personal, enlightening, and essential, Black College Students and Sexual Orientation Experiences is an ideal resource for courses in Black studies, LGBTQ studies, sociology, human relations, human development, and other related social sciences.