Racial Battle Fatigue in Faculty

"Hartlep and Ball have worked together to assemble a powerful anthology that reminds social justice laborers that scholars of color and American Indian scholars continue to fight intellectual and physical battles that tire us, but do not knock us down! Chapters sing a chorus of testimonios that not only name struggles but name the tools they use to combat them, learn from them, and transform them as fuel to keep up the good fight for those who came before us, for those we work for and with, in the present, and for those we can only hope will have a smoother journey ahead."
—René Antrop-González, Dean and Professor, School of Urban Education, Metropolitan State University, USA

"Piercingly accurate, painfully validating, and purposefully written. This book is a sobering reminder of the importance of collectively engaging in racial politics in higher education. This collection of autoethnographic accounts of Faculty of Color demonstrates that there is great power and healing potential in naming and collectively challenging the labyrinth of racism in higher education. The counterstories shared and concrete recommendations offered–for both institutional policy and practice, as well as individual tactics of resilience and resistance–expose White Supremacy and the relentlessness of intersectional oppression while also empowering faculty and administrators with specific strategies for fostering racial equity in higher education."
—Aeriel A. Ashlee, Assistant Professor of College Counseling and Student Development, St. Cloud State University, USA

"While access to positions in higher education for faculty of color have increased over the decades, among these progressive advancements, however, conditions related to campus climate often remain difficult at best, particularly in white majority-dominated institutions. Hartlep and Ball have assembled a veritable gift box filled with an impressive diverse group of educator-scholars who discuss, from their particular and personal positions as racially minoritized faculty, conditions, stresses, and campus climates working within these institutions."
—Warren J. Blumenfeld, Lecturer, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

"Racial Battle Fatigue in Faculty brings together an impressive cadre of faculty of color who poignantly discuss how Whiteness manifests itself across institutional type. Each chapter captivates the reader and provides rich context and unfortunately painful narratives about how scholars of color survive and thrive despite encountering racial macro-and micro-aggressions. This text should be read by scholars of color considering pursuing academia as it provides nuance about the challenges and opportunities for scholars of color navigating hostile institutions. Moreover, this text should be read by White faculty and administrators to understand how institutional racism and norms push scholars of color to the margins and how they can dismantle these systems to make institutions of higher education safe for faculty of color."
––Ramon B. Goings, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, School of Education, Loyola University Maryland, USA

"The permanence of RBF is clear and present with resounding evidence chapter after chapter.[...]These autoethnographic accounts offer a raw and vulnerable view into RBF, an experience that is webbed at multiple and intersecting layers of experiences for faculty of color and Indigenous faculty.[...]The actionable strategies noted in each chapter also offer hope in that there are pragmatic suggestions that can dismantle—over time—the institutional role that permeates and sustains RBF."
––Rosa M. Banda & Alonzo M. Flowers III, Teachers College Record

"A variety of institutions are represented, including community colleges, and the final chapters are devoted to the unique experiences of diversity fellows and non-tenure-track faculty. Each chapter reveals painful but all too common experiences, illuminating challenges and accomplishments of faculty of color in white-dominated higher education institutions. Perhaps most important, each chapter ends with actionable strategies, not just for faculty who experience RBF but also for white faculty and administrators who wish to combat racism in higher education. Faculty and administrators across higher education should read this book. It is also a worthwhile read for graduate students."

––R. Price, independent scholar, CHOICE