For many centuries, the bogeyman has been used to scare, manipulate and usually attempt to encourage better behavior in children. This age-old mythical figure has loomed in the minds of countless children from diverse backgrounds.
Almost every child can recollect scary stories about the bogeyman, who either lived under the bed or in the closet, and taunted the minds of children whether asleep or awake when parents weren’t around. And although there has never been a solid consensus on exactly what he looks like, two truths about the bogeyman ring true throughout history. One, he is bad, and two, you don’t want him to get you.
Given that both of us have obtained doctorate degrees and are well on their way to conquering great feats in higher education, one would surmise that the bogeyman would be an obstacle of least concern to our lives and careers. However, we attest to not only still experiencing the bogeyman, but also embodying the fullness of what he represents.
Even after establishing credibility and capability, some Black males in higher education are still likely to face being shelved into stereotypical categories. This creates an uncomfortable equation wherein capable talent must prove to their environments that they are not the bogeyman.
Dr. Claude Steele, a leading social psychologist, has lent a great deal of his career to theorizing about the major societal significance of different stereotypes and how they affect performance. Steele insists, “Whenever we’re in a situation where a bad stereotype about one of our identities could be applied to us – such as those about being old, poor, rich or female – we know it. We know what people could think. We know that anything we do that fits the stereotype could be taken as confirming it. And we know that, for that reason, we could be judged and treated accordingly.” And while there is plenty of research to substantialize these claims, nothing compares to confronting these instances in real time.
Racism and microaggressions in the ivory towers of higher education affect more than performance. They also impact career advancement, daily work interactions and can even stifle the entire hiring process for Black men. Professor of counseling psychology, Derald Wing Sue, defines microaggression as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial, gender, sexual orientation and religious sleights and insults to the target person or group.”
Unfortunately, the many instances of microaggression experienced by Black men go so much further than affecting performance. They stifle confidence, kill ambition and skew perception by making even the simplest of accomplishments seem unattainable. Not only have many Black men in higher education become the bogeyman, they are left with the daunting challenge of also fighting the bogeyman within.
