The articles in The Ivory Tower: Perspectives of Women of Color in Higher Education blend discussions of personal experiences with analyses of scholarship on race, identity, belonging and psychological wellbeing to lay forth the realities of life as a woman of color (WOC) in a university environment. The authors – all professors and doctoral students in the U.S. Southeast and Atlantic Seaboard who identify as WOC – present a guidebook for WOC, like myself, pursuing careers in academia. The various chapters explore the challenges that WOC face and provide tactics for navigating the oft-times severe university terrain. Readers are urged to join the effort in continuing the transformation of higher education into a space that nurtures the intellectual and career development of those who were long excluded from this nation’s ivory towers.
I found myself reading this book in my second year of doctoral studies in the shadow of the resignation of the first Black person and woman to serve as president of Harvard, arguably the most prestigious university in the world. I also found myself reading this book not long after I facilitated a core class for my cohort with the theme of “belonging.” Ironically, at the end of that class, I felt that I did not belong. As a single mother of two in her 40s who had spent the past two decades in a different career field and was now returning to pursue doctoral studies, I realized that my worldview did not align with that of the 20-something year olds who stood as my peers. I felt discouraged that I had entered into the space of graduate education with so much excitement and hope for camaraderie, but instead came to feel a lack of belonging. Therefore, this book initially posed a logical challenge for me because I had not had the uplifting and rewarding sense of affinity and togetherness that some of the authors attained through their academic journeys. In fact, it had been through interactions with some of the WOC in my cohort that I found myself feeling most displaced. But the authors offered me the answer I most needed to succeed as a graduate student: the importance of self-care.
The book is divided into four parts that present an aspirational trajectory through graduate education: “Beginning the Journey in Academia,” “Advancing Through,” “Mentorship or Sponsorship” and “Thriving…Not Just Surviving.” The first part introduces the trope of the Superwoman who can “do it all.” Throughout several chapters, the authors advise WOC to liberate themselves from the attempt to operate within this paradigm. Parfait-Davis, in chapter 4, correlates the potential negative consequences of saying “no” to an advisor or senior colleague with the history of oppression that Black women in the USA have suffered. Nowhere is this more apparent in academia than in its “voluntold” culture, where the giving of one’s time for no compensation is not an option but a necessity for career advancement. She urges Black women to reject what can feel like compelled volunteer work, and instead elect to rest as an act of self-care, prioritizing their health and well-being. The theme continues in Chapter 12, where Hinnant-Crawford draws a roadmap for how to “remain whole women in a profession that takes more than it gives” (p. 151).
As I read these chapters, I reflected on the guidance I received from my first-year advisor, herself a WOC, who recommended I put myself, my family, and my life outside the university first. This advice relates to a second major theme of the book: the importance of both mentorship and sponsorship. Several authors describe how professors and graduate student peers have served as mentors for them and given them advice grounded in understanding and empathy. They explain that mentors can also serve as sponsors, individuals who aid in the advancement of one’s career. I think of the chair of my department, herself a WOC, who gave me the opportunity to write this review to support my journey as a burgeoning academic, and I am grateful of her effort to sponsor her graduate students.
The Ivory Tower sketches a path for WOC to resist the practices that will overwhelm them and instead find a road that leads to the establishment of boundaries and the development of networks of support that will allow them to thrive. This collection motivated me to prioritize my self-care at a time when I needed to hear this message. I turned away from the attempt to be a Superwoman, rescinded volunteer positions that exhausted me, and reprioritized endeavors that brought joy to my life. I chose to focus on relationships of mutual growth within the academy. Through those I found a space of belonging. It is imperative to note that the knowledge imparted by the authors is not exclusive to WOC. All graduate students and nascent professors would benefit from the guidance on how to navigate the difficulties of academic life. All scholars who read this book will learn how to support the WOC with whom they work or for whom they serve as educators, mentors and sponsors.
While it is essential for all of us to work toward the long-term revolutionization of the system, individual graduate students and professors must learn to operate within the current structures of the academy. As I write this review in the aftermath of a major event in US higher education – the resignation of the first WOC to serve as Harvard’s president – I am grateful to the editors for their work in putting together this collection. This book is more important now than ever before for those of us who want to take space within the hallowed halls of the ivory tower.
