Community As Resistance: Using Photovoice to Build a Supportive Network of Black Undergraduate Students in Florida

Background: Experiences of individual and institutional racism in higher education hinder Black students' ability to study safely, increasing anxiety (Blume et al., 2012), lowering self-esteem (Nadal et al., 2014), and contributing to feelings of burdensomeness and suicide risk (Hollingsworth et al., 2017). Despite universities' inadequate responses, Black students continue to thrive. This arts-based study highlights Black undergraduate students' experiences of oppression and describes how they practice “Black life making” (Bishop, 2017) through individual and community care.

Methods: This study utilized the arts-based research method of photovoice to understand the intersectional experiences of 7 Black undergraduate students at a predominantly white institution in Florida. Photovoice incorporates photography, analysis, group discussions, and action (Wang & Burris, 1997). Co-researchers took pictures across six weeks, presented their pictures and descriptions, and engaged in critical dialogue and knowledge production through group discussions (Wang & Burris, 1997). The 90-minute weekly zoom sessions occurred from February 16^th to April 20^th 2023, and were recorded and transcribed for analysis.

Participatory coding was used as the university and community researchers collectively coded the transcripts utilizing reflexive thematic analysis (Author et al., 2024) using the researchers’ subjectivity as a tool for knowledge production (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Categories were generated by grouping codes with similar properties. These categories were compared to generate themes which were then reviewed, named, and defined (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Results: Three themes were generated: (1) “When it first happened”- Early and ongoing experiences of racism and oppression, (2) The Need for Safety, and (3) Securing Our Future Through Reciprocal Community Engagement. Throughout each week, co-researchers describe their early experiences of racism and highlight how those experiences continue at their university. These experiences of racism necessitate developing coping mechanisms and finding safe spaces. Yet, the creation of safe spaces for Black students becomes exhausting as white spaces inherently constrain their success. Throughout this project, co-researchers describe how they have worked to actively resist the harm of being Black within PWIs and, in the same breath, describe how these spaces are under attack through increasing anti-DEI legislation. In response, co-researchers describe how they work to secure their own futures by building community on campus and throughout the local community.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings explicate the mental health impact of experiences of racism on campus and how Black students continue to thrive through individual and collective care. In particular, findings highlight the significance of counter spaces on campus like multicultural centers which can decrease experiences of isolation (Bonilla-Silva & Peoples, 2022). Yet, the passing of Florida Senate Bill 266 has outlawed and subsequently removed funding for DEI centers and faculty on campus (FL SB266), upending co-researchers’ sense of safety. In response, findings from this study were used to develop a policy to increase the well-being and safety of Black students on campus by addressing and responding to acts of racism on campus (Author et al., 2024). As such, this study highlights how social work researchers can leverage arts-based methods to co-create communities of resistance.