Race/Racism

2013
Nnawulezi NA, Sullivan CM. Oppression Within Safe Spaces: Exploring Racial Microaggressions Within Domestic Violence Shelters. The Journal of Black Psychology. 2013;40 (6) :563-591. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://jbp.sagepub.com/content/40/6/563

*The full article is available through this link. This article may be available free of charge to those with university credentials.

Racial microaggressions are often unintentional and subtle forms of racism that manifest in interpersonal communications, behaviors, or environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the presence of racial microaggressions within domestic violence shelters and to understand how women respond to them. Using a phenomenological approach to data collection and analysis, 14 Black women from 3 different shelters were interviewed. Twelve women reported experiencing at least one racial microaggression, although few identified the experience as racist. Additional themes were also examined to understand why women did not identify their experiences of racial microaggressions as racist. Implications for research and practice are discussed.