Navigating hidden borderlands: the role of cultural heritage for black African refugee students in American higher education

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this conceptual paper, we advance a scholarly conversation about Black African refugee students in the United States. Although agreeing on a universal definition of a refugee is conceptually challenging, for the sake of focus, we define refugees as: individuals who have encountered forced migration, who have lived in the U.S. for less than five years, and who are not yet eligible for U.S. citizenship. While there are also Asian, European, Latin American, and South American refugee groups living in the United States, our paper focuses on Black African refugee students because the anti-Black racism of U.S. society positions them distinctly. Overall, we observe that Black African refugees exist in a metaphorical borderland that hides and (dis)locates their existence. While living within this borderland, Black African refugees engage in different mobilities and tap into their social network capital through cultural heritage. Cultural heritage, which includes both tangible and intangible artifacts, can be a source of psychological and social resilience, buttressing resettlement and reconstruction of identity. We also argue that Black African refugee students exhibit agentic, encouraged, and necessitated hiddenness. We conclude with a closer look into how this population may help higher education scholars arrive at liberatory possibilities that have implications for higher education research. Specifically, we recommend explicitly focusing on refugee student needs, crafting a culturally responsive curriculum and instructions, and facilitating relationships with refugee-supporting community organizations.