The academic opportunity gap: how racism and stereotypes disrupt the education of African American undergraduates

Abstract

Using Critical Race Theory as a framework, this article reveals how racism and stereotypes obstruct the academic success of black students. Through the use of focus groups, African American undergraduates from a large California State University campus, share the ways in which campus racism impacts their achievement potential as well as their behavior and emotional well-being. The results of the study illuminate how research on the difference in black–white grade performance must begin to examine the role of racism, and the way in which it constricts the academic opportunities afforded to African American undergraduates.