Their education offense is non unique – the academy is not a neutral space for deliberation but is always structurally oriented in antagonism with blackness where “without intentional efforts to disrupt these systems, they will undoubtedly continue”

Anti-Black racism is a form of systemic racism that methodically marginalizes Black people, devalues Blackness, and dehumanizes those who are Black (University of California San Francisco,n.d.). According to the Council for Democratizing Education, anti-Black racism voids the value of Blackness (including Black culture and identity), and marginalizes Black people and their concerns (Portland Means Progress,n.d.). Anti-Black racism encapsulates both overt and covert forms of structural racism and is carried out by individuals who fail to act and respond in ways that disrupt policies, practices, and ideologies that disregard or objectify Blackness (Heckler,2017). In a society gripped with nervousness, apathy, and ignorance surrounding racial realities, campuses are often ill-equipped to address anti-Black racism (Zambrano,2018). Faculty often fail to teach culturally responsive curricula and administrators lack the skill and will to make substan-tive changes to meet the needs of diverse learners (Hammond,2015).There is a culture endemic in higher education that centers on whiteness. These power struc-tures continually elevate white individuals to senior leadership positions and allow white students to outperform students from historically underrepresented backgrounds and divested commun-ities (Hammond,2015; Zambrano,2018). The result of anti-Black racism in higher education translates into Black people not being hired into the academy, not being selected for tenure or tenure-earning positions, hired as temporary lecturers, and experiencing various forms of oppres-sion and retaliation (Niemann et al.,2020; Zambrano,2018). Anti-Black racism appears among the faculty ranks in student evaluations and during tenure and promotion processes (Zambrano,2018). Studies have shown that students rate white faculty higher than Black faculty (Drake et al.,2019; Smith & Hawkins,2011). Poor performance by white faculty is explained away, while simi-lar performances by Black faculty are equated with poor teaching skills (Bridgeman,2020). Black students learn in classrooms led by teachers who purport color-blind pedagogical approaches(Hammond,2015). These faculty design and deliver course content through a white racial frame(Zambrano,2018) using approaches where Black students fail to see themselves reflected in the material, fail to develop connections with the faculty, and fail to perform well in the course(Douglas et al.,2008; Love,2019). The burden for Black faculty shows up as cultural taxation, devalued research, heavier teaching and service loads, and suffering under the burden of per-ceived “affirmative action”work (Zambrano,2018). This burden culminates in Black academics experiencing difficulty achieving tenure and promotion (Bridgeman,2020; U.S. Department ofEducation,2020) In the classroom, the experiences of students of color are influenced by the pedagogical approaches combined with the context in which the education occurs (Hammond,2015). Studies have shown that “students of color routinely receive less instruction in higher order skills devel-opment than other students...Their curriculum less challenging and more repetitive. Their instruction is more focused on skills low on Bloom’s taxonomy”(Hammond,2015, p. 12).Students of color must also contend with the existence of the hidden curriculum (i.e., aspects of the learning environment—lessons, norms, attitudes, values, and perspectives—that are transmit-ted to students through actions, interactions and social norms created by academic personnel;Small,2020). The lack of connections and sense of belonging in these environments contribute to negative self-image and poor interactions with teachers and peers and resultantly affects their learning outcomes (Hammond,2015). Combined, the structure and experiences associated with the learning environment are a manifestation of the perpetuation of anti-Black racism that con-tributes to differential outcomes. While the K-12 system is critical to socialization and establishing the foundation for learning, it is the collegiate experience where Black students grow their capacity for building agency to become well-informed citizens. It is the college experience that far too often hampers that pro-gress. Black college students across the US report having negative educational experiences in com-parison to other racial and ethnic groups (Harper et al.,2009). Black students report greater disconnection from faculty and often do not feel empowered to learn in the classroom(Hammond,2015). They are also more likely to report incidents of bias, discrimination, harass-ment, and microaggressions (Ancis et al.,2000; Fries-Britt & Griffin,2007; Pascarella &Terenzini,2005). Teachers often believe they can create and transfer knowledge free from racial or other oppressive influences in academic spaces. Their desire to overlook or dismiss race thwarts any attempt at equity. Levchak suggests, “Oppression thrives in silence”(2018, p. 3) and without intentional efforts to disrupt these systems, they will undoubtedly continue. Academic environments, much like other public institutions, tend to purport a culture com-mitted to neutrality, objectivity, and technical rationality (Blessett & Gaynor,2021). These cul-tures are hallmarked by institutional fragility (similar to white fragility) where fear and trepidation prohibit an active integration of Blackness for fear of backlash from white and other groups who find comfort in the status quo. An antiracist culture requires a deep understanding of critical concepts, such as anti-Black racism, systemic racism, structural racism, microaggres-sions, (the myth of) white supremacy, and white fragility (Blessett & Gaynor,2021; Gaynor &Lopez-Littleton,2021; Kendi,2019). Cultural shifts are driven by critical conscious leaders who are capable of acknowledging historic and contemporary issues around racism are inspired to act(Waite,2021). In this regard, campus leaders must be committed to the active opposition of racism through dialogue, social action, and the concurrent pursuit of social equity as a means of achieving justice for all (Kendi,2019). These inclusive leaders will need to prioritize the resources necessary to effect change for Black individuals at all levels of the institution. Their ability to combine their knowledge with the theoretical lens of CRT, in effect, actualizes social equity as a tangible institutional goal capable of addressing anti-Black racism through mechanisms that pre-vent discrimination and protect those who would be harmed by anti-Black racism (Berry-James et al., 2020).