Making Meaning: Identity Development of Black Undergraduate Women

The purpose of this preliminary, phenomenological study was to identify factors that influence identity development and meaning-making of Black undergraduate women at a predominately White institution. The goal of this research was two-fold: to share diverse experiences of Black undergraduate women in order to understand the essence of their lived experience and to identify contemporary perspectives of the duality of being both Black and a woman at a predominately White institution. Findings were clustered into themes pertaining to support systems, maternal and familial influences, articulation of Black identity, and interactions with other Black undergraduate women.