Survival Strategies for African American Astronomers and Astrophysicists

TL;DR

This paper explores the survival strategies employed by African American astronomers and astrophysicists to succeed in a challenging academic environment, highlighting cultural and personal resilience factors.

Contribution

It identifies six specific strategies used by African American astronomers to persevere, emphasizing the role of 'astronomy culture' as a cross-cultural experience.

Findings

Six survival strategies identified for African American astronomers.

Astronomy culture functions as a cross-cultural experience.

Strategies are also used by majority students.

Abstract

The question of how to increase the number of women and minorities in astronomy has been approached from several directions in the United States including examination of admission policies, mentoring, and hiring practices. These point to departmental efforts to improve conditions for some of the students which has the overall benefit of improving conditions for all of the students. However, women and minority astronomers have managed to obtain doctorates even within the non-welcoming environment of certain astronomy and physics departments. I present here six strategies used by African American men and women to persevere if not thrive long enough to earn their doctorate. Embedded in this analysis is the idea of 'astronomy culture' and experiencing astronomy culture as a cross-cultural experience including elements of culture shock. These survival strategies are not exclusive to this small subpopulation but have been used by majority students, too.