Racial Dialogues: Challenges Faculty of Color Face in the Classroom Derald Wing Sue, David P. Rivera, Nicole L. Watkins, Rachel H. Kim, Suah Kim, and Chantea D. Williams Teachers College, Columbia University Research on the experiences of faculty of color in predominantly White institutions (PWIs) suggests that they often experience the campus climate as invalidating, alienating, and hostile. Few studies, however, have actually focused on the classroom experiences of faculty of color when difficult racial dialogues occur. Using Consensually Qualitative Research, eight faculty of color were interviewed about their experiences in the classroom when racially tinged topics arose. Three major findings emerged. First, difficult racial dialogues were frequently instigated by the presence of racial microaggressions delivered toward students of color or the professor. Dialogues on race were made more difficult when the classrooms were diverse, when heated emotions arose, when there was a strong fear of self-disclosure, and when racial perspectives differed. Second, all faculty experienced an internal struggle between balancing their own values and beliefs with an attempt to remain objective. This conflict was often described as exhausting and energy-depleting. Third, faculty of color described both successful and unsuccessful strategies in facilitating difficult dialogues on race that arose in the course of their teaching. These findings have major implications for how PWIs can develop new programs, policies, and practices that will aid and support colleagues of color. Keywords: racial dialogues, racial microaggressions, faculty of color, teaching strategies There is increasing recognition that faculty of color at predom- inantly White institutions (PWIs) often experience the campus climate as isolating, alienating, extremely stressful, risky, and invalidating (Harlow, 2003; Stanley, 2006; Turner, Gonzalez & Wood, 2008). The stressors they encounter are both qualitatively and quantitatively different from those of their non-Latino White colleagues (Johnson-Bailey & Cervero, 2008). Faculty of color are more likely to (a) experience being “the only one,” which leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness (Alexander & Moore, 2008), (b) lack mentors who possess knowledge of the “minority experi- ence” (Stanley, 2006), (c) have their research and scholarship devalued and considered illegitimate (Turner et al., 2008), (d) be subjected to a hostile and invalidating racial climate (Guzman, Trevino, Lubuguin, & Aryan, 2010), (e) have their racial identities assailed (Harlow, 2003), (f) experience elevated levels of stress and distress in PWIs (Johnson-Bailey & Cervero, 2008), (g) be subjected to biased promotion and tenure decisions (Fenelon, 2003), and (h) have many White students question their qualifica- tions or credentials to hold the status of “Professor” (Harlow, 2003). The challenges and struggles for faculty of color at PWIs are well documented in empirical studies, conceptual and theoret- ical pieces, anecdotal reports, and in personal narratives (Stanley, 2006; Turner et al., 2008). There are surprisingly few studies, however, that focus on the classroom experiences of faculty of color, how they deal with racial microaggressions, how their race may influence their teach- ing, and what they have found to be successful or unsuccessful strategies in facilitating racial dialogues that arise in the course of their teaching (Harlow, 2003; Sanchez-Hucles & Jones, 2005; Sue, 2010). Those that exist tend to focus on the K–12 classroom setting (Ladson-Billings & Henry, 1990; Stanley, 2006), deal primarily with challenges to their authority and expertise, and discuss neg- ative behaviors from students, faculty, and administrators that take away from the joy of teaching. In light of the need to increase diversity in higher education and repeated attempts to diversify the faculty (Turner et al., 2008), it is disheartening to realize that faculty of color may have less than positive experiences in their classrooms. This issue is more critical when one realizes that the primary attraction of academe for faculty of color resides in their stated “love of teaching” (Harlow, 2003). A strong case can be made that classroom dynamics between faculty of color and White students represent a microcosm of race relations in our society (Blanding, 2007; Sue, 2010). Thus, it is not surprising that many of the racial prejudices and stereotypes may be reenacted in classroom interactions between faculty of color and students. Two promising directions in research have shed light upon classroom racial dynamics that impede the teaching effec- tiveness of teachers and undermine students’ learning: (a) the manifestation, dynamics, and impact of racial microaggressions (Sue et al., 2007; Sue, 2010); and (b) the challenging nature of facilitating difficult dialogues on race (Sue, Lin, Torino, Capodi- lupo, & Rivera, 2009; Watt, 2007; Young, 2003). Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, insults, invalida- tions, and indignities, whether they are intentional or uninten- tional, which are directed toward people of color (Sue et al., 2007). Most microaggressions are unintentional and occur out- side the level of conscious awareness of the perpetrators. Stud- Derald Wing Sue, David P. Rivera, Nicole L. Watkins, Rachel H. Kim, Suah Kim, and Chantea D. Williams, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Derald Wing Sue, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 36, 525 West 120 Street, New York, NY 10027. E-mail: Dw2020@columbia.edu Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology © 2011 American Psychological Association 2011, Vol. 17, No. 3, 331–340 1099-9809/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0024190 331 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.