Black College Students and Media Representation:

Media and Reality of the Black College Student

Paris Clark, Cameryn Hines and Briana Lawton

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Professor Maria Zhang

BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

Abstract
The Black College Student is no longer an anomaly. Black enrollment into higher

education has been increasing consistently nearly every year. Although, overall, Black students

do make up a lesser portion of higher education students. Therefore; there has been a

considerable resurgence in the representation of not only young Black people in the media, but

Black college students.

Black media has been growing in recent years but it is still a smaller portion of the media

landscape. Positive representation has been shown to have positive reinforcements on their

viewers. Positivity is important, however, so is accurate reflections of our cultures. Television

shows are fiction but can easily cause real life expectations.

Introduction

The Black college experience was first seen on network television in 1987. This is when

the television show, “A Different World” premiered on the National Broadcasting Company

network. “A Different World” focused on the student life at the fictional historically Black,

Hillman College. This was the first time that a Historically Black College or University was the

subject of a major network television show.

In recent years, there has been many shows chronicling the college experience of non

people color, while having people of color as minor characters. College based shows with Black

main characters began to reappear in the late 2010s. “Grown-ish” premiered in 2019 on the

Freeform network. The Netflix produced series premiered “Dear White People” released in 2017.

Although this was a series released after and based on Dear White People, the film (2014).

Many of us grew up watching classic that portrayed the true essence of an HBCU. Shows

and movies like A Different World and Stomp the Yard immortalized not only the campuses,

but the culture of young black adults. With these representations, it’s easy for one to expect a
BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

similar experience but do these depictions truly capture the reality of college? This actually

caused the enrollment in HBCUs to skyrocket according to (Acknickulous White,2019). Living in

a society as a minority, these depictions are pivotal.

Modern Media

The shows that our group chose were Dear White People and Grown-ish. Both

shows centering Black students navigating college life. These two shows offer two different

perspectives. Although they are both set within fictional Predominantly White Institutions. The

trials and tribulations that each character goes through is closely tied to the culture of their

respective universities.

Grown-ish focuses on the main character, Zoey, and her friend group. Zoey comes from

an upper middle class family living in California. Her parents are an Advertising Executive and

Surgeon. Overall, Grown-ish features well-rounded plot and character issues. These include

money, friendship, relationships, academics, drug abuse and mental health.

Dear White People is based on a student activist, Samantha, her friend group and their

extracurriculars. However, this show has a heavy focus on social justice above all. As Samantha

and her Black peers face the racial microaggressions at their Ivy League college. In this instance

it heavily focuses on the themes of race relations and sexuality throughout the series.

Expectations vs. Reality

The representation of the African American community in entertainment is few and far

between. There are shows that portray the African American community in a good light, and

others, with stereotypes and negative connotation. When it comes to shows that represent Black
BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

college students, there are not many. So how well do these shows really depict the Black college

student in terms of outward perception?

As previously stated, in Grown-ish, the main character is a Black girl, going through

true and relatable college struggles,but without the stereotypes put on the African American

community. The entire cast is very diverse, and shows them all going through some of the same

issues. This shows that race is not a factor in these issues, and that everyone faces them. It

allows people to see a different side of Black people than what is normally given. The main

character Zoey, attends a PWI, and people already have their own take on how HBCU college

life differs from PWI life.

The reason these two shows may give an unrealistic or somewhat biased perception of the

Black college student, is that these shows both take place at what seem to be PWI’s. The culture

at a PWI is far different than that of an HBCU. That being said, HBCUs tend to get little to no

representation in the media, and when they do, they typically follow some specific stereotypes.

So the question here is when will the media give us a show to balance out the idea of the Black

college student, with more representation. Yes, it is great to have these shows where the leads are

Black, female, college students, but they do not represent all Black, female, college students.

In shows such as Grown-ish and Dear White People, the portrayal of the Black, female,

college student seems to be a bit white washed. These characters are African American, but to

some extent their culture seems to be watered down and drowned out by the overall population.

The way the Black female college student is perceived in these shows , are more privileged,

preppy in a way, and can be relatable in some situations, but not the majority. Especially to those

Black females attending HBCUs in particular, these shows do not give the reality of that.
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A study was done that compared the perception of campus life and climate from African

American HBCU students, against that of African American PWI students. It also looked at the

experiences of both students and whether their perceptions of those environments are based on

cognitive abilities (Terenzini, T. 1997). The results showed that the HBCU students perception

was in fact different from that of the PWI students, based on entering characteristics and their

experiences amongst many areas, but they were not associated with cognitive gains (Terenzini,

T. 1997).

Results

Many students felt more connected to shows like Grown-ish because it has move

relatable topics. This televised series touches base on a young lady maneuvering her way through

the challenges and tribulations of college. But many felt like the show gave off vibes of PWI. “I

just never felt connected to #DearWhitePeople,” says Trevor_Thomas (2019, September)

According to the data poll taken 100% of students felt more connected to Grown-

ish. In order for Dear White People to gain more of a consistent audience, many people feel like

it should be more honest. Although it touch base on controversial topics, many feel like the

dynamic on their campus is a true representation.

Conclusion

As aforementioned, Black students in higher education make up a small percentage.

Black students make up fourteen percent of college students (National Center for Education

Statistics). Within that nine percent attend Historically Black Colleges or Universities (Pew

Research Center). Although the numbers are small, being Black in higher education is not a
BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

monolithic experience. This is important in regard to politics, location and socio-economic

factors. It is important to media to consider as many perspectives as possible. Lack of

representation can lead one to believe what is presented is the monolith.

Works Cited

National Center for Educational Statistics (2019). Fast Facts: Enrollment. Retrieved

from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98

Pew Research Center (2017). Monica Anderson. A look at historically black colleges and

universities as Howard turns 150. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

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tank/2017/02/28/a-look-at-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-as-howard-turns-

150/

Terenzini, T.|Yaeger, P., M.|Bohr, P., Louise, Pascarella, T.|Amaury, E., & Nora. (1997,

April 30). African American College Students' Experiences in HBCUs and PWIs and

Learning Outcomes. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED417666

Trevor_Thomas (2019, September). “I just never felt connected to #DearWhitePeople,”

[Twitter Post].