Introduction - Breaking Our Silence

Summary

When I first started teaching as an adjunct Psychology Instructor eighteen years ago, I taught at an institution where most professors, staff, and students were either Black or Hispanic. At that time, my only “real issue” was the fact that I looked much younger than I was, which resulted in me frequently being mistaken for a student. More an inconvenience than a struggle, for many years I knew that I was experiencing ageism, but as I grew older and moved into more predominantly White spaces, my experience began to change. I went from being one of several faculty of color to being one of very few people of color at the institution. Instead of being mistaken for a student, I was now being mistaken for the one staff or faculty member who was also a Black female.