Responsive pedagogical love as mitigation against antiblackness

Previous research suggested that within high schools first- or second-generation African immigrants endure systemic racism in the form of zero tolerance discipline policies, academic tracking, and hegemonic curricula. Subsequently, these same experiences are even more pronounced in college environments where antiblackness is ubiquitous. This qualitative single composite narrative inquiry applied antiblackness and pedagogical love in concert to examine the epistemological perspectives of five self-identifying male collegians of African descent who benefitted from interacting with Black professors who prepared participants to navigate White professor performances of antiblackness in academic, social and organization spaces while attending college. Findings indicated that responsive pedagogical love facilitated the development of two distinct cultural love literacy practices–trauma acknowledgement and trauma resistance–each enacted as responsive strategies to combat hegemonic conditions.