Search

Higher education institutions present unique settings in which identities and life paths are distinctively shaped. While at their best universities should serve as empowering settings that support their members to grow and develop, to raise awareness of injustice, and to catalyze change, too often systems of higher education in the United States serve to marginalize Indigenous cultures and promote assimilation to White, Euro‐American cultures. Counterspaces offer an important response, spaces developed by and for people experiencing oppression that allow for solidarity‐building, social support, healing, resource attainment, skill‐building, resistance, counter‐storytelling, and ideally, empowerment. The Alaska Native (AN) Cultural Identity Project (CIP) is based at an urban U.S.‐based university and was rolled out during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Developed from the best available scientific and practice literature, local data from AN students, and traditional wisdom from Elders, CIP incorporated storytelling, experiential learning, connection, exploration, and sharing of identity and cultural strengths with the aim of helping AN students understand who they are and who they are becoming. In all, 44 students, 5 Elders, and 3 additional staff participated in the space. In this paper, we sought to understand how CIP was experienced by these unique members who co‐created and engaged in this space through 10 focus groups with 36 of the CIP members. We found that the counterspace promoted a sense of community, served as an empowering setting, and set the stage for empowering actions and ripple effects beyond its impact on individuals. Highlights: Indigenous students may benefit from Elder‐led counterspaces in university settings.Counterspaces facilitate empowerment by being empowering settings and fostering sense of community.The structure of a counterspace is likely more important than its content or curriculum.It is possible for a counterspace to exist in a virtual, online space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, college has often served as an incubator for social change agents in the form of student activism and participation in broader social movements. Historically Black colleges and university (HBCUs) have played a pivotal role in social justice movements since their inception with the most notable example being the central role of HBCUs in the Civil Rights Movement. The role of HBCUs in cultivating exemplary leaders provides invaluable examples and frameworks for tackling the dual pandemics of COVID‐19 and the latest racial reckoning. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of how an all‐male HBCU contributes to the development of moral leadership and how that tradition has evolved with the current dual pandemics. We provide a historical overview of Morehouse's leadership models and provide a case study from students currently enrolled at Morehouse College, the only all‐male, historically Black college in the United States. Student participants described how leadership has evolved from previous generations, the impact of social media, and what it means to be a moral leader and how the HBCU tradition, shapes leadership. Highlights: Moral leadership is a cornerstone of many historically Black colleges and universities.The dual pandemics of COVID‐19 and the racial reckoning fueled public service amongst students.In the United States, college has often served as an incubator for social change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]