Academia Is Failing Black Women: Examining Misogynoir Within The Academy

The recent news of the death of Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey has rocked academia and beyond. Candia-Bailey, who was Lincoln University in Missouri’s vice president of student affairs, died by suicide at 49. Reports indicate that Candia-Bailey had been terminated from the historically Black university by university president Dr. John Moseley on January 3. Both Candia-Bailey’s mother and husband shared with NBC News that Candia-Bailey’s relationship with the university president worsened in recent months. According to documents sent to KRCG, Moseley had been causing Candia-Bailey “enough harm and mental damage.”

Reports from NBC News and KRCG indicate that in an email sent to Candia-Bailey’s friend Monica Graham, Candia-Bailey detailed the lack of support she felt from the university administration and how she was harassed and bullied by Moseley. On social media following the news of Candia-Bailey’s suicide, many users echoed the same sentiments—that academia fails to protect Black women. There is a wealth of evidence that highlights the considerable challenges to Black faculty recruitment and retention, but more research and solutions are needed to address misogynoir within the academy.

Anti-blackness is nothing new in academia and manifests in a number of ways; Black faculty, for example, tend to score lower on faculty evaluations, on average, compared to their counterparts. Misogynoir, the unique form of discrimination that Black women face, is persistent and pervasive within academia. Dr. Kecia Thomas has written about the Pet to Threat phenomenon, in which Black women at work are welcomed and are seen as likable at first, but over time, they are viewed by colleagues as a threat. The world has witnessed academia’s misogynoir in the treatment of public figures like Dr. Claudine Gay and Nikole Hannah-Jones. Dr. Candia-Bailey’s experience reflects a wider issue perpetuated within higher education.

“Despite being equally or more qualified, we have to work 2-3 times harder to get promoted from assistant professor to associate professor to professor,” shared researcher Dr. Myia Williams. “We are less likely to be funded because of our research interest, and this impacts our ability to be promoted. We also have to mentor minority students and do additional [diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility] work, which isn’t counted as part of our promotional package yet adds to the minority tax that leads to burnout.”

This conclusion was echoed by academics Shamella Cromartie and Dr. Brandi N. Hinnant-Crawford in a 2021 piece. Based on the research, Black women, Cromartie and Hinnanti-Crawford argued, are subjected to “suspicion of competency by peers, supervisors, and students; lower teaching evaluations; expectations to be entertaining; overburdened service expectations (known as the Black tax); and reduced opportunities to advance.” The writers also highlighted the lack of Black women represented within faculty and administrative positions.

“The passing of Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey brings great emotion within,” shared founder and visiting assistant professor Dr. Candace Parrish, in a text message. “I am deeply sorry to hear the surface of what she endured. Unfortunately, as a Black woman in academia, I have also experienced bullying and passive aggression so bad that I had suicide ideations. In May 2023, I experienced retaliation and passive-aggressive actions that made me wonder what my purpose was in academia and life. Many different transgressions [happened] within a short period of time and the burden of all that was transpiring was so completely heavy emotionally. I had no other choice but to leave…I had to protect my spirit, dignity, and sanity. Unfortunately, as Black people, I think we’ve learned to stay in careers or positions of stature because we ‘open the door for opportunities.’ But there is often no space left for us to express the emotional, mental, and physical side effects that come with making change as a minority.”

Despite the plethora of research highlighting the treatment of Black professionals within higher education, more studies are needed to specifically examine how Black women are treated in the academy. Interventions designed to address anti-blackness within academia require more nuance and must target the unique issues that Black women and femmes face while providing more robust mental health resources and support to address these specific needs. We cannot turn away from the stories of people like Dr. Candia-Bailey, no matter how heartbreaking they are. It is imperative for us to center these experiences if we are ever to develop institutions that truly propel equity and justice in the pursuit of higher learning.

Author’s note: Lincoln University of Missouri was contacted and did not immediately respond for comment.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).