The academic railroad to the PhD: an autoethnographic Afro-Trinidadian oral story

Abstract

Sharing the stories and experiences of Black and African American students is becoming ever more important here in the United States. Increasingly, scholars express the need for a methodological approach that centers the voices of Black students. With this critical autoethnography, I investigated Black students’ determining factors for pursuing terminal academic degrees and highlighted the various support systems that aid these students during their journey and towards completion. More specifically, I explored my own doctoral journey as Black trans student-parent from Trinidad and Tobago using critical autoethnography informed by Afro-Trinidadian oral storytelling. I analyzed my experiences through the lenses of Black trans feminist thought, Otherparenting, and Quare theory. I found that to in order to enroll and complete my PhD, the support of family of origin, my created family, my church community, several Black women both in and out of academia, and institutional support which included my doctoral advisor.