(Un)Diluting the Diaspora: Acknowledging Cultural Identity Intersections in Postsecondary STEM Education

With the increasing efforts to broaden participation in STEM, race and racism have become a topic now regularly discussed within STEM education and the subject of many research ventures. We posit that at this juncture, the use of a theoretical framework that effectively considers the Black identity, placement, and experience of Black undergraduate students pursuing STEM education is warranted. A review of the literature indicates that too often these students are essentialized into one singular [deficit] identity, therefore, diminishing the range of experiences of populations within the Black Diaspora. This chapter discusses challenges and barriers to diversifying STEM participation in the larger culture of STEM education and (re)define constructs and theoretical frameworks that have the potential to contribute to the greater STEM community. Specifically, we highlight Black immigrant populations, who for decades have occupied careers in STEM, and have matriculated through respective postsecondary programs that have prepared them for these careers. We discuss two key areas: (1) it is important to learn from the experiences of Black first- and second-generation immigrants in postsecondary spaces, and (2) essentializing the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrants in STEM education is problematic, stressing the importance of the Critical Race Theory tenet of intersectionality to nuance their experiences.