Racial Micro-Affirmations: Latinx Close Friendships and Ethnic Identity Development

Abstract

Through analysis of semi-structured interviews of 30 Latinx college students, we examined how Latinx students experience belonging, acceptance, and affirmations at a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution (HSRI) in California. Drawing from the theoretical perspectives of racial micro-affirmations, we uncovered two major themes: the importance of close friendships and the impact that ethnic studies courses have on ethnoracial identity development. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion of the on-campus experiences of underrepresented students as well as how to best serve and affirm them at HSRIs.

1. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are a powerful instrument for examining how Latinx/a/o students enroll, are retained, and graduate from two- and four-year institutions. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) are defined in federal law as accredited and degree-granting public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment and have no less than 50% if their students are low-income [1,2] (Nuñez, Hurtado, & Calderón Galdeano, 2015; Santiago, 2006).

Since 1994, the number of HSIs has increased by 176 percent (189 to roughly 523) [3,4] (Excelencia in Education, 2016, Excelencia in Education, 2019). From 2017–2018, HSIs accounted for 17 percent (523) of all colleges/universities and enrolled 66 percent of all Latinx students in higher education (Excelencia in Education, 2019). HSIs are located across 25 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, but the majority (69%) of HSIs are located in California (170), Texas (94), Puerto Rico (63), and New York (34) (Excelencia in Education, 2019). Four-year institutions make up the majority (53%) of HSIs, while two-year institutions account for the remaining (46%) [4] (Excelencia in Education, 2019). Most HSIs are public institutions (68%), while the remaining are private (32%) [4] (Excelencia in Education, 2019). HSIs also tend to be more affordable than other institutions, provide open admissions (i.e., accept any student who applies), and are located in areas with a large Latinx population [5] (Santiago, 2007). As HSIs continue to grow and enroll a high percentage of Latinx students, educational advocates, researchers, policymakers, institutional leaders, and students have called attention to the need for examining the characterization of “Hispanic Serving” [6] (Garcia & Okhidoi, 2015). Garcia [7] (2016) argued that it is important to ask, “What does it mean to be Latinx/a/o serving?” In addition, Marin (2019) [8] posited the need to account for the changing nature of HSIs and institutional variation, especially akin to Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions (HSRI) [9] (Marin & Pereschica, 2017). In this study, we examine how Latinx students at a newly designated HSRI in California experience validation and acknowledgement to persist through institutions not originally designed to serve this population.

2. What It Means to Be a Recent Hispanic-Serving Research Institution

Over the last decade, the United States has experienced a dramatic shift in its demographic makeup. It is projected by the year 2050, the White population will make up less than half of the population, and the Latinx population will more than double from their 2005 population to 29% [10] (Passel & Cohn, 2008). For the first time in history, the country will cease to have a majority White population [11,12] (Gasman & Conrad, 2013; Parker, Morin, & Menasce Horowitz, 2019). These demographic changes have contributed to an increase in diversity throughout various institutions, such as institutions of higher education (IHEs). These changes have also resurfaced racial disparities and a reminder that IHEs were not created to serve all communities of color equitably. Prior to the abolition of slavery and even after emancipation, communities of color were denied access to K–20+ formal education. It was not until after the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that the rights of people of color to a formal education became recognized and required under law for K–12 education. For several years, legislation was enacted that facilitated de jure and de facto marginalization of students of color [13] (Noguera, 2017). For example, in the 1930 case Del Rio Independent School District v. Salvatierra, the Texas Civil Appeals Court justified the segregation of Mexican American students by deciding that segregation of these students was necessary because of students’ lack of familiarity with the English language.

Students of color have continued to fight for their rights to ensure quality education in schools, colleges, and universities. For example, in 1931 in Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, which is lauded as the first successful desegregation case, the Supreme Court of San Diego ruled that the Lemon Grove School District’s attempt to segregate elementary students of Mexican origin was unconstitutional [14] (Alvarez, 1986). Similarly, in the 1947 Mendez v. Westminster case, the Mendez family successfully challenged the segregation of Mexican American elementary students in the state of California. This case later served as a precedent of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954, which stated that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1968, over ten thousand Latinx and other students walked out of their high schools to protest their inferior education in what became known as the East L.A. School Blowouts [15,16] (Delgado Bernal, 1998; Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001).

Consequently, some have referred to these institutions as historically White institutions or predominately White (PWI) [17,18] (Kim, 2002; Smith, Yosso, & Solórzano, 2007). This historical background is important to contextualize the issues experienced by institutions that have acquired status as a minority-serving institution, such as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

Furthermore, HSIs were originally founded as majority-serving [19,20] (Nelson Laird, Bridges, Morelon-Quainoo, Williams, & Holmes, 2007; Page, 2013). Consequently, these institutions have an innate culture that supports and caters towards White students while marginalizing students of color [21,22] (Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solórzano, 2009; Zanolini Morrison, 2010). HSIs are in the process of learning how to best serve their diverse student body. However, despite these changes, students of color have reported negative experiences in institutions of higher education [23] (Jones, Castellanos, & Darnell, 2002). For example, while examining campus culture at a PWI, González (2002) [24] observed that Chicanx students felt alienated due to lack of diversity and lack of architecture that portrayed the Chicanx culture. There have also been other studies that have found similar results such as lack of culturally relevant courses [25] (Von Robertson & Chaney, 2017) and lack of initiative from professors to interact with Latinx students [26] (Pérez & Sáenz, 2017).

Furthermore, Garcia and Okhidoi (2015) examined the relationship between culturally relevant practices intended to serve Latinx students at an HSI in the southwest. Through a case-study method, Garcia and Okhidoi (2015) [6] argued that ethnic studies curricula could be one form to better serve Latinx students. They also found that both Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP) and Chicanx Studies departments have historically served Latinx students at an institution in the southwest. More importantly, both EOP and Chicanx Studies, when integrated into the structure of the institution, assist in securing the longevity and presence of these programs. Their findings suggest that Latinx students academically and socially benefit from Ethnic Studies curricula, especially Chicanx Studies in the southwest. While this is significant, there is a need to understand the difference between institutional types and the curricula offered. As of 2020, there are 569 HSIs and 333 emerging HSIs in the U.S., and only 11 qualify as Research-Intensive Institutions (R1s) [27] (Murphy, 2022). Given demographic shifts in the U.S. in areas like California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois, more institutions are emerging to become HSIs, including “more selective” institutions like Research-Intensive Institutions (Excelenica, 2020; Author 2020). California has the most HSIs in the nation, and the majority of HSRI are part of the University of California system [27] (Murphy, 2022). Given that HSIs are least represented among R1 institutions and that R1s are gradually increasing their enrollment of Latinx students [28] (Mireles-Rios & Garcia, 2018) it is imperative to examine how Latinx students experience belonging, acceptance, and affirmations at an HSRI.

3. Latinx Students and Ethnoracial Identity Development

Ethnoracial identity development for Latinx students in college is a complex and dynamic process influenced by various factors, including cultural background, social context, and personal experiences. The majority of the ethnoracial student identity development research has been conducted in the U.S. context but does not solely pertain to Latinx students; more has been done to examine the experiences of Southeast Asian Americans [29] (Vang, 2022), Internationally, ethnoracial student identity development has focused on Haitian immigrants and second-generation immigrant experiences of Central Americans and Africans, Peruvians, and Iranians [30,31,32,33] (Berthelemy, 2020; Delouche, 2022; Elling & Harris, 2022; Valle, 2020). Alba’s book, The Great Demographic Illusion, primarily focuses on ethno-racial children, specifically those with one White parent and one parent of color. Alba built upon his previous work on classic assimilation theories. However, both segmented and neoclassical assimilation theories fall short in adequately theorizing race. They do not sufficiently account for the varying ways race can impact outcomes, depending on factors such as region or historical period of immigration into the United States [34] (Alba, 2020).

Gallegos and Ferdman (2012) [35] introduced the model of Latina and Latino ethnoracial orientations to analyze and challenge Latinos’ perceptions of themselves within the complex racial and ethnic landscape of the United States argue against the interchangeable use of race and ethnicity among Latinos, highlighting the risks of cultural erasure and the overlooking of historical, linguistic, generational, and national factors. Importantly, their model emphasizes the contextual nature of identity, shaped by individual interactions and environments [36] (Authors, 2021). Several studies support these general stages of ethnoracial identity development among Latinx college students. For instance, Rivas-Drake et al. (2014) [37] found that Latinx college students often go through a process of exploration, questioning, and affirmation of their ethnoracial identity during their college years. Additionally, Umaña-Taylor and Guimond (2010) [38] emphasized the role of supportive campus environments and culturally relevant programs in facilitating positive ethnoracial identity development for Latinx students. It is important to note that individual experiences can vary, and some students may navigate these stages differently or experience them concurrently. Moreover, the intersectionality of other identities such as gender and socioeconomic status further influences the ethnoracial identity development of Latinx college students [39] (Phinney & Alipuria, 1990). However, most identity-related research has generally not examined the contribution of structural inequities and has focused primarily on the challenges that are faced rather than the factors that aid in students resilience [40,41] (Azmitia, et. al, 2023; Kolluri, 2020). In addition, while the focus of this article is on ethnoracial identity development, we do not assume that students can divorce other social identities that intersect with their race or ethnicity, such as class, gender, or class, when examining power, privilege, and oppression [36] (Authors, 2021).

4. Conceptual Framework: Racial Micro-Affirmations in Higher Education

We use racial micro-affirmations as a theoretical framework to understand the experiences of Latinx students at an HSI. Micro-affirmations are defined as “small acts…often unconscious but very effective, which occur whenever people wish to help others succeed” [42] (Rowe, 2008, p. 46). For the purpose of this article, racial micro-affirmations are conceptualized as “the subtle verbal or non-verbal strategies People of Color engage that affirm each other’s dignity, integrity, and shared humanity” [43] (Perez Huber et al., 2021, p. 5). Overall, racial micro-affirmations are everyday strategies that people of color utilize for validation and acknowledgement in racist structural spaces (i.e., “head nods” in the Black community; “seeing” or identifying oneself with a Professor’s identity). It is a concept to resist racism. These small acts may be unconscious [42] (Rowe, 2008) but effectively convey inclusion, support, and appreciation to underrepresented students of color who may have been made to feel unwelcome on campus [43,44] (Perez Huber et al., 2021; Powell, Demetriou, & Fisher, 2013). Rolón-Dow and Davidson (2021) [45] argue that racial micro-affirmations told by students of color are a form of counter-storytelling that decenters whiteness as a norm when examining students experiences in higher education. While there is limited empirical work on both intra- and intergroup racial micro-affirmations, this study focuses primarily on Latinx intergroup racial micro-affirmations [45] (Rolón-Dow and Davidson, 2021).

5. Methodology

5.1. Positionality

Rebeca and Nichole (Authors 1 and 2) positionalities center our cultural knowledge as two Latinas navigating institutions of higher education as scholars who work with underserved and underrepresented student populations at R1s. Prior to this study being conducted, we were graduate students together at this particulate HSRI and assisted in efforts to have the institution be recognized as an HSI to receive federal funding. Taken together, our collective personal and professional experiences allow for a varying degree of sensibilities throughout the research process. We do not approach our research as objectively de-attached, but rather, we have epistemic commitments that center the lived realities of Latinx undergraduates who have attended or are attending HSIs.

Isaac (author 3) is a Portuguese Chicano born and raised in California. He witnessed the transformative power of higher education as his father, a first-generation college graduate, uplifted their family out of poverty through determination, perseverance, and key opportunities. Isaac also experienced important peer networking and cultural identity formation as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley through his participation in Hermanos Unidos and the Latino Sociology Association, which has informed his approach to leadership and scholarship.

Monica (author 4) is a first-generation high school, undergraduate, and graduate student. She is the daughter of two Mexican immigrants and identifies as Chicana, born and raised in Southern California. She is a graduate of two HSIs, a previous Chicano Studies major, and emerging scholar in higher education. She is passionate about the intersection of ethnic studies and graduate education.

Rodolfo (author 5) is the product of immigrant parents who instilled the value of hard work. Upon attending an HSRI and becoming a McNair Scholar, he completed his MA in Education and has been accepted to numerous programs to continue his graduate studies.

5.2. Setting

This study took place at a university that in January 2015 was named a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution and the first HSRI that was also a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. This specific UC is unique due to its history in Latinx-led student activist organizations and the creation of the first Ph.D. program of study for Chicana and Chicano Studies.

The participants were 30 undergraduate 2nd-year students who came straight from high school (20 female and 10 male) who self-identified as primarily Mexican/Chicanx/Latinx participants and represented a wide range of engagement in extracurricular activities, including cultural groups, sorority and fraternities, student government leadership, academic scholar programs, and political organizations. They also represented a variety of majors, including history, sociology, engineering, math, and communication. All students were first-generation college students. Four students were born in Mexico, and the remainder were born in the United States to at least one immigrant parent. Most students reported speaking both English and Spanish at home. Students were recruited through brief announcements made in ethnic studies courses and Latinx student organization meetings, during which the students were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview.

The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data presented in this study are from these student interviews, during which students were asked to respond to questions about their overall experiences at their institution, including information about their courses and their transition, barriers, and successes. Their interviews lasted approximately 30 min in a private office space or location chosen by the participants and were conducted by Latinx research assistants. Human subjects were granted for this study.

6. Data Analyses

All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and then uploaded to Dedoose, an online application for analyzing qualitative research. To ensure we were capturing themes across all interviews, we employed a content analysis to uncover the patterns and frequency of occurrence of particular themes [46,47] (Auer-Srnka & Koeszegi, 2007; Krippendorff, 2012).We coded for examples of racial micro-affirmations. We then coded the racial micro-affirmations for type (example: faculty, peer, staff, curricular, etc.). The authors coded the first five interviews together. Any discrepancies in coding were discussed among the authors. The first two authors coded the remainder of interviews individually and then proceeded to calculate inter-rater reliability [48,49] (Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olson, & Spiers, 2002; Saldana, 2009), which was established at 90% or above per existing codes.

7. Findings

Peer racial micro-affirmations were the most prevalent responses from study participants, with 87% of participants making reference to peers as sources of some sort of affirmation or support in their higher-education journey. While more literature focuses on the influence of a peers, less research focuses on those who are identified as a close friend, best friend, and/or friendships, especially for Latinx students.

7.1. The Support of Friends

Many students named friends as their biggest sources of support outside of their family, and this support was often rooted in small acts. Over half of the responses were about a close friend and made some reference to helping them cope with missing home or relating to their home upbringing. For example, one participant vulnerably shared how one of his peers helped him “get out of that comfort zone”:

Him (my friend) being Latino, it made me also kind of also get out of that comfort zone that I was sinking into…sinking down into depression…it made me come out of it and be “you know what, let’s start fresh” and I started working with him, and that’s when I just kept going. (ID506)

Another student also mentioned the emotional support received from a close friend when feeling really depressed over a breakup:

My friend Karina she lived in the eighth floor last year in the residence hall, and now she moved. We always hang out, we’re really close, and she was helping me out last June because I had a breakup with my ex-girlfriend, and I was really bummed out about it because we had been dating for three years, and she’s really supportive, she’ll help me out, like “oh it’s okay you don’t need her”, she’ll tell me there’s other people, she’s really supportive about it because I was going through a rough time. She told me “get up, finals are coming, you can be depressed after but right now you have to get your stuff”… so she was really supportive. (ID 545)

Along the lines of helping cope with their mental health as well as taking the place of family members back home who were busy, close friends also helped with academic support:

I do have someone I can talk to, like let’s say if it’s like midterms and then knowing that last year I didn’t have anyone, like my family members, they were like busy, so like they had to sleep, obviously, but now we stay up at night like doing homework, or we go out to eat or to just State Street, so it’s like nice to know that I have a network now that I can rely on than last year. (ID 528)

Additionally, students mentioned that it was often their peers that helped them navigate institutional systems, such as Gold, the system used to register for classes:

My closest friend here, she kind of knows how to do Gold finding classes and stuff, so I ever have a question, I always ask her first. (ID 500)

Lastly, we see how meeting a close friend growing up in a similar town and a very selective major with few other Latino males helps with the social component of college:

I actually ended up meeting someone from the same town just that he went to a different high school, and he’s studying mechanical engineering too, and he’s a Latino student too so… we clicked, and then, you know, I guess we’ve been friends ever since, and we study together and do other stuff. The people I’m close to…really close to are mostly Latino males…we usually play Fortnite (laughs) or play some other games…go play soccer…we either go out and do something…the people I surround myself, usually we share common things that we like… (ID 540)

We see how a close friend can often lead to a larger group of close friends, leading us to our next theme of the Latinx friend group.

7.2. The Importance of a Latinx Friend Group for Ethnic Identity Development

For many reasons, having a vast array of friends can serve as multiple sources of affirmation and support while navigating an HSRI. We see parents’ aspirations for their children to make a variety of friends:

My mom, I remember she reminded me “remember that literally almost a year ago you were crying to me on the phone that you couldn’t make friends and look at you now…you know…you have your Latino friend group, you have your whole friends, and it’s not just Latinos, it’s like you have a wide span of friends.” (ID 506)

As with close friends, students also mentioned the importance of their friend groups in helping them maintain a connection to their community back home as well as serving as a part of a collectivist nature:

When I got here, and I got to that group of Latinos that really helped me out because it just feels so empowering and so good to find a community of people like you because you fit in, it’s like you never left home, it’s your little close-knit circle. (ID 543)

But, luckily, since my brother had just left a year prior, a lot of his friends when they found out I was coming, they would hit up my brother like, “oh, I want to meet your little brother, I want to meet him”. I got to know a lot of his older friends and they kind of took me under their wing and introduced me to a lot more people. (ID 547)

It was emphasized repeatedly that having a similar upbringing and background with their friend groups really made a difference:

I feel like I can talk about it with my friends just because we’re majority Latinas and Latinos in college and just our experiences, if we feel comfortable enough with each other and to talk about things that have happened, like what I mentioned with my English teacher things like that, but yeah, I feel like just with close friends and support groups that each student has that they can feel comfortable talking about their experiences in those settings… we came from a lot of similar backgrounds, and we share a lot of experiences and foods growing up and just things like that, things we did from our past that translate into who we are now. (ID 523)

This commonality extended to their values of helping others, regardless of major or discipline:

Most of them are in the same ethnic group as I am, so most of the friends that I do hang out with, but I think from the things we all have in common is we’re all passionate over the same thing, whether even if we’re in different disciplines here in campus major-wise, we’re all passionate about the same things, we all have a common goal of helping other people in different forms. (ID514)

Within the close friend group theme, we found an additional trend in the data, which pointed to the importance of small, tight-knit groups and organizations. Sometimes, these peers came from their freshman dorm or a Latino-designated floor in a dorm, and other times, they might be found in long-standing community-centered organizations like Hermanos Unidos, Lambda Theta Alpha, or the Residential Hall Association. One student mentioned the significance of being able to connect and identify with peers:

It’s so weird how you tend to connect to people who come from similar backgrounds as you… my freshman year, I lived on the seventh floor, some of them lived on the third floor, and then some of them lived on the second or fifth floor and we had—I don’t want to say we had mutual friends, but they were there, so I can’t deny that fact, but we just ended up coming toward one another… there was just this attraction of we got along because we came from similar communities, we have similar financial standing… we were just friends. (552)

Another student talked about how meeting her friends who were also both Mexican allowed for a both a social and academic peer group:

They’re my roommates, one of them was a roommate last year, the other was a hallmate, they’re both Latina I think, they both identify as Mexican, we mostly study together, we party together, we eat together, we even work together, I mean, we pretty much do everything together. (ID500)

One student mentioned how his organization helped him cope with the struggles first-generation students often experience at the university:

Like I mentioned, I joined fraternities, so that was a whole another network of support that I had, especially because they were also Hispanic like me, so that’s a whole another community that had my back whenever I needed them aside from the friends that I already had my first year and my family at home… Just a struggle, like they are all, well, most of my fraternity brothers are also first-generation, so that’s definitely something we got going, and it, then with my housemates, it’s just like just struggling to be a college student, you know, here at the university. (ID 553)

Lastly, students reported that within organizations they joined, there was often a mentoring component. The participant was able to describe the academic and social support she received from her mentor, whom she referred to as a playing the role of a friend or a sibling. Her Latinx-focused organization also embraced her identity as a Spanish speaker of Mexican background:

I was very involved with SACNAS, which is the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and I used to attend all their meetings and all their study hours, so that was very…a really nice community… yeah, and Los Ingenieros as well. They paired me up with another Latina undergrad in physics, and she has been extremely helpful, to this day she’s been so very supportive since my first year. My mentor Jimena who was also an undergraduate, she is now still an undergraduate, and she… every time I needed help on just talking about how my day was stressful or just as another friend and almost like an older sibling, so she has been very supportive…. they’re not judgmental about the fact that I’m Latina, like I’ll speak in Spanish to them, and they know a little bit so they’ll go back to it, and I’ll bring them snacks like Mexican candy, or even I’ve taken them plates of Mexican food from my parent’s house, and they are very happy to share that, so they’re just very…they’re very open-minded and I think that’s not always the case, and they’re not very arrogant. (ID 518)

In some cases, this meant words of encouragement on days when they felt like missing class or after a tough breakup. In other instances, it was the ability to lower their guard around them because of their shared background and commonalities. Closely following the theme of peers providing students with racial micro-affirmations and helping them to thrive, we report the second theme that highlights the influence of the impact of ethnic studies curriculum on ethnoracial identity development.

7.3. Theme 2: Ethnoracial Identity Development through Curricular Micro-Affirmations

Our second theme, “curricular racial micro-affirmations”, examines how students of color are primarily exposed to a curriculum that reflects Euro-American pedagogies rather than a culturally sustaining curriculum that seeks to teach critical thinking and reasoning [50,51,52] (Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2017; Duncan-Andrade 2022). Approximately 75% of the participants specifically referenced their experiences in their ethnic studies course(s) as affirming and/or supporting their ethnoracial identity development. One student who took a Chicana/o Studies course commented, “It literally was the best class I have ever had. I think that was a great turning point to change majors. I was not passionate about Biology, but rather more about learning my roots, my Latino background. It was the first time I had been exposed to seeing myself in school”. Through a culturally sustaining curriculum [50,51] (Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2017), students are also exposed to teaching assistants and faculty who affirm their existence at an HSRI. Students were also able to see themselves, as their teaching assistants in their Ethnic Studies courses were of similar ethnicities and backgrounds. Often, when professors at these large research-intensive universities are preoccupied with large classes and high-pressured research agendas, graduate students in their roles as TAs provide tremendous social support for students. One of the students described her connection with her TA and how she still stays in contact with her: “I still turn to her. I had a question about graduate school and we met and we had coffee”. Another student talked about how the TA helped plant the seed for minoring in Chicana/o Studies; they stated, “My TA was really nice and very passionate about everything that she talked about. I could relate to her, and she helped me learn about my background and the history of the country where my family originated. So, it was all very interesting to me, and I really enjoyed learning about, so I think that is where it sprouted, ‘this could be something I could minor in’”. (ID504). This does not dismiss the influence of faculty and their influence on undergraduate students. Research highlights the significant impact faculty of color have on students of color. Anaya and Cole (2001) [53], using a national cross-section of 836 Latina/o students, found that when students perceived faculty as more accessible and approachable, students reported higher grades. Additionally, students develop faith and trust in faculty when they say to them “I am here to help” or “Let me know if you need anything” [54] (Strayhorn, 2018). For example, a student stated the following:

I took Chicana/o courses, like the intro to Chicana/o studies, with a woman-of-color professor, which was amazing. I fell in love with that class. I took that in the summer, and these courses have very much made me want to get into be a Chicana/o Studies major or Feminist Studies minor. It’s enlightening to know that I get to relive my life and see that I’m not the only person going through this and that everyone else or at least the professor understands what I am going through. (ID506)

Two students discussed the how ethnic studies courses contributed to their sense of ethnoracial identity and pride:

It helped me learn more about our culture and helped me build a better sense of self identity and actually made me be more proud to know this is what we came from, and we started, and we’re just growing. To be able to say I wasn’t a dropout. I did it. I’m brown. I graduated as an engineer. (ID547)

Here, my first time taking ethnic studies, it really empowered me and taught me like, don’t be apologetic about who you are. Speaking in Spanish, even though I am not very good at speaking Spanish, it’s just, don’t feel bad about it. Taking a course made me feel empowered, now it’s like, I don’t care what people think. Think about who I am as Mexican and think about who I am and just because I speak Spanish. (ID538).

While one participant talked about how she generally had a strong sense of ethnoracial identity, she mentioned that information learned in her ethnic studies classes gave her a deeper sense of confidence in knowing that this historical information would be passed on to the future generations:

I’ve always been prideful of my identity and who I am and my ethnicity, it’s never really been questioned, but it helped me think that they’re really putting our history and stuff on paper, and its making known and its being written in the books so, for future generations, I know that it’ll be more known about what Chicanos Studies is, and there will be more research done into it and stuff like that, that Chicano’s Studies field will develop more as time comes. (ID523)

A fourth student spoke specifically about how Asian American Studies and learning about other racialized historical experiences had an impact on her identity. She said the following:

I am taking an Asian American Studies class right now. We did talk a lot about how the social movements of different races helped them to try to find self-determination. It gives me a more empowering feel to myself, especially as part of a minority group. Even though I am Latina, it enhanced my identity. (ID520)

Taking ethnic studies courses in college was a shocking reality of how absent a culturally sustaining and relatable history was in their K–12 schooling. Despite the literature on the significance of taking ethnic studies courses in high school [55] (Sleeter, 2011), none of the students reported ever taking a course prior to attending college. Students reflected on their own experiences with racial and linguistic discrimination in their K–12 schooling. For example, one student stated the following:

Public education didn’t really educate me about my history, about my parents’ history, and not even that. I felt like there was so much discrimination towards Mexican and in general towards anybody who is not White because my school is majority Indian and majority Mexican. And I felt a lot of discrimination going on, and then on top of that, we weren’t allowed to speak Spanish in class, and I remember it was in elementary school that I felt like that shaped the way I thought. And so since elementary and on, I never spoke Spanish in class because of that one experience. (ID533)

Another student explained the power of learning Mexican history for the first time in a Chicana/o Studies course in college:

I fell in love with my first Chicana/o Studies class, and it really made me feel very empowered because in your K–12 you don’t really learn about what is Mexican or who is Mexican or why we are here. Like you don’t really learn much of our history, and so taking that, I felt so empowered, and I really felt like they have so much to offer. Because of what I learned, I felt like I can offer so much to my community, and so I felt more empowered, and I was like, I’m proud to be a Chicana/o Studies major. (ID539)

Yet, as empowered as students felt taking Ethnic studies courses and learning about history, many students felt upset that they were not given to the tools and the information to critically assess their own educational experiences. One student in particular made reference to their siblings’ struggles in K–12:

I’ve experienced the education system and felt it failed my siblings, and knowing that my brothers and sisters could have had this same opportunity make me want to fight harder for them every day. They just didn’t think they were worth it, and they didn’t feel valued. And so, my brothers dropped out, and the only way they got through is because I helped them on their homework, and that’s why they graduated on time. Seeing that made me so angry and sad at the same time knowing that my brothers could have done it, but just they didn’t believe in them because they couldn’t see themselves going to college. (ID538)

Another student spoke about learning history through Black Studies courses: a history that should have been taught in high school. They expressed the following: “I’ve taken 3 Black Studies classes. The first one I took just because it fit in my schedule during the summer, but it was a great class it really opened my eyes about Africa’s geography and history. I, for a lack of a better word, was very ignorant about the western hemisphere. I didn’t learn about Africa in school.” (ID552)

Students also mentioned taking the information and knowledge and history they learned in class back home to share with their friends and families:

I think that whenever I go back home, and I start telling them about all this stuff that had been going on and how it’s sort of affecting us right now, they kind of start questioning their own lives, and they are like, it’s kind of sad to say that a good amount of my friends didn’t pursue higher education back home, so then when I tell them about all these issues that had been occurring and how it affects our subpopulation, they’re like aww damn maybe I should go back and prove myself. (ID508)

Finally, as a way of feeling a sense of empowerment in their Ethnic Studies curriculum, the majority of the students mentioned aspirations of giving back to their community:

I want to be someone that people in the Latino community look up to. I think one of my traits is helping people out when they need it because I have people that help me out at times, too. As a person, as a professional, I would want to help those in need and help my community out. (ID540)

Beyond wanting to give back to their community, students mentioned how the courses they took redefined their career path and their commitment to giving back: “It definitely did make me want to see what I can do more with my career and how I can advocate to help more communities of color with lower socioeconomic status to even create more mental health awareness”. (ID548)

Students also specifically mentioned the teaching profession as a way to give back, inspired by faculty of color that they had in their ethnic studies courses. One student mentioned how their Chicana/o Studies courses sparked those career aspirations:

I mostly aspire that whatever career I have that I’m helping others, helping my community, and I’m happy for the most part. Because it’s not all about the money. I wouldn’t mind being a teacher. I actually consider being a professor after my Chicana/o Studies class. I was just like this is really interesting, and just being a professor and moving these students and just teaching them and leaving a good impression on them. (ID535)

This theme shows us the way that ethnic studies courses contribute to students’ sense of ethnoracial identity and pride at HSRI and how the curriculum and interactions with faculty and teaching assistants with similar backgrounds serve as racial micro-affirmations.

Data analysis reveals that social support from faculty, family, and peers significantly influences students’ experiences and their likelihood of persisting into their second year. These findings offer HSRIs valuable insights into how they can enhance support for Latinx students by prioritizing creating diverse spaces and programs and fostering connections with diverse individuals if they genuinely aim to serve these students effectively.

8. Discussion

This study revealed how racial micro-affirmations from culturally sustaining curriculum, culturally relevant faculty and graduate student teaching assistants, close friends, and organized friend groups help to create a greater sense of ethnoracial identity for Latinx students attending a newly designated HSRI [54] (Strayhorn, 2018). Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions hold a unique responsibility in fostering an education that is culturally sustaining, academically demanding, and engaging for Latinx students. Our study highlights ways that Latinx students experience racial micro-affirmations when attending an HSRI.

Perez Huber et al. (2021) [43] theorized racial micro-affirmations as a protective factor for people of color in the face of race and racism. In this study, the everyday validations and affirmations that students received from their friends were the most frequently reported form of racial micro-affirmations. We can think of these peer racial micro-affirmations as moments of cultural intimacy [43] (Perez Huber et al., 2021), where students “see” themselves in their peers. Whether that is through conversations or identifying with their racial or ethnic background at an HSRI, peer racial affirmations create intimacy and a sense of belonging and place for students, especially for students with a strong connection to family.

While family support has been linked with Latinx and Mexican American communities, research suggests that family support may not be sufficient during college [56] (Dennis, Phinney, & Chuateco, 2005) and that interactions with college peers experiencing similar obstacles are more beneficial [57] (Rodriguez, Myers, Morris, & Cardoza, 2000). Peers may provide specialized assistance that families, especially those who have not attended college [57,58] (Rodriguez et al., 2000; Rodriguez, et al., 2021), cannot. Perhaps given the significance of familismo, a cultural value within Latinx communities that emphasizes the importance of family and close-knit relationships, these close friendships serve as similar sources of strength for students [59] (Halgunseth Ispa, & Rudy, 2006). It involves a strong sense of loyalty, reciprocity, and interconnectedness among family members. Familismo can influence decision making, support systems, and the overall sense of identity within Latino families [60,61] (Azpeitia, J., & Bacio, 2022; Stein et al., 2017).

As we initially set out to code the data, we were surprised at the overwhelming finding of the role of peer racial micro-affirmations. Delgado and colleagues (2017) [62] found that in a large sample of Latinx (Cubans, Mexicans, Central/South Americans, and Puerto Rican) high school students, friendships better predicted school belonging for Mexican students compared to Cuban students in the study. They hypothesized that perhaps because Mexican/Chicano students experience more racism and marginalization in the United States, these friendships play a major role in their sense of belonging. Since we know that Latinx students in higher education report more discrimination, more work should examine how institutions can shift their focus from looking at the individual student to explaining their sense of belonging [50,63,64] (Locks, Hurtado, Bowman, & Osequera, 2008; Garcia, 2018; Strayhorn, 2018).

Close friendships and involvement in organizations emerged as a theme within peer racial micro-affirmations. It was through these networks that students referenced feeling connected to others and a strong sense of belonging. Arrellano (2020) [65] hypothesized that for Latinx students who join Greek fraternities and sororities, they do so because of Latinx culture, and in these spaces, students find support for both social and academic integration and a sense of giving back to the community through service. Another study found that Latinx college students participating in Latinx-based clubs and organizations reported a sense of cultural pride and better college experiences and outcomes [66] (Acevedo & Stodolska, 2019). Our findings also align with previous research [67,68] (Museus, 2008; Sidanus, Van Laar, Levin, & Sinclair, 2004) showing benefits to students’ sense of belonging and ethnoracial identity development. As one of the participants stated, their mom referenced not only their Latino friend group but also their friends of other ethnicities. Especially in the context of a 4-year university, where students will interact not only with Latinx students, it is important that we examine the experienced racial micro-affirmations across various ethnic groups [45] (Rolón-Dow and Davidson, 2021).

In our second theme, we were able to see the depth of the impact of these curricular racial micro-affirmations on students’ ethnoracial identities and the empowerment experiences through their Ethnic Studies courses regarding their sense of belonging. This is important, given the need to understand more about what contributes to identity development in the higher education [69] (Torres & Hernandez, 2007) and, in particular, ethnoracial identity development [35] (Gallegos & Fermand, 2012). Scholars have referenced three stages of ethnic identity development Latinx students often go through during college [37,38] (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014; Umaña-Taylor & Guimond, 2010), and it is the final stage, affirmation, that we see the majority experiencing at the time of the interviews. One explanation could be that all students were at least in their second year in college. Had we conducted these interviews during their first year, they may have been struggling more with some of the first-year transitions. Additionally, all students had taken at least one Ethnic Studies course (the university diversity requirement course for graduation), thus exposing them to courses where they reported experiencing numerous racial micro-affirmations. This study contributes to our understanding of how peer racial and curricular micro-affirmations can aid in examining student resilience in the face of structural barriers encountered in the university setting [30,41] (Azmitia, et al, 2023; Kolluri, 2020).

Not only were students able to see themselves through their course materials in Ethnic Studies courses, but they were able to identify with those teaching the courses. Research on same-race mentors in higher education has found that for students mentored by a faculty of the same ethnicity, same-race mentors perceived their mentors to be significantly more supportive in furthering their personal and career development [26,70] (Pérez & Sáenz, 2017; Santos & Reigadas, 2002), and students in another study whose mentors matched their race had a higher cumulative GPA and a higher graduation rate and were more likely to enter graduate programs than those not paired with a mentor of the same ethnicity [71] (Campbell & Campbell, 2007). The role of the teaching assistant working as a guide to help students be able to see themselves in the curriculum was ever-present. As previous research has documented [28] (Authors, 2018), graduate student mentors are extremely pivotal in undergraduate students’ experiences at an HSRI-designated research university.

Aligning with our conceptual framework of racial micro-affirmations, the students in this study consistently revealed that taking Ethnic Studies allowed an understanding of their own development with their family, speaking Spanish, and understanding the inequities in their neighborhoods and schools. Specifically, we see how students bring back the knowledge they learn from their courses to their friends and families back home. These interactions also affirm relationships back home that higher education can be a possibility. Previous research has emphasized the lack of culturally relevant courses available to students [25] (Von Robertson & Chaney, 2017), thus highlighting the significance of what it means to have culturally sustaining curriculum.

None of the participants in this study had ever taken an Ethnic Studies course while they were in high school. The opportunity for school to offer and implement an ethnic studies curriculum in middle schools and high schools is long overdue. Studies show that Ethnic Studies courses have a positive impact on academic achievement through better attendance, increase in GPA, and more credits earned toward graduation [72] (Dee & Penner, 2016). We see how Ethnic Studies courses at an HSRI can serve as a discursive mode of knowledge that Latinx students use to understand their social positions in educational institutions.

Ethnic Studies courses also improve campus climate [73] (Mayhew et al., 2005). Students’ perception of their institution’s ability to achieve a positive climate for diversity was influenced by the institution’s ability to include diversity-related issues into its curriculum and students’ precollege interactions with diverse peers. In other words, students who perceived their curriculum as more diverse also perceived their campus as more successful in fostering a sense of belonging so that Latinx students can thrive.

HSIs should align their organizational approach to empower and liberate the institution and its students [64] (Garcia, 2018). HSIs must evolve and adopt services that promote a racially micro-affirming campus climate [41] (Rolón-Dow & Davidson, 2021). Having HSIs that are capable of ushering Latinx students through the college education pipeline is important. HSIs have a hard time finding a balance between serving Latinx students and pursuing institutional prestige [74] (Doran 2015).

9. Limitations and Future Directions

This study took place at a single university, and therefore, the results cannot be generalized. This study only focuses on a small number of students: all first-generation and from immigrant families. More research is needed on a more diverse group of Latinx students.

More research is needed to examine intraracial micro-affirmations. Additionally, the sample has a higher representation of female students. More work is needed to recruit and hear voices of male Latinx college students and their experiences in higher education.

Furthermore, this article also argues that HSRIs should realign their organizational approach to empower and liberate the institution and their students [75] (Sanchez, 2019). More work is need on the multidimensional levels of friendships for Latinx students in higher education.

10. Conclusions and Implications

While much research has been conducted on college student development, only a segment of this research is dedicated to examining how ethnic and racial identities impact the development of Latinx students in institutions of higher education [76] (Jones & Stewart, 2016). This study centers on the skills, abilities, and knowledge of Latinx students to address their ethnoracial identity development within a particular institutional context—HSRIs. The findings of this study contribute to the literature at the intersection of student identity development and how institutional type can influence how Latinx students navigate higher education. In particular, this study nuances Latinx ethnoracial identity development by employing the theoretical framework of racial micro-affirmations to account for how privilege, oppression, and power operate and how this student population negates these experiences through their engagement and use of racial micro-affirmations. Current research on racial micro-affirmations focuses on the theorization, development, and defining of the concept as well as on campus climate, racial imagery via children’s books, graduate and undergraduate students of color, and/or students of color in K–12 context [43,45,77].

To date, research on racial micro-affirmations is newly emerging, especially pertaining to Latinx students [78] (see Sarsar et al., 2023). The findings from this study contribute to the scholarship by revealing the ways Latinx students experience racial micro-affirmations regularly through their everyday validation and affirmation with close friends. Additionally, through a culturally sustaining curriculum and pedagogy that students experienced through their Ethnic Studies course(s), students were able to experience curricular racial micro-affirmations, which increased their ethnoracial identity and ethnic pride. These findings together give us an insight into how an HSRI particularly could better serve Latinx students to increase their ethnoracial identities while also acknowledging the sources of support they draw from to receive validation—micro-affirmations. In order for HSIs to move in a direction that can directly support Latinx students, they must provide active institutional engagement and support for Ethnic Studies curriculum and programs.