By Hannah Sanders and Di-Tu Dissassa
The year 2024 marks 30 years since Amado M. Padilla coined the term cultural taxation. Though his article on ethnic minority scholars focuses on the experiences of faculty of color, these experiences closely mirror those of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) staff, including resident directors (RDs). Padilla defines cultural taxation as an employee of color’s obligation to show “good citizenship” to their institution and to utilize their ethnic identity in ways that are not rewarded. Some examples of cultural taxation include organizations asking people of color to educate majority groups on racial issues, to serve repeatedly on committees dealing with racial issues without experiencing change, to act as liaisons between the organization and the ethnic community, to take time from personal work to negotiate sociocultural disagreements, or to be called on to translate or interpret to non-English speakers. BIPOC professionals within housing and residence life are asked to do all of these things. How they find time to do it is one thing, and how they are affected by it is quite another.
We are both Black women with multiple years of housing experience, and our passion for this work comes from our belief in the occupational wellness of professionals and paraprofessionals of color working in all college and university contexts, especially at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). We are committed to talking about and sharing our experiences with cultural taxation in residence life, listening to the experiences of coworkers and colleagues, and making recommendations for actionable systems to alleviate the burden of cultural taxation.
As mentioned, one common form of cultural taxation is the expectation that BIPOC staff serve as liaisons between the university and students of color. In the context of housing, this expectation can take several forms. In a study of attrition in Black campus housing staff, Janine Weaver-Douglas noted that Black professionals often face pressure to serve as advisors for identity-based groups or as the primary liaison for BIPOC job candidates because of their shared ethnic identity. Similarly, in a study of the experience of student affairs staff at PWIs, Kaleb Briscoe noted that BIPOC staff may take on this role even though they find themselves at odds with their institution’s approach to handling racial concerns, another form of cultural taxation that Padilla identified.
Cultural taxation also occurs when BIPOC employees lead diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) task forces or committees, whose recommendations and initiatives are often ignored or ineffectively implemented. This work can be an especially frustrating experience for BIPOC staff, who may feel obligated to take on these types of projects due to their cultural backgrounds, even though they know their efforts will result in minimal systemic change.
Notably, while higher education institutions often expect BIPOC employees to leverage their racial identities for the benefit of the institution, this expectation holds only up to a point. As Padilla emphasizes, BIPOC faculty are often lauded for their work, which focuses on race and ethnicity early on in their careers – but over time that same research can be deemed illegitimate or myopic. Briscoe noted a similar phenomenon, recognizing that many BIPOC staff do not speak up about their concerns surrounding race and ethnicity due to fear of retaliation.
SANDERS' Story
As I reflect on my own experiences, I can identify many instances when my BIPOC coworkers and I experienced cultural taxation. For instance, I recall a former BIPOC coworker struggling to respond to an incident of racial bias in which the coworker shared the same identities as the targeted students. In this instance, the coworker did not speak up about this challenge for fear of being considered ineffective, and holding onto these feelings ultimately led them to develop negative perceptions about their work.
I have also experienced the benefits of working in an environment where BIPOC staff can speak freely about their experiences and where staff well-being efforts include conversations about the unique challenges associated with being a hall director of color. When everyone in a department takes time to educate themselves and develop their ability to have healthy conversations about race issues, the burden of cultural taxation can be lifted.
Being one of the few BIPOC staff on a team creates a culturally taxing environment. Employees of color are often the go-to for many diverse issues within the residence halls. I felt this way as the only Black woman working in my building during my previous work in residence life. Though I enjoyed my work with students, I overextended myself by not only doing my regular duties but also attending to the needs of students of color because I was one of the only in-building staff who understood their journey at a PWI.
Higher administrators often asked me to step in during cases of racial trauma occurring either on campus or at a national level. I liaised between my institution and students of color, especially during the 2016 election year, when residence life at my institution was constantly putting out DEI fires. I recall that we had seen an uptick in hate bias on campus, as well as the need to support students of color. Because our country often experiences polarization about racial issues, there is a strain on administrators of color when politics incites racial violence. It exasperated me as a professional because of the difficulty in balancing the interests of the students, the institution, and my frustrated and overworked residence life staff.
There are many ways for white housing professionals to help relieve the burden of cultural taxation on their BIPOC peers. First, they need to educate themselves about how to respond to student concerns surrounding race. Briscoe’s research revealed that student affairs professionals generally do not have the training necessary to address racial incidents. As a result, white student affairs professionals often rely on the lived experiences and assumed expertise of their BIPOC coworkers. While there are certainly instances where it is appropriate to refer students of color to a professional they may identify with, it is essential to ensure that staff of color do not become the primary source of support for all students of color.
Second, DEI committees are often led by BIPOC individuals, with lower levels of engagement from white staff. We challenge our white peers to actively engage on DEI committees, even if it is initially uncomfortable. As Cynthia Foronda posited in her theory of cultural humility, engaging in spaces prioritizing DEI may require cultural humility to create collaboration with BIPOC peers.
Finally, residence life can alleviate cultural taxation by including consideration of BIPOC staff’s diversity work in formal evaluations. Since much of the work that BIPOC professionals do for residents is care work related to interpersonal relationships, this is difficult to quantify. However, some documentation of how BIPOC professionals meet or exceed levels of support for BIPOC students should be recognized and rewarded.
Residence life professionals are critical to the higher education experience for students, but it is necessary to consider the wellness of those doing this additional labor. Our story is not the whole story of BIPOC professionals’ experiences. We are student affairs professionals who delight in our profession; however, we understand the impact that cultural taxation has on our occupational health. We hope that administrators will consider how they can alleviate the pressures of cultural taxation on their BIPOC staff.
Hannah Sanders is the assistant director of residence life at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Di-Tu Dissassa is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in South Africa at the University of Pretoria.