You Can’t Tell It, Let Me Tell It: Making Sense of Belonging by Exploring the Lived Experiences of African American Students at a Predominately White Institution

African American students make up approximately 13.1 of all students enrolled in postsecondary institutions across the United States (Hanson, 2023). African American students overwhelming, approximately 68, attend public institutions. Further, approximately, 72 of African American students are enrolled at 4-year institutions. African American students enrolled at these institutions face challenges that their peers who are not African American do not such as feelings of isolation, microaggressions, and less-than-welcoming campus climates. These factors often prevent African American students from fostering a sense of belonging to and on their campuses. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the theory of Double Consciousness as theoretical frameworks, this study sought to evaluate the sense of belonging of third-year undergraduate students enrolled at a Predominately White Institution (PWI). Further, my dissertation sought to uncover the effect, if any, student engagement had on developing sense of belonging for the study participants.