Issues of race, class, and gender along with many other characteristics that define human differences are inextricably woven into the fabric of the social institutions in the United States of America; the university classroom is not excluded. This article discusses the teaching experiences of an African-American woman teaching associate/doctoral student while teaching at a predominantly white institution and the resistance often encountered from students in the form of challenging authority, questioning credibility and/or grades, and other forms of disrespectful behavior that could be subtle and covert. Despite such challenges, the teaching associate discusses ways in which she used various strategies to successfully manage barriers in the classroom. Dealing with issues of social justice in the classroom inevitably creates a level of discomfort for individuals who have never had to deal with these issues; yet, it is critically important to continue to raise the level of awareness for faculty and administrators of the type of issues women and people of color are faced with in the classroom when dealing with these topics.
"When and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing, or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me."-Anna Julia Cooper
"As subjects, people have the right to define their own reality, establish their own identities, [and] name their history."-bell hooks