Experiencing Harm and Betrayal: Black Staff Members’ Narratives During the Height and Ongoing Wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted long-standing inequities within U.S. higher education, particularly for Black staff members. While much of the existing research focuses on the experiences of students and faculty, this study aims to include the perspectives of Black staff, whose positions often put them at greater risk and subjected them to institutional neglect. Grounded in the framework of institutional betrayal, this study explores the central research question: How do Black staff members describe the harm and betrayal they experienced during the height and ongoing wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? Our work draws on a critical event narrative analysis approach through qualitative data collected during the height and ongoing wake of the pandemic from 18 Black staff members. Findings reveal deep emotional and psychological trauma experienced by Black staff. Participants shared feelings of abandonment, unsafe working conditions, racialized mistreatment, and a profound disillusionment with institutional practices. This study underscores how the pandemic intensified systemic inequities and calls attention to the urgent need for higher education institutions to address long-standing disparities related to labor, and emotional well-being in the ongoing wake of COVID. Recommendations for how institutional accountability and transformation can be implemented through policies and practices are discussed.