The graduate school experience for students of color has been theorized as oppressive and dehumanizing (Gay, 2004). Scholars have struggled to document how students of color navigate and negotiate oppressive and dehumanizing conditions in their daily experiences of doctoral education. We provide a critical race analysis of the everyday experiences of Latina/o and black 1 1. We chose to use “Latina/o” and “black” throughout this manuscript because it was the common identifier used by our research participants. doctoral students. We draw from critical inquiry and critical race theory to establish and describe an overarching and powerful social narrative that informs, influences, and illustrates the endemic racism through which black and Latina/o students struggle to persist in pursuit of the doctorate. We call this social narrative, “Am I going crazy?!” Deconstructing the narrative into its core elements, we provide an extended definition that illustrates a dehumanizing cultural experience in the everyday lives of doctoral students. We problematize these cultural norms to promote a more humanizing experience of doctoral education for black and Latina/o students.
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