VCU news

By Tom Gresham

Micah White first conducted research as a student at Brightpoint Community College. As a Mellon Research Fellow, he worked with faculty from Brightpoint and Virginia Commonwealth University on a yearlong research project on “how we derive meaning from our surroundings, from within ourselves, and how we use language as a tool to facilitate that process.”

The experience was the start of an interest in research that continues today. White, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences in 2023, is now a doctoral student in counseling psychology. His current research explores the intersection of social media and African American identity. In particular, his research argues, he said, “that the postmodern nature of African American identity, shaped by the dispossession and enslavement of our African ancestors and the historical erasure of their culture, is both amplified and distorted by social media which leads to further discontinuities and harm.”

White shared with VCU News how his personal experiences have helped shape his research and how his fellow student researchers inspire him. 

Tell us the focus of your research ... and why it is important/impactful for all of us.

By examining how social media reinforces and challenges the dynamic nature of African American identity, I aim to explore where the past and present are increasingly entangled, how the era of postmodernity might exacerbate feelings of disorientation and dislocation, and how the remnants of historical trauma and loss continue to shape the African American understanding of self and society.

I always remind myself that this work is primarily for the benefit of my community. I always try to approach my research by thinking about practicality, future impact and why anyone should care.

What inspired you to pursue this line of research?

My personal experience largely inspires my research. Like many other African Americans, at a young age, I was confronted with the reality of historical African dispossession, erasure, enslavement and the persistent subjugation of my community throughout the lifespan of this country. Again, like many African Americans, I was inspired after reading the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.” Although many of the problems described by Malcolm are still very much real and tangible, I couldn't say that the problems I faced or the observations I had made in my experience were one-to-one with his descriptions.

There was much that I felt was still out of reach or indescribable about 21st-century existence, which developed my interest in postmodernism and postmodernity because it offers a framework and gives language to the weird reality of now. In undergrad, I was able to research some of the outer edges of these ideas as a Mellon Research Fellow, so when I entered grad school I knew exactly what I wanted to pursue and exactly what it was that I wanted to make sense of.

Tell us about a surprise in your research journey.

The most surprising/unsurprising thing that really cemented itself during this process was that I would probably stay in school for as long as I could. This is surprising because anyone who knows me knows I absolutely hated my time in K-12. My interests are all over the place, so, truthfully, if I were able to, I'd try to get degrees in political science, African American studies, philosophy, history, sociology, social work, nursing, etc., I likely would. I'm a psychology student, which, in my opinion, finds a way to connect with all of my interests in some form or fashion, and my program puts me in a position to learn as many methods and tools to be as effective as I can to help as many people as possible.

Tell us about an obstacle or challenge you had to overcome in your work.

The biggest challenge is always to remain grounded. My research, in particular, deals with a lot of complex theoretical literature, and it's very easy to let my interests sweep me away, so I always remind myself that this work is primarily for the benefit of my community. I always try to approach my research by thinking about practicality, future impact and why anyone should care. Despite the protective factors and benefits we have from being Black, my community is still subject to interpersonal and structural racism, resulting in everything from a minor annoyance during the day to higher morbidity and mortality rates on a mass scale, so the last thing I need to do is conduct research that is only meaningful to academia. 

Is there a memorable partnership or lesson you've embraced along the way?

The most valuable thing I've picked up from my time in academia is the relationships I've built with my lab and lab members and my program cohort. My advisor, Shawn Utsey, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and chair of the Department of African American Studies, has cultivated a lab of incredible people who themselves are doing amazing work.

Our senior lab member, Janae Baker, recently completed her thesis as an explorative analysis that dives into the intricate dynamics of patient-provider relationships within the context of prenatal care among Black women and how these experiences might affect their perinatal mental health. Another incredible person and lab mate is Selam Hailu, a researcher with the SALT + LIGHT Agency and a mental and holistic wellness provider with Soulcare Collective. Jaey Harris, a lab and program cohort member, is currently researching help-seeking behaviors of Black individuals and expressive interventions to strengthen mental health care accessibility.

We also have an incredible undergrad member, Jason Bonilla-Landers, who is looking at how culture and cultural identities can serve as protective factors for marginalized groups and families, and our newest member Candace Moore, who is a VCU alum who was part of the VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Scholars Program and an NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program Scholar before working at the NIH to research biomarkers and assessment techniques for traumatic brain injury.

My counseling psych cohort also includes incredible people from whom I've learned much. As we begin our second year of our program, the things I've learned from them and how I've been inspired by them all are invaluable, beginning with Jaey and her research aimed at strengthening mental health care accessibility to African Americans and including Alexis Stokes, whose research lies at the intersection of racial socialization, religion and spirituality, and community-centered interventions among Black families; Natalia Gomez Giuliani, whose work focuses on decolonizing mental health and promoting health and well-being among Latine communities; and Karly Derrigo, who focuses on understanding eating disorders in relation to identity and comorbid disorders.

My peers especially make this process so worthwhile because they offer a perspective on my work that I couldn't get elsewhere. I am motivated and inspired, and I learn from the incredible people I've been fortunate to be surrounded by.

What do you find fulfilling about the research process?

I am most fulfilled, of course, by exploring things I wouldn't typically be able to, but even more so by being able to bounce my ideas off of others and partaking in the give-and-take somewhat collaborative relationship between myself, my advisor and my peers. My peers especially make this process so worthwhile because they offer a perspective on my work that I couldn't get elsewhere. I am motivated and inspired, and I learn from the incredible people I've been fortunate to be surrounded by. The insight, intellect, experience and perspective that I'm able to absorb and engage with by being in a community with everyone I've named has made the process of grad school that much more enjoyable and enriching.

What advice would you offer undergrads to kick-start their own research journeys?

Find a way to research what interests you and motivates you the most and surround yourself with people who do the same. The research itself is, of course, very important. Still, you must remember that this work is being done for the benefit of the people, and I've come to appreciate and value how the people will reciprocate that same level of care – at least in my experience. Find your interest, find your people and make sure your connection to both is enriching.