“It takes a village”: proposing critically reflexive (co-)mentoring with underrepresented students as racialized, gendered, and othered

Despite good intentions, the U.S.-based communication discipline has “hardly addressed these [raceless/genderless/cultureless] underrepresentation issues” (Waymer, 2021, p. 114). One considerable gap remains in mentoring underrepresented students, as evidenced in Calafell’s (2007) letter calling for mentorship as “a site of embodied resistance” (p. 425). As a Black male doctoral student and an Asian/immigrant female associate professor, we reflect on critical moments as a mentee–mentor dyad and advocate (co-)mentoring approaches to diversify the communication (education) professions that reflect the diverse U.S. populations. Responding to Waymer’s (2021) stimulus essay, we believe that communication education scholarship, as aligned with critical communication pedagogy, plays a critical role in (co-)mentoring underrepresented students as future educators for racial and intersectional justice advocacy.