Black women in higher education are situated in a hegemonic, white, patriarchal context of academia. Despite staff and faculty attempts to support students utilizing foundational theories of student development, these efforts still reinforce controlling stereotypes of Black women and (re)subjugate them to a tumultuous existence in the academy as "others." Student development theories traditionally have focused on the experiences of white students, and for the few that are focused on Black women, the attention has been on what their experiences consist of, not how they exist, resist, and persist in the academy. Consequently, student development theories fail to identify models and frameworks that simply support Black women's existence in academia. This study is a grounded in Womanism, Black Feminist Theory, misogynoir, and the theory of adultification. Specifically, utilizing portraiture methodology to explore the manifestation of Black women graduate student's formation of "Grown Black Woman Voice, a framework" which emphasizes Black women's development of voice, to ultimately construct their own existence in academia. Through a qualitative study with Black women graduate student participants, findings illuminate that voice is contextual and influenced by parents, community, and societal influences. Furthermore, the ways in which voice is expressed relies heavily on authentic expression. Implications from this research suggest a deeper need to unpack the development of voice beyond higher education such as the workplace and k-12 education. Ultimately, the voices of the participants emphasize the continued necessity to center the diversity in expression that Black women hold and engage, as they exist in the academy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]