African American Studies Commons^™

Black Leadership Zine, Aleem A., Hunter Richard, Gabriella C.

Student Zines

Leadership takes forms in different ways where the art o languages whispers subjectivity.

This zine project takes various definitions of leadership and presents it through a different lens of a political United States.

[Dis]Assembling Race: The Fepc In Oklahoma, 1941-1946, Arley Ward

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On the World War II home front in Oklahoma the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) succeeded in securing defense jobs for African Americans. The efforts of the committee, The Oklahoma Eagle, the Oklahoma City Black Dispatch, and the State Conference of Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) advanced civil rights in Oklahoma throughout World War II and beyond. The efforts of the FEPC in Oklahoma connect civil rights efforts in the 1940s directly to Brown v Board of Education, (1954) and the classic civil rights movement.

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Archives Records

Commencement program for fall 2021.

An Intergenerational Photo Exploration Of Self Care Actions In Self-Identifying Strong Black Women, Vanessa Patrice Goodar

Dissertations

The current study sought to expand upon the Giscombé Superwoman Schema (2010) specifically exploring the role of vulnerability resistance and help obligation as potential barriers to changing comprehensive self-care health commitments in self-identifying Strong Black Women (SBW). The Superwoman Schema characteristics of vulnerability resistance and help obligation along with socio-economic factors of income, religious affiliation and marital status were assessed in the project using a visual-ethnography approach to Photo Voice methods and five intergenerational focus groups of SBW's born between 1946 and 2002. The collective self-care knowledge of these eighteen participants was analyzed using a participatory action research discussion framework …

Defining African American Authorship, April Quattlebaum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

James Weldon Johnson and Melvin B. Tolson are pivotal figures of the early 20th century. They represent a fundamental question that has been and is indeed still in the minds of African American authors: What is a Black author? African American authorship necessarily involves the challenge of forging a literary identity in the face of a society structurally and temperamentally predisposed to marginalize and dismiss them. In their creative and scholarly works, Johnson and Tolson methodically dissect Black authorship, looking both to the past and to their present situation as they strive to imagine a future for African American literary …

“From The House Come Everything”: Macler Shepard And Jeffvanderlou, Inc’S Effort To Rebuild A North St. Louis City Neighborhood, 1966-1978, Mark Loehrer

Theses

This thesis charts the course of the JeffVanderLou (JVL) organization between the pivotal years of 1966 to 1976, using the life of a man named Macler Shepard as the primary lens of exploration. Born in Marvell Arkansas, Macler Shepard followed in the footsteps of tens of thousands of other Southern migrants to cities like St. Louis, hoping to find a new life in the industrial North. However, no sooner had he settled in, he was displaced by the construction of Pruitt-Igoe, one of St. Louis’ first large-scale urban renewal programs. In response, Shepard became involved in neighborhood organizing, focusing on …

Analyzing The Symbolism Of Modern Racial Tension In Jordan Peele's Get Out, Kyra Hammond

Symposium of Student Scholars

In award-winning films, themes surrounding race and ethnicity are typically avoided unless regarded in a historical context. Though, Jordan Peele’s Get Out(2017) breaks these barriers by taking a satirical approach to comment on modern racial issues and stigmas that are prevalent in American society. Furthermore, the film pushes society to finally see and understand the anxiety and racial trauma that African Americans continue to experience. The hidden symbols and messages throughout the screenplay further add to the film’s theme by metaphorically expressing that racism can be covert. With the intention to analyze these symbolic elements, I will break down …

Oppression, Resistance, And Empowerment: The Power Dynamics Of Naming And Un-Naming In African American Literature, 1794 To 2019, Melissa "Maggie" Romigh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oppression, Resistance, and Empowerment: The Power Dynamics of Naming and Un-naming in African American Literature, 1794 to 2019 researches and discusses the way African American authors both discuss naming and un-naming in their works and the way they use naming in their works to illustrate the dynamics of power in relationships—racial, familial, gender-related, work-related, etc. Chapter 1 focuses on the earliest forms of African American literature, memoirs in particular, also known as “slave narratives.” In their memoirs, many of those men and women who were formerly enslaved wrote about having their names taken from them and replaced with names chosen …

Letitia Carson In Court: African American Women, Property, And Wages In The Pacific Northwest, Stephanie Marie Vallance

Dissertations and Theses

Letitia Carson arrived in Oregon from Missouri in 1845, accompanied by David Carson and their newborn child, a daughter named Martha. The Carsons settled in the Soap Creek Valley and took advantage of Oregon's Provisional Government's donation land claim program, living on 640 acres in the newly formed Benton County with Martha and a second child, a son named Adam, born a few years after arriving in Oregon. Within ten years, however, David would be dead and Letitia would be dispossessed of all property and belongings. A former slave, Letitia had little social standing in the new territory and no …

There’S A Whole Lotta Rhythm Goin’ Round: How Funk Shaped U.S. Copyright, Katherine Leo

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

Rooted in stylized grooves and lineages of musical borrowing, funk can often seem to exist at the periphery of copyright protection. Its influence on Hip-Hop and R&B, particularly through collage techniques involving digital samples, contributed to a rise in the early twenty-first century of infringement disputes. How have these cases shaped copyright protection of music? After a gloss of federal copyright law, this presentation surveys landmark lawsuits involving funk songs and their impact on later cases. Through its interdisciplinary investigation, this presentation reveals how funk cases proved that musical style offers critical context to legal evaluations of musical similarity and …

Pour Some Water On Me: Prince And The Ohio Players, De Angela Duff

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

In Prince’s incomplete and posthumous memoir, The Beautiful Ones, The Ohio Players is referenced four times. However, Prince’s love of The Ohio Players was evident, decades before the release of this book. Prince has covered Ohio Players’ classics, such as “Skin Tight,” “I Want To Be Free,” “Love Rollercoaster,” and “Heaven Must Be Like This,” in numerous rehearsals, shows, and after shows over the years. However, The Ohio Players are rarely discussed by music critics as one of Prince’s influences. This presentation will attempt to deconstruct why, while also exploring Prince’s funk roots and influences.

Funk Pedagogy: An Ethnographic, Historical, And Practical Study Of Funk Music In Dayton, Ohio, Caleb Vanden Eynden

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

This presentation will discuss an honors thesis research project completed as an undergraduate music student at the University of Dayton. Titled “Traditional Funk: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio,” the thesis explores traditional funk style, Dayton’s musical history, and how funk music can be incorporated into music programs and curricula across Dayton area schools. During his student teaching semester, Vanden Eynden had an opportunity to teach a unit on Dayton funk to students at Springboro High School. This presentation will explore some of the findings from this project and share ideas for its future …

Land Of Funk Art, Morris Howard

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

The Funk Mural on Land of Funk Way in Dayton was completed in 2018. There are, however, a few other artistic tributes to some of our Dayton Funk heroes, including the metal statue tribute to Roger Troutman and a mural to the Dayton Funk bands located on Germantown Street. Although these are just a few examples here in Dayton, there are also many images of "funk art" all over the world.

"My Name Is Prince, And I Am Funky!" Prince’S Funk And How He Helped Bring It To A New (Power) Generation, Andrea Foy

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

Throughout his career, Prince Rogers Nelson crossed many genres, pop, rock, punk, R&B, jazz, soul, and funk. He created funky jams from Erotic City to Housequake to Musicology. This presentation addresses an understudied and essential fact that Prince Rogers Nelson is funky. This presentation will outline his contribution to the funk genre through a study of his collaboration with funk legends, including The Time, George Clinton, Sly & The Family Stone, Larry Graham and Maceo Parker, Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, and Rick James.

Funk And The Defunct Music Curriculum, Ed Sarath

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

What, if any, is the place of funk in a 21st century music curriculum in America? This talk responds to this question by situating funk with the context of what Jeff Pressing, in a seminal essay, calls “Black Atlantic Rhythm” (BAR). Pressing’s heading refers to the multitudinous and massively prominent body of rhythmic languages and practices that originated in Africa and took hold, and further evolved, through its various musical diasporas. I view Funk and Black Atlantic Rhythm as part of what I call “21st century” common practice rhythmic literacy, which I argue to exceed in importance Eurocanonic common practice …

Keynote Address — Funk And Afro Futurism: The Past, Present, And Future Of The Funk, Frederick Vincent

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

Dr. Frederick “Rickey” Vincent is author of the award-winning Funk: The Music, the People and the Rhythm of The One (1996), the first definitive treatment of funk music and culture. His address addresses:

• Liberation in the Moment: Other Worlds and Black Liberation (from Soul Train to “Wakanda Forever”)
• The Rhythm Revolution: Liberation, Motion, and Black Identity (JB and The One)
• Transcendence: The Higher Plane of the Funk Groove (Sly and the body/mind/spirit unification)
• The Collective: Tribalism in a Post-Industrial World (Funk blends genres, blends cultures as long as it’s “On the One”)
• The Epic: P-Funk Earth Tour and Beyond (The …

2024: The Fall Of The Empire?, Preston Love Jr.

Black Studies Faculty Publications

The recent news of a potential Presidential run of Donald Trump, for president in 2024, signifies the transition from the slow drip, drip leaking of Democracy to a fire hose flow, and the fall of our great empire.

Save Our Children, Preston Love Jr.

Black Studies Faculty Publications

It has been a topic of my mental anguish for several years: the plight, and the state of affairs, of our young, our children and our youth.

Program: 2021 Dayton Funk Symposium And Line Dance Party, University Of Dayton

Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia

Program includes a welcome from Sharon Davis Gratto, Graul Chair in Arts and Languages; a schedule of presentations; and biographies of presenters, performers, and panelists.

Addressing The Lack Of Availability In Diverse Skin Tone Options For Performance Fabric, Jessica Batey

Honors College Theses

The following research addresses the lack of availability in diverse skin tone options for performance fabric. The project will discuss the struggles people of color face when finding fabrics that accurately match their skin tone and the difficulties in sourcing the materials needed to successfully design a garment. The research gathered will be used to produce a collection of 4 looks using nude mesh fabrics that are readily available to the average consumer. The garments within the collection will be designed to match the skin color of 4 models. The collection’s theme will be based around the 4 cardinal witches …