Digital Commons Network^™

The Olympic Glory Of Jesse Owens: A Contribution To Civil Rights And Society, Casey Aaron Nash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Jesse Owens was the star of the Berlin Olympics in 1936. His four gold medals in Hitler's Germany, as an African American, had far reaching implications back in the United States. Despite segregation and a social hierarchy that was an impasse to both black opportunity and achievement, Owens created a lasting legacy that drastically impacted race relations. The purpose of this thesis was to examine what the Olympic glory of Owens represented for society. Owens as an Olympian in 1936 manufactured a brand of social capital that tied people together in commonality—as Americans. As well, in both myth and deed, …

An Improvised World: Jazz And Community In Milwaukee, 1950-1970, Benjamin Barbera

Theses and Dissertations

This study looks at the history of jazz in Milwaukee between 1950 and 1970. During this period Milwaukee experienced a series of shifts that included a large migration of African Americans, urban renewal and expressway projects, and the early stages of deindustrialization. These changes had an impact on the jazz musicians, audience, and venues in Milwaukee such that the history of jazz during this period reflects the social, economic, and physical landscape of the city in transition.

This thesis fills two gaps in the scholarship on Milwaukee. First, it describes the history of jazz in Milwaukee in a more comprehensive …

A Jim Crow Welcome Home: African American World War Veterans In Knoxville, Tennessee, Kara Elizabeth Kempski

Masters Theses

This essay will examine black veterans who returned to Knoxville, Tennessee after both world wars. Knoxville was a moderately sized Southern town that believed itself to be fairly progressive about racial issues. The life of average Knoxvillians was perennially disrupted in this period by two wars, two returns, and the racial tension that occasionally exploded into violence. This essay will attempt to show that the experience of Knoxville’s African American veterans was different after WWII from what it was in WWI because of the changing sympathies of the federal government, rather than because of changes within the African American community. …

Jewish Ethnic Identity And The Dissolution Of The Black-Jewish Alliance, Nathan G. Caplin

Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 20th century, Jews promoted civil rights for Black Americans in law, society, and employment. The Jewish hand of friendship developed into a natural alliance of African-American and Jewish leaders committed to racial equality that blossomed in the 1950s and 1960s and culminated with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Despite their long term mutual efforts towards racial equality, the Black-Jewish Alliance faltered after Jews and Blacks cooperated to achieve these victories, and their alliance lay in ruins by the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Black-Jewish Alliance began to wane as …

Targeting Minorities: An Inductive Exploration Of The Fbi's Impact On Social Movements (19602-1970s), Crystal Jewel Bustillos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work undertakes the daunting task of examining the role of the FBI in targeting social movements which occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. It further explores the impact this targeting had on the Chicano movement by drawing comparisons between what transpired with the Chicano movement and comparing it to the African American movement. To this end, various archival data was gathered as well as primary sources and expert interviews.