Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploratory Study Of The Career Mobility Patterns Of African American Women Working In Public Parks And Recreation Agencies, Chermaine Cole

Doctoral Dissertations

African American (AA) women are among the most underrepresented and under-researched groups in the parks and recreation profession. The purpose of this study is to explore the career mobility patterns of AA women currently working in public parks and recreation agencies. To achieve this purpose, the study examines the career mobility patterns of 169 AA women over a five-year period. The study also examines their ascent into executive leadership positions in their profession. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What job positions and classifications are held by a sample of AA women currently working in public parks and …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Second-Year African American Male Students On Predominantly White Campuses Through Critical Race Theory, Craig S. Pickett Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Title: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Second-Year African American Male Students on Predominantly White Campuses through the Lens of Critical Race Theory

Abstract:

The critical nature of the first year has pushed thousands of colleges and universities across the United States to create intentional programs specifically for first-year students. Less understood are the experiences of students during their second year – a different and, at times, even more challenging period. Second-year students face a myriad of issues, including achieving competence, desiring autonomy, establishing identity, and developing purpose, with many experiencing a phenomenon called the sophomore slump. …

“In The Skin I’M In…I Represent A Different Version Of What Help Looks Like:” Black Women Sport Psychology Professional’S Experiences In Applied Sport Psychology, Sharon R. Couch

Doctoral Dissertations

Black Feminist Applied Sport Psychology (BFASP) is a culturally inclusive theoretical framework for centering Black women’s experiences in applied sport psychology (Carter et al., 2020; Couch et al., 2022). For the past two decades, (White) Feminist applied sport psychology professionals (FASPPs) described the experiences of Black women as unique but were overlooked in research and participant pools due to the prioritization of White women's and Black male sport experiences. (Carter & Davila, 2017; Carter & Prewitt-White, 2014; Gill, 2020; Hyman et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to explore the life and work experiences of BASPPs (i.e., faculty, …

The Psychosocial Experiences Of African American Sexual And Gender Minority Caregivers Of People With Dementia, Lakeva Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

Over 50 million people in the United States provide unpaid care to a family member or friend. One-third of these caregivers (16 million) provide care to someone with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Of these caregivers, more than 20% state caregiving has led to a decline in their health. African American caregivers are less likely to report being in very good or better health than their white caregiving peers. Similarly, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ) caregivers are more likely to report fair or poor health than their heterosexual, cisgender peers. The overlap of these minoritized identities may …

Being Counted: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of The Power Of Black Women's Giving At Historically White Institutions, Chandra Jada Harris-Mccray

Doctoral Dissertations

Philanthropy has shaped American higher education. Historically, colleges and universities were created for White men, and philanthropy has fallen into the same pattern of privilege. Often seen as invisible, African American alumnae and their giving motivations, influences, and capabilities are untapped and unrecognized at historically White institutions (HWIs). Led by the fundamental research question of what factors facilitate or impede giving behaviors of African American alumnae to HWIs, the purpose of this two-phase, transformative exploratory, sequential mixed methods research study was to understand how the attitudes, motivations, and behaviors of African American alumnae, in consideration of the intersections of race …

America's Oblivion: Preservation In The Age Of Erasure, William Dillon Dunn

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

"Our Village Approach": The Story Of How One African American Family Educates Their Children, Sherrie Lynn Fairchild-Keyes

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic case study is to tell the story of how one African American family educates their children. At the center of this study are two sisters. Together, they are raising four children with the help of their father, siblings, and several extended and fictive kin. The family functions collectively; they call it their “village approach”. As a cultural studies project, their story represents a counter-narrative to many stories that support deficit thinking. Education is highly valued by members of this family. The children are expected to perform at high levels academically as well as give their …

Herstory: Dr. Ruth Simmons’ Journey To The Presidency, Patricia Yvette Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

This study’s goal is to give voice to the experiences of one individual: Dr. Ruth Simmons, the first woman president of Brown University and the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. Simmons’ HerStory is a narrative of her becoming rather than being. It is a story of her moving forward. In this study Simmons is permitted to take back her narrative by telling HerStory, in her own words and along with sharing her ethos. HerStory provides insight into and a deep understanding of how Simmons became the president and what shaped her development spanning from her childhood …

A Phenomenological Study: African American Clergy Response To Violence Against Women, Milicia Antoinette Tedder

Doctoral Dissertations

Violence against women and religious participation are two phenomena that are pervasive across many African American communities. African American women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at a rate higher than the majority of racial groups in the U.S. Although many African American women highly depend on their faith and church to navigate their experiences with IPV, scant attention has been given to the role that Black clergy have in responding to IPV against women. As a result, clergy leaders’ responses to IPV were examined in this study. This study utilized a phenomenological method to understand African American clergy leaders’ responses …

A Case Study Of Two Exemplary Black Cultural Centers In Higher Education, Demetrius D. Richmond

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Despite their long-standing history and contribution to the success of Black students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), many Black Cultural Centers (BCCs) face uncertain futures, and others do not. Some BCCs have closed, some have been transformed in name and mission, and some have persevered and have become "exemplar" centers. These exemplary centers have been expanded and given more responsibility and resources by their institutions, and are clearly not feeling a threat to their identity or future. In a time when so many BCCs at PWIs are under threat, what is it about some centers that allows them to …

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. …

We're Not Thugs And Rappers: An Examination Of African American Male Athletes' Perceptions Of The Media, Keia Janese Bragg

Masters Theses

Manipulation of stories and events expose issues of false representation and stereotyping within the mainstream media. This research examined the media’s role in shaping the behaviors and experiences of African American male athletes while using Critical Race Theory as the framework in conducting research. A focus group consisting of six former African American male student athletes was conducted. A semi-structured interview schedule was used in order to allow for open discussion. The Constant Comparison Method was instrumental in thematizing the data while QDA Miner software was used to analyze the data. The findings suggested that African American male athletes feel …

I Am Not My Hair...Or Am I?: Exploring The Minority Swimming Gap, Dawn M. Norwood

Doctoral Dissertations

A review of literature has revealed a dearth of research on leisure swimming patterns of Black females. Black youth, both male and female, have a higher rate of drowning than any other racial/ethnic group in the United States (“Water‐related injuries: Fact sheet”, 2005). Two known studies produced by (Irwin et al., 2009; 2010) examining hair as a constraint to swimming for African American youth produced conflicting results. In order to comprehensively examine hair as a constraint to African American female participation in swimming, the current study adopted a qualitative approach which allowed exploration of the cultural background and experiences of …

Self-Reported Family Income And Expenditure Patterns For A Cohort Of Tanf-Reliant African American Women: Outcomes From A Longitudinal Study In Miami-Dade County, Florida, Stacia Michelle West

Masters Theses

This mixed-method study was designed to analyze the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on a cohort of welfare-reliant African American women in Miami-Dade County. A snowball sampling technique was utilized to identify and conduct in-person interviews with women who were receiving welfare benefits from January 1997 to March 2000. The study intended to determine the participant characteristics, employment and wage histories, annualized income, and annualized expenditures over the time span. The results indicate that the average age of recipients was 34.5 years old with four children. The average educational attainment for the cohort …