Digital Commons Network^™

Black Students' Classroom Silence In Predominantly White Institutions Of Higher Education, Mahajoy A. Laufer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored Black students' silence in classrooms at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) of higher education in the northeast United States. Fifteen student interviews revealed that teaching material centered on European-American culture and history influenced their silence. Participants perceived devaluing of people of color in course material and perceived that professors used and allowed racist language and opinions to pervade the classroom. Students negotiated the tension of having discordant views from the mainstream and at times, between other students of the same racial and cultural group. They often elected to speak out against perceived discrimination and remained silent in …

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, …

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 …

Family Cancer History And Pedigrees As A Public Health Intervention For Promoting Health And Preventing Prostate Cancer In African American Men, Holisa Wharton

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. African-American men have substantially higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality than European-American men. It is unclear whether this incidence is due to acquired DNA changes (sporadic cancer) or if germline Mendelian genetics/genomics (inherited cancer) is the source of this health disparity. To explore this cause, the focus of this dissertation paper is family health history and hereditary prostate cancer. A family history tool is the most commonly used predictive instrument for hereditary prostate cancer. The …

Interaction Effects Of Multiple Levels Of Disadvantage And Kinship Foster Care In African American Youth, Anne Rufa

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Child welfare services' current practice is to attempt to identify kinship foster settings first when removing a child from their home, a practice used disproportionately for African American youth. In this study, potential contextual factors of foster homes (i.e., community environment, caregiver's age, caregiver's physical health) were identified as possible moderators of the relationship between the type of out-of-home placement (i.e., kinship, other out-of-home placement) used and changes in internalizing and externalizing scores in African American youth. Results confirm a significant increase in internalizing and externalizing scores when youth are placed in kinship foster homes with caregivers who are older …

The Mediating Role Of Coping On The Relationship Between Attachment Style And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Suicidal African American Women, Wendy Heath-Gainer

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

The literature on clinical interventions for suicide prevention indicates that low-income, suicidal African American females are an historically underserved population. Contributing to this lack of service are the intersecting influences of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and related oppressions (APA, 2007). In suicidal African American females, a higher level of reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder has been found in suicide attempters as compared to nonattempters (Kaslow et al., 2000), and PTSD has been shown to be associated with heightened risk of an ensuing suicide attempt (Wilcox, Storr, & Breslau, 2009). One factor affecting manifestation of PTSD …

The R Factor: Centering Race In The Mentoring Of African American College Students, Bridgette Coble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring provides personal support, academic assistance and career guidance to college students of color whose experiences have been documented to be very different from those of their White counterparts. Achievement inequity, problems of persistence, experiences of racism and student reports of feeling marginalized and misunderstood threaten the ability of students of color to succeed in college. While it may be assumed that race plays a central role in the mentoring relationships of students of color, this assumption may be misguided. The existence of formal mentoring programs and informal mentoring relationships that support students of color does not necessarily ensure that …

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 …

The Influence Of Social Contextual Conditions And Basic Psychological Need Fulfillment On Self-Management And Emotional Distress Among Urban African American Adults With Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus : A Mixed Methods Study., Sula Marie Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: African Americans are disproportionally diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes, and have been observed to have poor self-management, which increases risk of complications. Social influences are commonly associated with diabetes-related outcomes. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess whether and how socio-contextual factors influence self-management and emotional distress in urban African American adults living with type-2 diabetes, as well as to assess whether social support facilitate relatedness need fulfillment within this population. The study also sought to gain an understanding of the psychosocial support needs and preferences of urban African American adults living with type-2 diabetes. Methods: The descriptive …

School Counselors' Activities In Predominantly African American Urban Schools, Lacretia T. Dye

Dissertations

Urban school reform has begun to penetrate the school counseling profession in both theory and practice. The American School Counseling Association’s National Model (ASCA, 2005), as well as the Transforming School Counseling Initiatives component of the Education Trust (2007) are initiatives within the school profession promoted, in part, as responses to urban school reform. In particular, the ASCA National model is a “call to action” for school counselors to promote student success by closing the existing achievement gap whenever found between students of color, poor students, or underachieving students and their more advantaged peers (ASCA, 2005). However, little information is …

Understanding The Development Of Alphabet Knowledge In At-Risk Populations: The Influence Of Pre-Literacy Skills, Ashley Coursin

Theses and Dissertations

In the current research, alphabet knowledge has been confirmed as a critical component of children's developing emergent literacy proficiency. The assessment of pre-literacy skills, such as alphabet knowledge, plays an important role in the management of children at-risk for poor reading outcomes. This study aimed to better understand the influence of phonological awareness skills, print skills, and receptive vocabulary on the development of alphabet knowledge in at-risk preschool-age children. Statistical analyses revealed that a significant unique relationship was present between phonological awareness skills and the development of alphabet knowledge. Furthermore, this study identified three clusters of children based on the …

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. …

Quilting: An Examination Of Harriet Powers And Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, Jennifer Moreland

Art & Art History ETDs

African American quilting exhibits a long and rich history in antebellum and post\u2013 bellum America. Although hindered by their social status as slaves, African Americans were adroit artisans adept at producing exceptional quilts for personal use as well as for the plantation household. In the few surviving examples, slave quilts demonstrate a range of geometric improvisation, decorative patterning, and asymmetrical ornamentation. African American quilts are unique in their ability to articulate personal histories and narratives, religious ideologies, and communicate messages through color, pattern, and emblematic imagery. A close investigation of African and Euro-American design aesthetics is crucial to understanding the …

The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relations Of Between Somatization And Internalizing Disorders In Children, Priscilla A. Khuanghlawn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Somatic symptoms are a common experience of childhood and research suggests that specific populations, including girls and children who are African-American, may be more likely to experience and report somatic complaints. Although seen in developmentally typical populations, somatic symptoms are also often strongly linked with general psychopathology, especially internalizing disorders. The etiology of somatic symptoms is unclear, with the current literature suggesting various contributing causes. One such contributing factor includes emotional factors such as the management of emotional arousal through emotion inhibition, coping, and dysregulation. Using an African-American sample of 136 elementary school-aged children (47% boys) and their parents (86% …

Parenting Patterns In Urban African American Families: Raising Healthy Adolescents In The Context Of Economic Hardship And Community Violence, Donald Hamilton Tyler

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The aims of the current study were to identify natural patterns of environmental risk conditions and parenting practices in African American families, assess the similarities and differences between the parenting patterns and mainstream parenting types, clarify the efficacy of each parenting pattern in reducing risk and promoting adolescent adjustment, consider key variables that may influence these processes, and thereby advance understanding of African American child rearing in social-ecological context. A case-centered approach featuring cluster analysis was utilized to permit exploration of multiple child rearing behaviors across the dimensions of parental warmth and control and to afford examination of multiple combinations …

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 …

Low Fitness Phenotype And Cardiovascular Disease Risks In African American Women, Jurine H. Owen Mrs

Kinesiology Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if African American Women (AAW) with low fitness levels have low fitness related to a lifestyle choice of decreased physical activity (PA) or the cardiovascular disadvantage of greater proportion of Type II (FT) muscle fibers.

Forty-eight apparently healthy AAW participated in the study. The women had no known risk factors for CVD; were sedentary (no structured fitness training program within last six months) or minimally fit (PA ≤ 3 x week for 20 minutes); and were not taking any prescription medications for blood pressure, diabetes, or lipid control. On the first visit …

Glory Be Revival Of Neighborly Love, Calvin Burgamy

Art and Design Theses

This project is a video installation that includes filming the worship services of three small African American churches that exist within an area of rapid gentrification. Perhaps because of their tiny congregations, or racial makeup, these particular little churches seem hidden by a cloak of invisibility.

Family Attitudes, Beliefs, And Practices Facilitating A Sense Of Purpose In Black American Children And Youth: A Grounded Theory, Mallory Lynn Gary

Dissertations

i ABSTRACT Sense of purpose is strongly associated with positive health behaviors and academic achievement (Turner-Musa & Lipscomb, 2007, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics FIFCFS, 2010). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to develop grounded theory by the exploration of sense of purpose by describing and interpreting attitudes, beliefs, and practices among Black American families participating in an outreach program in Southern, IL. Grounded theory was used to explain the phenomenon of sense of purpose, and the relationship among optimism, faith, hope, spirituality and sense of meaning. A non probability purposive sample was used for …

Preventing Recidivism: Perspectivs On The Effectiveness Of The Juvenile Justice System In Meeting The Needs Of African American Youth With Ebd, Carmeann Foster

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Nearly two million young people, under the age of 18, are arrested each year nationwide (Gottesman & Schwarz, 2011). Of these youth, 70% are male, and 46 % are African American (McPherson & Sedlak, 2010). Approximately two thirds suffer from symptoms of aggression, depression or anxiety. Those who suffer from behavioral symptoms, 27% suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. (McPherson & Sedlak, 2010). Similar statistics exist within the Hennepin County justice system. These statistics paint a frightening picture of a system in which emotionally and behaviorally disturbed African American males are grossly overrepresented in both the local and national …

A Bed Of Butterflies, Erica Hardy

Theses

Why animate that? This question was posed to us animation students during our first week in graduate school. When one considers the amount of time, energy and money it takes to create an animated piece it is a good question to ask before starting. In the spring of 2009 I found myself asking this very question as I considered the story that I wanted to use for my thesis film. "A Bed of Butterflies" is a personal family story about my father's brother Keith, who died at the age of twenty-two of kidney failure. A real story about real people …

Natural Hair: A Content Analysis Of Black Hair Style And Texture On Youtube Videos, Toni Dominique Rowell

Theses

Within a society, the dominant ideology about aesthetics is instilled in individuals at a very early age. Hegemonic standards concerning the subject of hair style and texture has been an ongoing debate in the Black community for decades. A content analysis of videos on the video-sharing website YouTube was conducted to examine perceptions on African American women’s hair style, the relationship between the perceptions on hair style and gender, and the function of African American women’s’ hair styles as a status symbol. The sample consisted of 150 YouTube videos generated by using the keywords, “hair and Black women.” Three research …

The African American Experience In The City Of Memphis, 1860-1870, Nicholas Kovach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a study of African Americans in Memphis, Tennessee. The primary focus is on the transition from slavery to freedom, 1860-1870, and how the changing social structure affected and was influenced by AfricanAmerican agency. City, county, federal, and state records were used. Specifically, the Memphis Public Library, University of Memphis Special Collections, and Shelby County Archives served as sources of information. Additionally, a comprehensive bibliography of secondary sources was examined and utilized. Unique conditions existed in Memphis. Since its founding, extrememly oppressive conditions existed for slaves and free people of color, which created a resonating struggle for the African …

The Relations Of Ethnicity And Stress With Smoking, Nicole Lynn Workman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that African American teens are less likely to smoke than Caucasian teens, but prevalance of smoking among African American adults is nearly equal that of Caucasian adults. These findings suggest African Americans may increase their uptake of tobacco later in life. One variable that may contribute to the increase in smoking is stress. The current study sought to explore ethnic differences in the amount of stress as well as in the strength of the association of stress with smoking among African Amercian vs. Caucasian youth. This cross-sectional study examined 4,443 high school students recruited from the …

Silence Is Not Golden: Attitudes Towards Suicide In The African American Community, Latrice Wright

Africana Studies Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of African American college students as they relate to suicide. A questionnaire was distributed to 92 individuals in a computer classroom setting. Their responses were then analyzed to investigate whether ethnic identity salience influenced the students’ perspectives of suicide. Regression analysis revealed that ethnic identity salience did not influence acceptability and normality of suicide in the African American students. Analysis also demonstrated that ethnic identity salience did not effect whether the African American students viewed suicide as being related to mental or moral illness. Seventeen of those who took the …

Stop Snitching: Hip Hop's Influence On Crime Reporting In The Inner City, Ladel Lewis

Dissertations

The “stop snitching” phenomenon is a social epidemic that is affecting inner cities from coast to coast. These street politics have an adverse effect on the way individuals in the inner city view cooperation with police. With hip hop culture claiming a larger stake on the global stage, and mainstream artists sparking attention by denouncing cooperation with authorities while reproving others that choose to do so, this research examines if a relationship exists between individuals that adhere to the “code of silence” and self-professed hip hoppers. While much has been written about the significance of hip hop culture on the …

In Their Own Words: The Lived Experiences Of Unemployed African American Men, Kenlana R. Ferguson

Dissertations

Due to staggering unemployment rates, African American men's experience with work in the U.S. has historically received widespread attention in the media and social science literature. Terms such as black male unemployment crisis, puzzle, epidemic and catastrophe have been used to describe the unemployment woes of black. Attempts at explaining why African American men are experiencing such difficulty in the world of work has been undertaken across the disciplines, however much of this work has amounted to nothing more than acknowledgement that isolating independent factors as causes does not suffice and that a more interdisciplinary framework is needed if we …

Overcoming Adversity: Resilience Of Low-Income, Nonresidential, Black Fathers, Erica Elizabeth Coates

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective. This study examined the factors associated with higher levels of paternal involvement among low-income, nonresidential, Black fathers. Method. Participants were 110 fathers of children up to the age of 10. Participants completed psychometrically sound measures of social support, spirituality, family of origin relationships, coparenting relationship quality, psychological well-being, motivation, conviction history, resilience, and father involvement. Results. A simultaneous multiple regression indicated that better psychological well-being and coparenting relationship quality and lower conviction rates since the birth of the child were significant predictors of higher levels of paternal involvement. Mediational analysis revealed that coparenting relationship quality partially mediated the relationship …

Changes In Sexual Risk Perception And Risk Taking Among Urban African American Adolescents, Rosa M. Steen

Public Health Theses

Background: Adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 acquire nearly half of all new STDs in the United States, yet they represent only 25% of the sexually active population. Young men and women in this age group have the highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, especially in the African American population. Adolescent risk factors include having a history of pregnancy or STDs, being arrested or incarcerated, substance abuse, early sexual debut and having 4 or more lifetime sexual partners. Protective behaviors such as parental involvement, school enrollment, and consistent condom use have been associated with decreased incidence …

African American Male Student-Athletes: Identity And Academic Performance, Kathryn Mary O'Brien

Dissertations

The purpose of the current research was to examine racial, male and athletic identities and their individual and collective impact on the academic performance of African American male Division I student-athletes (AAMSAs). Data was collected using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI), the Male Role Norms Scale (MRNS), and the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). The MIBI is a measure of racial identity and is comprised of seven subscales: (1) centrality, (2) private regard, (3) public regard, (4) assimilation, (5) humanist, (6) minority, and (7) nationalist. The MRNS takes status, toughness and antifemininity into account to calculate a masculinity …