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“Fifty Years Of Our Whole Voice”: An Examination Of The History And Culture Leading To The Publication Of Fire!! Devoted To Younger Artists And Aiiieeeee!: An Anthology Of Asian American Writers, Joni Louise Johnson Williams

English Dissertations

According to African American literary theorist Henry Louis Gates, “the slave wrote not primarily to demonstrate humane letters, but to demonstrate his or her own membership in the human community” (128). Two efforts at this demonstration of community membership exist in the publication of the literary journal, Fire!!, written and published by African American artists and writers in 1926 and in the anthology AIIIEEEEE!, compiled and edited by Asian American writers and published in 1974. These compilations, published not quite fifty years apart, are direct responses and reactions to the efforts of the larger society to influence and/or …

Diversity Within Discrimination: Does Victim Nativity And Discriminator Race Matter For The Mental Health Of Blacks?, Aja Simpson Zulfiqar

Sociology Theses

The current study focuses on the variations in mental health effects due to the race of discriminators and the heterogeneity of the Black racial group. Using NSAL data, this study seeks to determine whether skin color discrimination has differing mental health impacts if it originates from a Black perpetrator versus a White one. The study examines these effects on both foreign-born and native-born Blacks to determine similarities and differences in their experiences in distress. The findings can provide a unique insight into diversity within the discrimination experience and inform interventions and policies that seek to improve the mental health among …

The Dissipation Of Urban High School Students' Post-Secondary Educational Aspirations And Career Planning During The College Choice Process, La Toro Yates

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Given the gap in the college choice literature about the decision-making process students use when making a decision on whether or not to attend college (McDonough & Calderone, 2010), the purpose of this study was to explore urban high school students’ perceptions of the structural factors that may influence their post-secondary educational aspirations and career plans. By working with students and guidance counselors at Sheridan High School, categorized as an urban high school but located in a rural area in the mid-Atlantic region of the country, the research team was able to gain information about how students navigate the college …

Literacy Practices In The Homes Of African American Families And Their Perceived Affects On The Language And Literacy Development Of Their Children, Delilah Ann Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the tenacities, practices, and discourse of family-based literacy practices and their connection in African American families. It scrutinized the influence of the practices of African American families on the multiple contexts of literacy practices in their passageway across the school-community periphery. The researcher used interviews, literacy practices blogs, and analyzing of literacy artifacts to identify and document the family literacy practices of five African American families with pre-school age children. The findings of the study revealed that each family shared some common literacy practices which may be associated with the ecology of …

Education On The Underground Railroad: A Case Study Of Three Communities In New York State (1820-1870), Lenora April Harris

Dissertations - ALL

In the mid-nineteenth century a compulsory education system was emerging that allowed all children to attend public schools in northern states. This dissertation investigates school attendance rates among African American children in New York State from 1850-1870 by examining household patterns and educational access for African American school-age children in three communities: Sandy Ground, Syracuse, and Watertown. These communities were selected because of their involvement in the Underground Railroad. I employed a combination of educational and social history methods, qualitative and quantitative. An analysis of federal census reports, state superintendent reports, city directories, area maps, and property records for the …

Ideal Dating And Sexual Partners For Low-Income Heterosexual African American Adolescents, Darnell Nathaniel Motley

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Dating and sexual relationships among adolescents have been identified as both normative and beneficial. However, the research examining the dating and sexual relationships of African American adolescents has been narrow in scope, focusing primarily on risks of intimate partner violence, pregnancy, and STI/HIV transmission. This myopic focus has left a gap in the literature as it relates to the normative aspects of dating and sexual relationships for these youth.

The present study sought to better understand the dating and sexual partner preferences of 51 African American adolescents (male = 32, female = 19) recruited from Chicago and San Francisco. The …

Overcoming Barriers: Black Women At Boeing, Cheryl M. Coney

MAIS Projects and Theses

This research looks at the lives of Black Women in the Pacific Northwest working at Boeing during World War II. Using historical research, archived records and oral history the experiences of Black Women Rosies are documented. Oral histories from Katie Burks and Ruth Render two of the first Black Women employed at Boeing during World War II offer personal insights into barriers Black Women faced and how they overcame these obstacles with activism to build strong communities and a better workplace.

Understanding African American Male Inmates’ Decisions To Seek Mental Health Treatment While Incarcerated, Darnell A. Durrah Jr.

Dissertations (1934 -)

Incarceration in United States correctional facilities has significantly increased in the past decade (The Pew Charitable Trust, 2009). African American adult males are more likely to be incarcerated compared to all other major ethnic groups (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). One of the current challenges experienced within correctional facilities is the need to provide appropriate mental health treatment services (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011). Studies have noted the need for such services, however, African American adult males generally are not likely to utilize these services (Morgan et al., 2004). In the general (not incarcerated) population, research has found that cultural …

Effects Of Racism And Discrimination On Personality Development Among African American Male Repeat Offenders, Tiffany Nicole Lockett

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Effects of Racism and Discrimination on Personality Development among

African American Male Repeat Offenders

Tiffany Nicole Lockett

Throughout history in the United States, the African American community has consistently been the victim of social policies put in place to disenfranchise this population (Mauer & Chesney-Lind, 2002; Painter, 2007; Parham, White & Ajamu, 1999). With a longstanding presence of systemic racism and discrimination, the criminal justice system and the dominant culture continues to pathologize this minority group and advocate for increased penalties which further stigmatize African Americans, particularly males in this group (Reiman, 1996; Russell, 1998). Though most criminology research …

The Long Term Effects Of Racial Socialization Of African American Sons Through Communication Patterns From Their Mothers, Jacqueline A. Johnson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study explored the long-term effects of racial socialization patterns from African American mothers to their sons to discover whether they are enhancing or impeding the wellbeing the African American males. While several distinct socialization types emerge throughout the literature with egalitarian, and barrier socialization messages predominating, the measures have focused primarily on the effects of racial socialization on academic performance. This qualitative study attempted to illuminate a gap in the literature: the long-term effects of mother to son racial socialization messages as evidenced by the limited research examining the later life experiences of adult African American men. The results …

The Perceived Role Of Biological Father Contact In The Self-Estem Development Of Young African American Women : An Exploratory Study, Kendra R. Archer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study was designed to explore how young self-identified women of African American and African descent describe the connection between their father-daughter relationships and their self-esteem development. This exploratory study presents findings and narratives from the perspectives of 14 self-identified women of African American and African descent between the ages of 22- 30 who had face-to face contact with their biological fathers for at least five years throughout their lives. It was expected that the African American women in this study would speak to their experiences of paternal love or rejection in ways, which were tied positively or negatively …

An Exploration Of The Lives Of Young, African American Women With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Sarah Bollinger

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Compared to other subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer: TNBC) accounts for a disproportionate number of metastatic cases and cancer deaths. Glaring disparities are present in the occurrence of TNBC, such that those diagnosed are more likely to be African American: prevalence of 26% vs. 16% in non-African Americans) and premenopausal: 24% vs. 15% postmenopausal). A critical factor to consider regarding the disparities associated with TNBC is the evidence documenting the link between psychosocial stress over the life course and the occurrence of large, aggressive tumors that are characteristic of this subtype. Because issues such as crime, isolation, stress, …

Individual And Community Factors Associated With Thriving Among African American Adolescents In The Context Of Stressors, Adia Shani Gooden

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used the transactional-ecological framework along with principles from positive youth development literature to examine naturally occurring individual and contextual factors

that promote thriving among African American adolescents. Specifically, this study examined how religiosity, religious support, racial identity, and communalism relate to thriving. This study

also assessed the negative influence of stressors on thriving in order to understand how thriving manifests in the context of risk factors. This cross-sectional study included 152 youth

participants who were surveyed at five Black churches on the south side of Chicago. Structural equation modeling was used to assess whether the proposed model fit …

Preventing Post - Treatment Relapse Among African American Adolescents And Young Adult Marijuana Users Through Effective Treatment Interventions: A Proposed Intervention For Metro-Atlanta, Charlotte E. Robinson Ms

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: Marijuana use, although illegal in the majority of states, is increasingly becoming acceptable for use in the United States. There are dangerous public health consequences associated with marijuana use—including: impaired driving, loss of productivity in workplaces and school settings, as well as mental health impacts. In Atlanta, the majority of residents (54.0%) are African American. Emergency room use is double for African American Fulton County residents compared to their Caucasian counterparts and approximately 1/5 of the total population receiving public health treatment identify marijuana as the primary drug of use, with 57% of those being African Americans. Despite these …

Factors Associated With Hiv Among Heterosexual African American Adults Aged 50 Years And Older In Ten Zip Codes Of Atlanta, Georgia, 2005-2011, Grace Marriott

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: The fastest growing segment of the U.S. population is among individuals aged 50 and older. However, advanced age is not protective against HIV.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to examine individual characteristics (gender, age, education) as well as environmental and behavioral factors (doctor visits and IDU) that may be linked with HIV status among older heterosexual African American adults. The factors associated with HIV status that were examined include education level, IDU within the last six months, non-injected drugs that were used within the last six months and the length of time since the last doctor visit. …

Black English And Culture Meet The Mainstream Classroom, Giselle Robitaille

MA TESOL Collection

Learning English can often be a critical factor in people’s lives, and the choice to disengage from learning out of sheer frustration can have devastating psychological and social effects for people who need to acquire English in order to be able to fulfill academic, personal and professional goals. While I was not able to find statistics on a global level, it is easy to believe that English language learners do disengage frequently. This is most obvious in the United States where the Standard English (SE) model of teaching black children has resulted in a high level of disengagement with learning …

Examining The Factors That Contributed To The Retention And Graduation Of African American Males At The University Of Louisville., Kia Marie Pruitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American males have the highest college attrition rates of all races and genders (Harper, 2006a). Federal reports indicate that 54.4%of White males finish their college degrees, compared with 33.1% of African American males (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). The 21.3 percentage point disparity leads many to believe that African American male students may need special attention in order to close the gap. Understanding how Black male graduates succeeded and avoided obstacles which could have potentially contributed to their attrition will help colleges take a proactive stance and implement strategies to support and safeguard other Black male students facing similar …

Parenting Style Differences In Black American And White American Young Adults, Sarah Lynette Mcmurtry

Dissertations

Baumrind’s (1967) theory of parenting style influenced over 40 years of parenting research, which found authoritative parenting as the optimal parenting style. Authoritarian and parenting styles have been linked to worse adjustment and achievement for child outcomes (Baumrind, 1967; Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, & Dornbusch, 1994) than children in authoritative-parented homes. In 1972, Baumrind described racial differences in parent-child relations and outcomes between authoritarian Black American and White American parents and preschoolers (1975). In comparison to White American parents, Black Americans exhibited authoritarian parenting that was less rejecting and associated with communication and warmth (Baumrind, 1975; Murry, Brody, & Simons, …

Counseling Religious African Americans: Implications For A Social Justice Model Of Intervention, Rachelle Delorse Smith

Dissertations

Due to a complex history of unethical societal and medical practices towards African Americans from U.S. institutions such as the U.S. Public Health Services and Johns Hopkins Hospital, a consistent lack of collaborative relationships between the African American religious community and the professional counseling community has emerged. Thus, some religious African Americans who may have needed counseling services did not receive them, as Black churches commonly dismiss the relevancy and necessity of professional counseling. The purpose of this theory-building study was to examine the perceptions that lead to such dismissals and, inspired by action research approaches, derive the best methods …

African American Muslim Women: Navigating Racial And Religious Identities, Margaret Ann Parrish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the events of 9/11, a large amount of scholarship has been dedicated to uncovering information regarding the experiences of foreign Muslims living in the United States, while very little attention has been paid to the experiences of African American Muslims. This study seeks to remedy that gap by focusing on the experiences of African American Muslim women who wear a hijab throughout their day-to-day lives. Four women were chosen for this study and interview questions were developed with a specific focus on how they navigate both their religious and racial identities on a daily basis. Beginning research from the …

Navigating The Path Toward Graduation: A Qualitative Case Study Of African American Male Persistence At A Predominantly White Institution, Lamont D. Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While higher education personnel continue to be challenged in fostering student persistence, they are especially perplexed with how to promote higher persistence and retention rates among African American men. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how African American male undergraduate students persist at a predominantly white institution. Interactionalist Theory and the Conceptual Model of Black Student Attrition were helpful in framing this study.Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand how 11 African American men persist in higher education. The critical incident technique was use to learn about obstacles these men encounter in their educational paths. Data analysis …

Educating The Globe: Foreign Students And Cultural Exchange At Tuskegee Institute, 1898-1935, Brian Marc Edward Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a comprehensive and comparative analysis of foreign students at Tuskegee Institute between 1892 and 1935. During this time, aspiring young people from the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia coalesced on the rural Alabama campus, creating a unique cultural space. It became a space not only for intellectual exchange, but also for cultural pride, political solidarity, and global exchange. Although much has been written about the school's founder, Booker T. Washington, very little has been written about the role his school played in forging and sustaining a global community. This dissertation charts the cultural, historical, and contextual significance of …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Women With Breast Cancer: Implications For Counselors, Latasha K. Clay

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative phenomenological methodology was used to explore the lived experiences of African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. Phenomenology focuses on the meaning of the lived experiences of individuals experiencing a concept, structure, or phenomenon (Creswell, 2007). The purpose of phenomenological research is to identify phenomena as perceived by the individual. Utilizing an existential perspective, the focus of this study was to uncover meaning which defined the essence of the participants’ experiences. Seven African American women diagnosed with breast cancer participated in this study. The participants’ ages ranged from 33-63 years. A semi-structured interview process with open-ended questions was utilized …

Folk Medicine Use Among The Gullah: Bridging The Gap Between Folk Medicine And Westernized Medicine, Tiara S. Banks

Africana Studies Theses

This study examined the practice of folk medicine among a group of African Americans living on the coast of the Sea Islands, the Gullah/Geechee. The Gullah/Geechee are descendants of enslaved Africans, transported from Western and West-Central Africa, who have preserved their African influenced culture consisting of language, food ways, rituals, and folk beliefs. Twenty members of the Gullah/Geechee community, including three nurses, participated in this study consisting of semi-structured interviews relating to the use of folk medicine. The findings revealed folk medicine use was linked to family influence and traditions, spirituality, mistrust of the medical community, dual health care, lack …

The Role Of Empowerment In The Job Search Process Of Re-Entering African American Men, Chloe Jackson

Africana Studies Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Black men experienced empowerment throughout the process of employment preparation. This study also sought to give voice to this population regarding their experience in this process. A definition of empowerment, posed by Barbara Solomon of “empowerment theory”, was used to understand the process of empowerment the study participants may have experienced. Nine African American male former offenders who had participated in a job readiness program, and are 18 and older, were interviewed about the preparation they received, and how they perceived this training effected their pursuit of agency, employment, and recidivism.

The Lived Experience Of African American Nurses Who Attended Predominantly White University Baccalaureate Programs: Characteristics Of Success And Resilience, Carmen A. Stokes

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the lived experiences of successful African-American nurses who attended baccalaureate programs at predominantly White universities (PWUs). Only 5.4% of the national registered nurse workforce is identified as African American; yet African-American citizens account for approximately 12.9% of the United States' population, and 24% of all enrollments in nursing programs nationwide is composed of African-American students. Past nursing education research has almost exclusively focused on the deficits of African-American students. This dissertation study focuses on a gap in the literature because it addresses the strengths and attributes of those African-American students who succeed, thereby contributing to an …

Instrument Development: Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, And Youth Emotional Support, Jaquaye Russell

Theses and Dissertations

The role of forgiveness, anger, and emotional support, among the adolescent population, continues to receive significant interest among the research community. To date, there are no measures of forgiveness, anger, and emotional support that have exclusively examined these constructs among the African-American, adolescent population within a short-term, specified amount of time. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of perceived level of anger, support, and forgiveness among African-American adolescents. In addition, these measures were specifically created to be utilized in future research to capture the relational dimension between level of perceived anger, forgiveness, and support …

Disrupting Discourses Of Failure: Counter Narratives Of Black Male Students And Academic Success, Brandi N. Williams

Pan African Studies - Theses

In the twenty-first century, African-American males continue to be significantly "left behind" academically in comparison with other ethnicities and even compared to their female counterparts. Nonetheless, there appears to be one school that has been situated to have the "antidote" for this gap. This working case study draws on an interview methodology to investigate the programming experiences of alumni, former faculty, current faculty, and administration from a predominantly all-Black male school with a reported 100 percent graduation rate that is situated in the nation's third largest school district. Through a critical race theoretical lens, the interviews present narratives that counter …

The Courage To Speak: Breaking The Silence Of Sexual Assault In The African American Community, Kiana Williams

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Sexual assault is a heinous crime that plagues individuals, families, and communities. The stigma associated with this crime often prevents those who are victimized, from telling anyone about these occurrences. Although both men and women, regardless of demographics, are sexually assaulted, the experiences of African American women were of particular interest to the researcher. African American survivors face cultural and societal pressures, which significantly inhibit them from breaking the silence after being assaulted. In response, the researcher investigated the following question: What empowers African American women to speak up after their sexual assault? This was a qualitative study; participants were …

Discriminating Tastes: How Advertisements Taught Consumerism And Race To Gilded Age Youths, Jaclyn Schultz

Theses and Dissertations

Commercial and social trends of the Gilded Age combined to give a unique and novel power to colorful advertising trade cards that were collected, exchanged, and preserved in scrapbooks by middle-class children living in the Northeast. These children were members of one of the earliest generations to grow up with mandatory co-educational schooling and to be part of a distinctive youth culture created through peer interactions. After 1876, advertising trade cards became ubiquitous and were a significant component of that peer culture. The cards were also innovative in that they were the first example of colored images to be made …