Digital Commons Network^™

The Perceptions Of Black Teachers Regarding The Work Environment In Predominately White Schools P-12, Rhonda Lankford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of Black teachers in predominately White P-12 schools, and focused on examining the external and internal challenges that Black teachers face who work in predominately White schools. Voices are sometimes ignored or muted in a society dominated by the majority White culture. This study will allow readers to experience the narratives of Black educators who work in these environments. The educators selected for this study were purposefully chosen from predominately White school districts. The researcher interviewed each subject in a semi-structured interview environment to gather data. Results of interviews lead to the emergence of …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Social Capital And Its Influence On Baccalaureate Degree Completion Of First-Generation African American Men At The University Of Louisville., Joseph Marshall Goodman Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation was designed to examine influences which various forms of social capital have on post-secondary degree attainment of first-generation individuals who self-identify as African American men. Additionally, the sample population consisted of Black men who successfully matriculated to earn baccalaureate credentials across differing academic disciplines at a public historically White institution located in the mid-south region of the United States. The research data was extracted from one-on-one, semi-structured interviews using authentic dialogue through open-ended questions. Theoretical paradigms of the study involved a phenomenological approach and an ontological philosophical assumption, integrated with critical theory, critical race theory and social …

Understanding The Traditions And Experiences Of African American Hunters, Ezekiel Adesawe

All Theses

Hunting is a significant cultural, economic, and wildlife management activity in the United States. However, African Americans remain underrepresented among hunters, with limited research to understand their perspectives and experiences. Hence, this study employed an exploratory focus group method design to profile African American hunters' real and perceived experiences, traditions, and needs. The interviews were conducted with 67 African American hunters from all regions across the country. The interview data were analyzed through thematic coding to construct key themes. Key findings from this study revealed that hunting is a strong tradition within African American communities that has been passed down …

Resilience In Fatherhood: Exploring The Impact Of Absent Fathers On Black American Men's Parenting Narratives And Practices, Ericah Thomas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explores the role of Black American fathers and how they parent in the absence of their fathers growing up. Though a common narrative frames Black fathers as largely absent in the lives of their children, recent literature has aimed to demystify societal factors that may lead to this judgment. Influences such as media representation, welfare policies, and child support laws may contribute to the preservation of this trope (Rambert, 2021). Considering this misconception, it is important to advance the knowledge regarding Black fatherhood through their lived experiences despite circumstances that may perpetuate this myth.

The primary goal of …

Amplify Your Narrative: Exploring The Power Of Storytelling With African American And Indigenous Communities In Pediatric Cancer Treatment, Trinity K. Perry

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review investigated the empowering nature of storytelling with Black and Indigenous communities undergoing pediatric cancer treatment. It explored the roles of systemic racism, anti-Black racism, culture, spirituality, and intersectionality in shaping narratives about westernized healthcare. Furthermore, the review examined the concepts of anti-black racism, systemic racism, racial disparities in westernized healthcare, marginalized children’s experience in pediatric cancer treatment, storytelling in African American and Indigenous communities, and storytelling through the lens of drama therapy. Evidence is presented that underlines the psychological impact of the previously mentioned components, and how community engagement and storytelling provide a means of attunement, hope, …

Police Brutality: The Nexus Between Historical Injustices, Police Culture And The African American Experience, Claude M. Rhone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study focused on the harassment, maltreatment, and brutality of African Americans by police officers. The recent widespread condemnation and social justice protests in response to incidents of police brutality point to historical injustices inherent to the culture of policing. Slavery provides the overarching backdrop; however, Jim Crow laws cultivated the structural adaptations necessary to fulfill segregation between African Americans and Whites. The American policing model, which evolved from slave patrols to public entities, continued as an apparatus in the marginalization and disenfranchisement of African Americans. The narrative of “defunding the police” suggests that the past’s cultural proximity renders the …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perception Of Racial Unity In Evangelical Churches In Chicago, Amber L. Harvey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

“Racism in the United States is part of a much older and global phenomenon” that has effects that are seen “today in hearts, minds, and institutions” (Lovelace, 2021, p. 67). Regarding the African American population, housing discrimination continues to be an obstacle to families (Burke et al., 2018), racist systems have led to collateral damage in the health of adults (Bleich et al., 2019), and African American men constitute approximately 25% of police shooting victims (Schwartz, 2020). This study seeks to examine if racism has infiltrated into the local church. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore …

Parp-Ish: Gaps In Molecular Understanding And Clinical Trials Targeting Parp Exacerbate Racial Disparities In Prostate Cancer, Moriah L. Cunningham, Matthew J. Schiewer

Department of Urology Faculty Papers

PARP is a nuclear enzyme with a major function in the DNA damage response. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have been developed for treating tumors harboring homologous recombination repair (HRR) defects that lead to a dependency on PARP. There are currently three PARPi approved for use in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), and several others are in clinical trials for this disease. Recent clinical trial results have reported differential efficacy based on the specific PARPi utilized as well as patient race. There is a racial disparity in PCa, where African American (AA) males are twice as likely to develop and die from the …

Just What They Have Been Looking For: The Significance, Importance, And Journey Of The Negro Motorist Green Book In The State Of South Carolina And The City Of Columbia In The Twentieth Century, Justice Iyana Briscoe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Travel and tourism in the United States had become an essential pastime for all social classes by the end of the nineteenth century going into the twentieth century. Due to segregation, however, only whites were able to thoroughly enjoy this glorious luxury openly. African Americans during this time had to find ways to enjoy this pastime while avoiding the constant discrimination, humiliation, and embarrassment that came with traveling. From this need were created black travel guides such as the highly successful Negro Motorist Green Book produced by African American businessman and entrepreneur Victor Hugo Green. From 1936 to 1966, Green’s …

African American Women’S Perceptions Of A Group Based, Diabetic Medical Nutritional Therapy Intervention: A Qualitative Study, Megan Mcmahon, Laura Gray

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: African American women exhibit lower rates of attaining recommended diabetes management goals such as optimal blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure numbers compared to other racial and gender groups. As a result, they bear a disproportionate burden of the adverse outcomes associated with poorly managed type 2 diabetes, including increased complications and mortality rates compared to other demographic groups. Despite favorable qualitative findings regarding group-based interventions for African American women with other chronic diseases, a notable gap in the literature exists regarding the women’s perceptions of a group-based medical nutritional therapy tailored to type 2 diabetes. Purpose: This scholarly …

An Examination Of The Impediments To Implementing Student-Centered Teaching Methods In Public Schools, Nicole R H Adewale, Robert L. Bloch, Garry D. Gibbs

Dissertations

In education, traditional methods have long relied upon static textbooks and blackboards to impart knowledge to students. Unfortunately, the lack of dynamism with this approach has failed to foster creativity, motivation, inquiry, individualization, and other practices crucial to serving diverse learners, especially Black children. We sought to uncover barriers and potential solutions to this problem by elevating the voices of educators, from classroom teachers to building and district administrators, at a predominantly African-American suburban secondary school in the Midwest.

We designed a qualitative research study to answer a single yet layered research question: What impedes Black students from experiencing and …

"Great Injustice In American Literature": African American Girlhood In Black And White Authored Children's Publications, 1887-1920, Becca Driggs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of African American girls in creating and dismantling nineteenth-century race myths through a comparison of publications in black and white authored presses. Fictional stories published in St. Nicholas, the most popular turn-of-the-century children’s magazine, reveal that white authors, specifically Southern women, intentionally crafted narratives demeaning African American girls to cement a national racial hierarchy. Their work indoctrinated white children in racism and undermined African American legitimacy in the decades following the Civil War and Reconstruction. Concurrently, black authors recognized these attacks and in their press explored the lived experiences of African American girls to counter …

Diabetic Coaching Program To Improve African American Patients Glycemic Control, Shonda Moore

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The purpose of the practice problem was to find out if, among African Americans with type II diabetes who are over 18, adopting a diabetic coaching program that emphasizes diet management can result in better glycemic control over 10 weeks than for those who do not receive coaching.

PICOT: In African Americans with type II diabetes over 18 years of age (P), does a diabetic coaching program on diet management (I), compared to no coaching program (C), improve glycemic control (O) over 10 weeks (T)?

Evidence: The evidence used to guide this project came from databases, including PubMed, …

Antislavery White Supremacists And The Mistreatment Of African Americans In Indiana, 1787-1870, Mark A. King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Conventional wisdom holds that Indiana was always predominantly antislavery because it had begun as a territory of the United States under the Northwest Territory Act of 1787, which prohibited slavery; however, this is incorrect. This northern state had about as much proslavery sentiment as most states in the South. The state wrestled with the issue in the legislative session after the legislative session and court case after court case for decades during the antebellum period. Prominent settlers and state organizers petitioned Congress to allow the Indiana Territory to become a slave region. After statehood, proslavery forces continued to push for …

Addressing Weight In Primary Care: Perspectives Of African American Young Adults With Serious Mental Illness, Sang Qin, Lindsay Sheehan, Janis Sayer, Kristin S. Williams, Julius Mercer, Ashley Scott, Tevin Anderson

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

Young adults with serious mental illness (SMI) experience disproportionate rates of physical illness. Morbidity and mortality are even worse for young African Americans with SMI, especially those who are overweight. Primary care physicians (PCPs) have an important role in addressing weight management. Current research explored these young patient’s perceptions of weight management and how PCPs can best address their weight concerns. Using community-based participatory research, we interviewed 25 African American aged 18-30 who were overweight and had a SMI. Results revealed 1) patient perceptions around weight and 2) patient preferences. Participants identified both positive and negative aspects of being overweight, …

Microvascular Vasoregulatory Dysfunction In African Americans - An Enhanced Opportunity For Early Prevention And Treatment Of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, Renee Bullock-Palmer, Panithaya Chareonthaitawee, Ervin Fox, Garth Beache

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and its risk factors and precursors are a major driver of disparities in cardiovascular health. This review examines reported evidence that vascular endothelial dysfunction, and its manifestation as coronary microvascular dysfunction, underlies observed excess morbidity and mortality in African Americans. Advanced imaging insights that reveal patho-mechanisms, along with population evidence from the Jackson Heart Study, and the growing evidence emanating from national and international clinical trials and registries are presented. We examine a physiological framework that recognizes insulin-resistant cardiometabolic underpinnings of the conditions of the American Heart Associations' Life's Essential Eight construct of cardiovascular health as a …

Continuing The Legacy: Navigating Grief And Loss While Pursuing A Degree, Sharon Lewis, Hope Charles, Nivischi Edwards

National Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change

A 2013 study found 74.8% of Black girls graduated high school, while only 37.6% of the Black females in early adulthood were enrolled in college (Kalu, 2022). The added pressure of navigating grief while also endeavoring higher education only exacerbates that statistic. Learning to process grief healthfully is a useful lesson to ensure one’s ability to thrive during their grief.

Disability Representations And Portrayals In Picture Books With The Coretta Scott King Award, Sohyun Meacham, Shuaib J. Meacham, Irenea Walker, Bryce Davis

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study analyzed how people with disabilities are portrayed in picture books with the Coretta Scott King Award (CSKA) to address the intersectionality of African/African American racial identity and disabilities. Disability critical race theory was foundational for this study. The pool of 134 picture books that received the CSKA from 1971 to 2020 was used as the data for the systematic content analysis. For analysis, the researchers utilized a qualitative approach that guided axial coding and selective coding in looking for emerging themes. They found that 13 picture books portrayed African/African American characters with disabilities. The majority of these books …

Race-Related Stress, Medical Mistrust, Covid-19 Worry, And Covid-19 Vaccination Behavior Among African Americans, Lisa A. Cash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, nearly 104 million cases and over 1.1 million deaths from novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported overall, but African Americans have been disproportionately affected. Nevertheless, this population has demonstrated the lowest intention to be vaccinated and lowest vaccination rates of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The research problem addressed by this study is African American COVID-19 health disparities. The purpose of this investigation was to examine factors that influence COVID-19 vaccination behavior among African Americans, which is important to better understand how to achieve health equity. Using the health belief model …

Understanding Complicated Grief, Resilience, And Coping Skills In African American Women: A Phenomenological Study, Gyna M. Grant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Complicated grief can have an impact on the resiliency and coping skills of African American women in ways that can be damaging in their daily life routines. Research studies have focused on the female population affected by complicated grief, but none of these studies have looked specifically at the African American female population. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences and resiliency of African American women coping with complicated grief following significant loss utilizing an open-ended survey. The population for this study was African American women, living in the southern areas of Connecticut, who …

Exploring The Teacher Perceptions Of The Overrepresentation Disciplinary Actions Against African American Male Elementary School Students, Amber Hill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership, teachers, and parents have observed significantly disproportionate discipline of African American students at urban elementary schools located in Ohio, despite the implementation of positive behavior intervention supports (PBIS). This basic qualitative study explored teacher perceptions of the overrepresentation of disciplinary actions amongst African American male elementary students in a regional school system in Ohio. The conceptual framework for this study was derived from Ladson-Billings’ theory of culturally relevant pedagogy and Skinner’s operant conditioning, which supports the PBIS framework. The research questions focused on the teachers’ perceptions and recommendations about training, resources, and support they need to address the overrepresentation …

Personal Power Tactics African American Female Superintendents Employ To Overcome Four Identified Self-Sabotaging Behaviors, Angela Brantley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-method study was to identify and describe personal power tactics that African American female superintendents employ to overcome the four identified self-sabotaging behaviors from the Self Sabotaging Framework adapted from Lerner (2012), Ryder and Briles (2003).

Methodology: This study identified and described the lived experiences of seven female African American superintendents across the United States. This research design encompassed a sequential data collection method using an electronic survey instrument, followed by one-on-one interviews. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher was able to triangulate data using the trends, categories, and patterns …

“And So My Soul Shall Rise”: Enslaved And Free African American Christianity Before Emancipation, Holly J. Lawson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

The Christianity of enslaved and free African Americans in the years immediately following the first Great Awakening through the end of the Civil War (roughly 1750-1850) evidences a complex cultural fusion and a complicated theological depth. There were many different aspects of the religious and spiritual practices of these African American Christians, including preaching, baptism, ecstatic spiritual experiences, evangelism, violent and non-violent forms of resistance to slavery, and, possibly the most prevalent of all, music and singing. The hundreds of thousands of African people unwillingly brought to America brought with them their African heritage, but the survival of their African …

The Black Arts And Black Power Movements In The Artwork Of John T. Riddle, Jr., Isabella Vitti

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the under-studied work of the Black sculptor John T. Riddle, Jr. and how he was influenced by the politics of Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Police brutality, the Vietnam War, the Black Power Movement, and the Watts uprising had a major impact on Riddle’s work.

Housing Equity In Golden Gate Village, Nicole White

Social Justice | Senior Theses

For generations, the African American community has faced many forms of housing discrimination that have created major inequalities in their everyday lived experiences (Lockwood, 2020). This study explores the long-lasting effects of discriminatory housing policies in creating disparate housing conditions within the public housing community in Marin City called Golden Gate Village, as well as the role of the Marin Housing Authority in practices of displacement and neglect. The methodology for the study included seven different interviews with Golden Gate Village residents to obtain knowledge about the community as well as grasp an understanding of the lived experiences of the …

Social Support In Black Individuals: The Moderating Effects On The Relationship Between Resilience And Well-Being, Imani Elise Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black individuals possess numerous strengths and positive contributions that build strong communities and cultivate psychological well-being (Biglan et al., 2012). However, much of the current literature focuses on hardships Black individuals face, skewing the larger discourse of their lived experience. This exclusive focus on adversity often neglects pathways by which Black people thrive and flourish. It is important to consider how Black experiences relate to a sense of well-being. Resilience, or the ability to “bounce back” from adverse experiences is linked well-being outcomes (APA, 2012). However, it is unknown whether the promotive effects of resilience directly contribute to well-being outcomes …

Relations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Substance Use In Adolescents And Emerging Adults: The Moderating Role Of Exposure To Community Violence And Community Support And Community Recognition, Kiara Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Due to historical and current systemic racial inequities, African American adolescents and emerging adults living in low-income urban communities bear the burden of higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and exposure to community violence. Both exposure to ACEs and community violence are linked to higher levels of substance use. However, limited research exists on how exposure to community violence exacerbates the association between ACEs and higher frequencies of substance use in adolescence and emerging adulthood. There is also a need to understand how community-level protective factors may weaken the relations between ACEs and higher rates of substance use. The …

Improving Heart Health In African Americans Using A Cardiovascular Disease Bundle, Loretta N. Bennam

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant cause of mortality in the United States of America. Risk factors include abnormal low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets. African American (AA) adults have higher mortality rates from CVD than other demographics. In Houston, Texas, age-adjusted death rates for CVD per 100,000 population by race in AAs were 111, 85.0 in Whites, 62.9 in Hispanics, and 49.5 in Asians. This project evaluated the impact of using a CVD bundle over an eight-week period on cholesterol medication adherence, physical activity, and heart disease knowledge and was titled Improving Heart Health in African …

Addressing Disparity: A Waiting Room Intervention For Preeclampsia Prevention In African Americans, Morgan Semana

Nursing | Senior Theses

Maternal mortality is a pressing, global concern that particularly affects African American women in the United States. African American women face disproportionately a high maternal mortality rate (MMR), with rates more than double that of white women. Preeclampsia emerges as the leading cause of maternal mortality in African American women, driving the need for targeted interventions. To address this issue, a proposed research study aims to investigate the impact of a nurse-led, waiting room, preeclampsia and aspirin effectiveness educational intervention on the knowledge and preeclampsia rates among African American women. The study draws upon existing evidence that supports the use …

Guide To The Godwin Sadoh Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Dr. Godwin Sadoh is a Nigerian composer, educator, church musician, organist, pianist, choral conductor, and ethnomusicologist. He holds music degrees from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; the University of Pittsburgh; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, where he became the first African to receive a doctoral degree in organ performance from any institution in the world. The collection holds scores, publications, books, and recorded music