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Joseph Lowery And The Resurrection Of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Deric A. Gilliard Mr.

Africana Studies Theses

ABSTRACT

Joseph Echols Lowery, a key founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, led the organization for twenty years. This study explores how Lowery, who took over during an era when many considered the civil rights movement dead, reenergized the SCLC, became a leading black spokesman who challenged Congress, presidents and the Justice Department around issues of voting rights and social justice, while consistently questioning U.S. hegemonic international and domestic policies around jobs and poverty. This research further investigates how Lowery fought for the continuation of affirmative action in the midst of an oftentimes hostile environment and …

Art For Whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature, Ebony Z. Gibson

Africana Studies Theses

This exploratory qualitative study describes the criteria that African American Literature professors use in defining what is African American Literature. Maulana Karenga’s black arts framework shaped the debates in the literature review and the interview protocol; furthermore, the presence or absence of the framework’s characteristics were discussed in the data analysis. The population sampled was African American Literature professors in the United States who have no less than five years experience. The primary source of data collection was in-depth interviewing. Data analysis involved open coding and axial coding. General conclusions include: (1) The core of the African American Literature definition …

Conscious Rap Music: Movement Music Revisited A Qualitative Study Of Conscious Rappers And Activism, Ife J. Mohammed-Akinyela

Africana Studies Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore how conscious rap is used as a form of activism. Interviews of conscious rappers based in Atlanta, GA were used to understand this relationship. In order to complete this investigation, ten unsigned conscious rappers were given a series of questions to explore their involvement as activist; some of these artist were also recruited based on affiliations with political organizations based in Atlanta, GA. By gathering interviews from conscious rappers who consider their music as a form of activism, scholars of African American Studies may further understand the role of music and political …

Towards A Common Center: Locating Common Characteristics Of African Centeredness In An Independent African Centered Learning Environment, Garfield R. Bright Jr

Africana Studies Theses

As a culturally relevant alternative to traditional public school environments, Independent African Centered schools feature a particular type of culturally relevant pedagogy. This study explored the teachers’ and administrator’s perceptions and applications of African Centered pedagogy in an African Centered school. Interviews, observations and a document review served as the source of data for this study. This basic interpretive study utilized a qualitative research design to explore the perceptions and application of African Centeredness among the participants.

An analysis of the data revealed categories and themes related to the school’s mission and the participants’ perceptions and performance of African-centered pedagogy. …

Racial Formation In A "Post" Racial Society: How Are College Students Being Prepared For Tomorrow?, Kinyatta N. Trice

Africana Studies Theses

Post racialism has emerged as a new racial project that could impact the distribution of resources in society. The resources that stand to be impacted by this ideology are social reform policies, social capital availability, access to professional and academic opportunities. This study explored how post racial ideology impacted the professional development of college students between the ages of 18-30. Students were recruited through flyers and snowball sampling. Ten students participated in semi-structured interviews that lasted from 30-60 minutes. Interviews were the sole source of data for this study. A qualitative case study methods was used to gather information in …

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 …