Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Be: Fall/Winter 2023–2024 Issue, Be: A Journal Of Black Experimental And Interdisciplinary Work

Publications and Research

Our fall/winter issue explores, with a cool and objective eye, memory and history; it may give you some necessary de ja vu, as we think of family, books, and films we want to preserve. This is our interview/review issue, and we’ve spoken to people or reviewed work that seems necessary for building better futures. Our interview with Amos White argues for the preservation of life-giving and life-affirming trees. We’ve also included reviews of heart-opening books — Tara Christina’s “More than a Drop” and Caron Knauer’s “American Slavery on Film” — that reinforce the significance of familial and collective memory. And …

Recipes For Life: Black Women, Cooking, And Memory, Elspeth Mckay

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

This paper examines cookbooks written by Black women from the mid eighteenth to late twentieth centuries. As cookbooks, these texts are practical and instructional, while also offering insights into the transnational development of food as an expression of cultural history through the Indigenous, African, and European influences evident within the cuisine. African Americans, and more specifically Black women, have contributed to the food history of the Southern United States by developing a distinct African American cuisine. As the author, I reflect on what it means for me – as a white Canadian woman in a border city – to be …

Internalized Oppression: Exploring The Nuanced Experiences Of Gender And Sexuality In Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Kathryn Kendal Ryan

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

In the American South at the turn of the century, quality education was scarce and legislative laws were put in place to ensure that African American individuals remained far away from Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). As a result, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) became a catalyst for change in a “separate but equal” driven society. This article will explore the significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in elevating Black Americans throughout the twentieth century while assessing the conservative nature of the institutions and their inflexibility towards the various nuances of African American communities. While not particular to HCBUs, …

Race, Place, And Religion: African American Missionaries In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries, Kevin D. Hicks

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

This paper attempts to provide a more complete analysis of the various conceptions of race and identity held by African American missionaries working in Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While there has been some attention paid to African American missionaries working in Africa at this time, very little has been written about how their different theological beliefs impacted their conceptions of race and identity as it is related to the native African population they are interacting with. Through thorough analysis, it can be determined that there were distinct links between the different theological beliefs held by …

Guilty Machines: On Ab-Sens In The Age Of Ai, Dylan Lackey, Katherine Weinschenk

Critical Humanities

For Lacan, guilt arises in the sublimation of ab-sens (non-sense) into the symbolic comprehension of sen-absexe (sense without sex, sense in the deficiency of sexual relation), or in the maturation of language to sensibility through the effacement of sex. Though, as Slavoj Žižek himself points out in a recent article regarding ChatGPT, the split subject always misapprehends the true reason for guilt’s manifestation, such guilt at best provides a sort of evidence for the inclusion of the subject in the order of language, acting as a necessary, even enjoyable mark of the subject’s coherence (or, more importantly, the subject’s separation …

Romancing The University: Bipoc Scholars In Romance Novels In The 1980s And Now, Jayashree Kamble

Publications and Research

English-language mass-market romance novels written by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) writers and starring BIPOC protagonists are a small but important group. This article is a comparative analysis of how recent representations of diversity in this sub-set of the genre, specifically the character of the Black academic and the language of racial justice, compare with the first group of BIPOC novels that were published in 1984 (Sandra Kitt’s Adam and Eva and All Good Things as well as Barbara Stephens’s A Toast to Love). In Adrianna Herrera’s American Love Story (2019), Katrina Jackson’s Office Hours (2020), and …

La Fiesta Del Espiritu Santo: An Original Work For Choir, Soloists, And Small Ensemble Influenced By The Santeria Music Of The African-Dominican Community In The Dominican Republic, Rafael Scarfullery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of Santería music as practiced by African Dominicans in Villa Mella, a neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This musical tradition comes from the culture and religion of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa, and features complex drum rhythms and call-and-response chants. This paper deals with the historical and social context of Santería music within the Dominican Republic, but its principal objective is to adopt the musical language of this tradition and use it to create a new contemporary work for mixed choir and small ensemble.

One of the most …

The Talk, Anthony J. Mungin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The premise for this thesis is â??the talkâ?? that Black mothers are having to have with their sons about making it out of risky police encounters alive. In the aftermath of the highly-contested 2014 death of Michael Brown, a slew of other African-American fatalities ensued, such as Dante Parker, Tamir Rice, Tony Robinson, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Philando Castile, Antwon Rose II, John Crawford III, Daunte Wright et al. -- so numerous that listing them in totality is virtually impossible. These atrocities drew immense criticism over the racism of law enforcement in police departments across America and spurred public reform …

The Underrepresentation Of Black Females In Cybersecurity, Makendra Latrice Crosby

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The significance of cybersecurity methods, strategies, and programs in protecting computers and electronic devices is crucial throughout the technological infrastructure. Despite the considerable growth in the cybersecurity field and its expansive workforce, there exists a notable underrepresentation, specifically among Black/African American females. This study examines the barriers hindering the inclusion of Black women in the cybersecurity workforce such as socioeconomic factors, limited educational access, biases, and workplace culture. The urgency of addressing these challenges calls for solutions such as education programs, mentorship initiatives, creating inclusive workplace environments, and promoting advocacy and increased awareness within the cybersecurity field. Additionally, this paper …

A Generic Qualitative Inquiry Of The Challenges For Black African American Men Who Have Experienced Trauma, Randall Lee Maurice Shakir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Black African American Men (BAAM) suffer disproportionately from trauma related challenges and have a higher risk of encountering trauma across the lifespan. The negative impact of trauma is a major public health concern in the United States, evidence suggests trauma negatively impacts the physical well-being, mental health, and mortality rate. BAAM have increased rates of trauma exposure and their traumatic experience is historically complex involving a variety of contemporary issues (i.e. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), depression, victimization and desensitization, stress). This research aims to explore the complex nature of their trauma-related challenges among a purposeful sample of BAAM participants in …

This Is A Man’S World: The Lived Gendered Experiences Of Blues People., Anthony Christopher Brown

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

American Blues is known for playing a role in the foundation of the country’s music. The ingredient of the musical tradition has roots going back to West Africa and was brought to the United States through the of transatlantic slave trade. During the period of slavery, it formally developed with plantation work songs which later continued after emancipation with sharecropping until the early to mid-twentieth century. During the early twentieth century, W.C. Handy in Tutwiler, Mississippi, and musicians formally popularized Blues music were being recorded. The first Blues superstars were women such as Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, and Ma Rainey …

From Periphery To Center: Re-Presenting Black And Afro-Arab Characters In Contemporary Arabic Literature, Samer Ahmad Mayyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Black Arabs and Afro-Arabs tend not to be centered in Arabic discourse, especially modern Arabic literature, and Black people of other ethnicities are marginalized, as if Black peoples and Afro-Arabs were not part of the history and present-day of the Arabic-speaking world. I explore in this dissertation project the representations and experiences of Black and Afro-Arabs in contemporary Arabic fictional narratives. I argue that the contemporary literary era sees a shift in re-presenting Black peoples and Afro-Arabs in the Arabic fictional discourse. By moving Black and Afro-Arab characters from periphery to center, contemporary Arab writers challenge and disrupt, in an …

Will Calhoun Interview, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Summary by Eliza Anderson.

Will Calhoun is a Grammy award-winning drummer, producer, songwriter, and Bronx native.

He was born in Brooklyn but moved to the Northeast Bronx with his parents shortly after. He attended Lutheran schools as a kid in an Italian neighborhood, where he recalls having to run away from men with bats getting to and from school before switching to Evander Childs for high school. At Evander, he encountered Drummer’s Collective and Horacee Arnold, who introduced him to musicians like Elvin Jones and took him to jazz clubs in the city.

Calhoun’s first introduction to music came from …

Will Calhoun Interview, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Summary by Eliza Anderson.

Will Calhoun is a Grammy award-winning drummer, producer, songwriter, and Bronx native.

He was born in Brooklyn but moved to the Northeast Bronx with his parents shortly after. He attended Lutheran schools as a kid in an Italian neighborhood, where he recalls having to run away from men with bats getting to and from school before switching to Evander Childs for high school. At Evander, he encountered Drummer’s Collective and Horacee Arnold, who introduced him to musicians like Elvin Jones and took him to jazz clubs in the city.

Calhoun’s first introduction to music came from …

Helen Diane Foster Interview, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Summarized by Alan C. Ventura

In this extensive interview, Helen Diane Foster talks about her upbringing across different areas of the Bronx, her relationship with her father, Reverend T. Wendell Foster—the first black elected official to serve the Bronx—and her time spent on the city council, in turn becoming the first black woman elected to that position within Bronx County. Listen in as she and Dr. Mark Naison relive this monumental time in Bronx history, which most notably involved Foster’s attempts to stop the seizure of Macombs Dam Park for Yankee Stadium.

Perceptions Of Black Women Educational Leaders On Anti-Black Women Leadership Syndrome, Rashida Hobbs-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Handwritten Receipt For Cash, April 17, V. L. Stallworth

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Document: Handwritten receipt for cash received: Cash to R.H. Walker $50.00. Written on Empire State Insurance Company note paper.

Handwritten Receipt For Cash, April 18, Maude Richardson

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Document: Handwritten receipt for cash: Cash to R.H. Walker $75.00

Community Health Workers, Stress Reduction, And Racial Equity In Infant Vitality, Justin Rex

ICS Fellow Lectures

How can communities help mothers reduce stress during pregnancy and provide the social supports that contribute to infant vitality? This talk presented findings from an evaluation of the Northwest Ohio Pathways HUB program, a nationally recognized best practice program model that pairs at-risk mothers with community health workers (CHWs) who connect mothers to services that reduce pregnancy risks. The talk included stories from mothers and CHWs about the challenges and stresses they face as well as data from interviews and surveys that quantify the impact CHWs have for reducing mothers' stress and providing supports that help mothers and their children …

Ethical Data Considerations For Engaging In Reparative Archival Practice, Jamie Rogers, Rhia Rae

Works of the FIU Libraries

Archival textually-rich materials--such as warranty deeds, mortgages, legal documents, and letter correspondence--can provide valuable historical insights, and if transcribed and analyzed, can produce data points in the form of unstructured text, tabular data, and geospatial assets. This presentation will provide an overview of the process Florida International University librarians went through to turn the papers of Dana A. Dorsey, Miami's first Black Millionaire, into data. Their work is guided by the concept of "collections as data" as a form of reparative archival practice, enabling the elevation of marginalized individuals' histories. The goal of reparative archival practice is to create a …

Seeking Sisterhood: An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry Into The Sorority Rejection Experiences Of Black Women, Jasmine Michelle Pulce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In response to a call to fill the gap left by previous studies on collegiate sorority rejection, this study explored the meaning Black women ascribe to experiences of rejection from historically Black sororities. Using Black feminist thought and sista circle methodology, this study introduced narratives from five Black women who came together to comprise a collective standpoint. To better understand this phenomenon, study participants completed individual interviews, two Sista Circles, and one reflection survey. Three main findings were the interconnectedness of Black Greek-letter organizations and Black subcommunities at predominantly white institutions, the nonlinear nature of the Black sorority rejection experience, …

Rogers, Hazard & Thames- Dr. & Mrs. Thos. H. B. Walker, No Date Given, Elmer E. Hazard

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence: Letter from Elmer E. Hazard, Rogers, Hazard & Thames, Attorneys at Law, Jacksonville, Florida, to Dr. and Mrs. Thomas H.B. Walker, Jacksonville, Florida, regarding money due on mortgage

Author Not Stated- Mr. Jacob Goodman, No Date Given, Unknown

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence: Letter to Jacob Goodman, Real Estate and Insurance, New York City, New York regarding property management for 254 West 131st Street, New York, New York. Typed on Holmes Funeral Director Mrs. R. Holmes Walker letterhead, not signed.

Rosie Holmes Walker- Mr. Jacob Goodman, No Date Given, Rosa G. Holmes Walker

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence and Deed: Partial letter to Jacob Goodman regarding the management of properties owned by Rosa G. Holmes Walker in New York City, New York. Includes deed to property 254 131st Street, New York, New York. "J. Goodman - 67 W. 125 St." handwritten on the front. Stamped on top of deed: November 23, 1925. Circa 1925

Rosie Holmes Walker- Mr. Jacob Goodman, No Date Given, Rosa G. Holmes Walker

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence: Partial handwritten letter from Rosie Holmes Walker, written on Thomas H.B. Walker, D.D. letterhead, Mr. Jacob Goodman regarding property management; Deeds for two different addresses mentioned: 245 West 131st St. and 122nd St. (New York, New York).

Transcription, Closing Statement Sale 254 West 131st St, Unknown

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Transcription: Transcription of deteriorated partial list of prices and charges to be paid by buyer and seller, for property 254 West 131st St (New York, New York). Original not available. No date given.

Property Listings, N.Y.C., Edward C. Brown

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Documents: Property listings for three properties in New York City.

Property Listings, New York City, Louis W. George

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Documents: Property listings for three properties in New York City.

Envelope, Holmes Funeral Directors- Atty W. H. Jeter, No Date Given, Holmes Funeral Directors

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence: Envelope, top left corner (return address): Holmes Funeral Directors 621 W. State Street Jacksonville, FLA. Addressed to: Atty. W.H. Jeter, Atlantic National Bk.Bl., City (Jacksonville).

Note To Mr. Jacob Goodman, Unknown

Real Estate Correspondence 1925-1937

Correspondence: To Jacob Goodman. "Mr. Jacob Goodman. Dear sir- I hope I am not [annoying] you by asking you. Will you please send me a check for March Rent. I [know] it was an over [sight] is why you haven't send it. Thanking you in advance. I bef to remain very truly [illegible]"