African American Studies Commons^™

African Americans Accused Of “Acting White”: The Impacts On Their Selves And Identities, Brett S. Anderson

Student Publications

A majority of the research on the accusation of acting white focuses on whether it is responsible for creating the wide achievement gap between white and Black people in America (Tyson, Darity, and Castellino 2005). However, there is little research that has looked into the potentially damaging effects that this accusation can have on the selves and identities of Black students. Through the analysis of classical and contemporary sociological theories and studies, it is determined that African Americans’ selves and identities are negatively impacted when they are accused of “acting white.” The suggested impacts are negative social reflection and the …

African American Disparities Within The Medical World, Claudia E. Mischler

Student Publications

There are many challenges that African Americans face and the lack of quality in care towards African Americans is an ongoing problem. Black men and women are not given the same care compared to their white counterparts. African Americans are faced with numerous disparities in the medical world. This can exist due to factors that are out of their control such as; failure of medical professionals recognizing the sociocultural differences, distrust in the health care system, cultural differences in understanding and explaining illness, history of hospital and medical office segregation, and knowledge of available services. It is very unlikely to …

Hbcus Importance To The Black Community, Jarrett A. Torromeo

Student Publications

This paper looks at the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Black community. It explores how they are necessary in order to bring a sense of belonging to the Black community and how they can grow. They are critically underfunded compared to other universities/colleges but this can change with the sports that they have to offer.

Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts Of The Civil War Era, Lauren H. Roedner, Angelo Scarlato, Scott Hancock, Jordan G. Cinderich, Tricia M. Runzel, Avery C. Lentz, Brian D. Johnson, Lincoln M. Fitch, Michele B. Seabrook

Other Exhibits & Events

Based on the exhibit Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts of the Civil War Era, this book provides the full experience of the exhibit, which was on display in Special Collections at Musselman Library November 2012- December 2013. It also includes several student essays based on specific artifacts that were part of the exhibit.

Table of Contents:

Introduction Angelo Scarlato, Lauren Roedner ’13 & Scott Hancock

Slave Collars & Runaways: Punishment for Rebellious Slaves Jordan Cinderich ’14

Chancery Sale Poster & Auctioneer’s Coin: The Lucrative Business of Slavery Tricia Runzel ’13

Isaac J. Winters: An African American Soldier from Pennsylvania …

Freedmen With Firearms: White Terrorism And Black Disarmament During Reconstruction, David H. Schenk

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The outcome of the Civil War brought freedom to over six million slaves of African descent. These Freedmen communities remained a critical source of labor for the agrarian based economy of the southern U.S. Conflicts erupted because former slaves sought to exercise their new freedoms against the restrictions placed on them by local authorities. New laws, mob actions and acts of organized white terrorism were used to subjugate free citizens and return them to their former stations of labor. Political activities and participation in the electoral process were violently discouraged. Vocal opponents of the new system were often targeted for …

Musical Influence On Apartheid And The Civil Rights Movement, Katherine D. Power

Student Publications

Black South Africans and African Americans not only share similar identities, but also share similar historical struggles. Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement were two movements on two separate continents in which black South Africans and African Americans resisted against deep injustice and defied oppression. This paper sets out to demonstrate the key role that music played, through factors of globalization, in influencing mass resistance and raising global awareness. As an elemental form of creative expression, music enables many of the vital tools needed to overcome hatred and violence. Jazz and Freedom songs were two of the most influential genres, …

Red Drops For A Rainbow, Zakiya A. Brown

SURGE

Splashes of pool water licked my ankles, scenting my coffee-colored toes with chlorine. Bareback guardians, robed in red, hovered high as flocks of fleshy tangible innocence skipped jubilantly across the pool deck and disappeared into a wet square pocket of sapphire. [excerpt of poem]

Take My People To The Top, Nadejiah Z. Towns

SURGE

“…but what I really want to do is help the black people, especially the young black girls…” Did she just say that? Wait, can she say that? Is she wrong for feeling that way? I wonder how other people would feel it they knew she felt this way? So many questions began to run through my mind, but my reaction? I just sat there, nodding. Her body language told me even she knew there was something controversial about what she was saying. Not to mention that she whispered it, you know, the old hand over the mouth gesture. [excerpt …

Black Labor At Pine Grove & Caledonia Furnaces, 1789-1860, Troy D. Harman

Adams County History

Black labor operating under various degrees of freedom found a suitable working environment, if not a safe haven, in several iron forges of South Central Pennsylvania, from the late 1790s through the 1850s. Primary accounts indicate that two in particular, Pine Grove Furnace of Cumberland County, and Caledonia Furnace of Franklin County, harbored runaway slaves to augment their work force. Pine Grove records, dating from 1789 – 1801, specify names of “negro” employees, verifying that black labor coexisted with white, but day books, journals, and ledgers do not denote status.1 Whether they were free men, or slaves rented out by …

An Analysis Of Media Perceptions Regarding African Americans In Gettsyburg Throughout 1963, Brendan M. Shelley

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On Monday, September 28, 1863, the Compiler, Gettysburg Pennsylvania’s Democratic newspaper, published an article taken from the Sussex Messenger about a black man forcing himself onto a white woman. The girl, daughter of Mr. Daniel Messick, was going from her father’s house which was just outside of the town limits to a neighbor’s home when she was suddenly assaulted by a black man. The man jumped out from behind thick brush and grabbed the girl. A struggle ensued and the assailant ripped off the girl’s clothing and put his hand over her mouth in order to keep her from …