African American Studies Commons^™

Faith In Action: The First Citizenship School On Johns Island, South Carolina., Amanda Shrader Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the first Citizenship School, its location, participants, and success. Johns Islanders, Esau Jenkins, Septima Clark, Myles Horton, Bernice Robinson, and the Highlander Folk School all collaborated to create this school. Why and how this success was reached is the main scope of this manuscript. Emphasis is also placed on the school's impact upon the modern Civil Rights Movement. Primary sources such as personal accounts, manuscripts, and archive collections were examined. Secondary sources were also researched for this manuscript. The conclusion reached from these sources is that faith was the driving force behind the success of the Citizenship …

Prisons Sex And Drug Side Effects: A Look At Hiv Transmission, Prevention, And Treatment Behind Bars, Taylor Cuffaro

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

Studying the transmission, prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS in prison is incredibly important. it is reported, "that 2.3 percent of all prison inmates are infected with HIV. The rate of confirmed cases of AIDs in the inmate population is more that six times that of the U.S. [general] population. Approximately one in every three inmate deaths is AIDS-related and AIDS is the leading cause of death among state inmates after 'illness and natural causes.'"¹ Twenty-five percent of all HIV positive people in the United States, at one point make their way through the correctional system. With numbers …

Ahead Of The Pack: The New York Pioneer Club & The Integration Of Track And Field In New York City, Joseph Blankenship

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

When people think of the Bronx, they think of a few things–the Yankees, Hip Hop, and Jenny from the block. What they generally do no think about, however, is an international powerhouse in track and field. This powerhouse has produced many great athletes and instilled pride in the community. The names Joe Yancy, Ed Levy, Larry Ellis, Ted Corbitt, and Fred Thompson are names most people outside of track and field would not know. Inside the world of track and field, however, they are all legends connected to one organization: The New York Pioneer Club.

Ghanaian Immigrants In New York City: Negotiating Cultural And Identity Transformations, Darren Ornitz

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

There have been many studies conducted pertaining to the process of identity formation among immigrants in the United States, but very few focus specifically on Ghanaian immigrants. The goal of this thesis is to continue the debate on the nature and manner on which Ghanaian immigrants in New York City construct their identities. By so doing, this paper aims to explore and identify the ways in which traditional culture and values are preserved, transformed, or lost amongst the Ghanaian immigrant community in New York City. It discusses the role that Ghanaian and American culture and values plays in the process …

Writing The Wrongs : A Comparison Of Two Female Slave Narratives, Miya Hunter-Willis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis compares slave narratives written by Mattie J. Jackson and Kate Drumgoold. Both narrators recalled incidents that showed how slavery and the environment during the Reconstruction period created physical and psychological obstacles for women. Each narrator challenged the Cult of True Womanhood by showing that despite the stereotypes created to keep them subordinate there were African American women who successfully used their knowledge of white society to circumvent a system that tried to keep their race enslaved. Despite the 30 years that separate the publication of these two narratives, the legacy of education attainment emerges as a key part …

Driving While Black: Stories Through The Driver's Car Window—A Communicative Analysis, Tracie Lynn Keesee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the communicative dynamic that occurs between Denver police officers, and citizens of the African-American community, during traffic stops characterized as "Driving While Black." Thirty four interviews were conducted regarding this study. Derived from the interviews were transcribed narratives, which were examined through the use of narrative analysis and various theoretical frameworks. The narrative analysis and theoretical frameworks provided a new lens for exploring the police/citizen communicative dynamic, and a foundation for additional communication research between police officers and the African-American community.

Performances Of Black Female Sexuality In A Hip Hop Magazine, Tova Joanna Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Practices To Address The Disproportionate Representation Of African American Students In Special Education Programs In Virginia, Stacia M. Barreau

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which practices to address disproportionality suggested by the professional literature are being implemented in Virginia public schools. It also sought to understand the perceptions of special education directors regarding the effectiveness of these practices in addressing disproportionality. Mixed methods were employed through the use of a survey instrument which was developed for this study and a content analysis of school division action plans.;There were two overarching research focus questions as well as six corresponding sub-questions investigated in this study. This study included 111 directors of special education who represent …

The Diasporic World Of The Great Dismal Swamp, 1630 -1860, Daniel O. Sayers

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia stood as a remote landscape in the heart of the Tidewater throughout the historical period. Between ca. 1630 and 1860, thousands of Diasporans took advantage of the remoteness of the swamp in various ways and formed a variety of communities. Within these Diasporic communities were Native Americans, maroons, and enslaved canal company workers who joined or formed communities based on individual and specific reasons for choosing to permanently inhabit the swamp. Diasporic communities emerged on islands in the swamp and the relative locations of these landforms had significant impacts on what …

Re-Taking It To The Streets: Investigating Hip-Hop's Emergence In The Spaces Of Late Capitalism, Kevin Waide Kosanovich

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

An Exploratory Study Of Factors That Relate To Academic Success Among High-Achieving African American Males, Kianga Rhea Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This exploratory study explored three factors -- self-efficacy, resiliency, and leadership -- that relate to academic success in African American male freshman college students. The study explored how self-efficacy, resiliency, and leadership interrelate, how a pilot group and study group differ in respect to self-efficacy, resiliency, and leadership, and how African American freshman males differ on these factors in respect to key demographic variables.;The study utilized the Student Academic Success Scale (SASS), which was an instrument developed by the researcher in a graduate course. The instrument was administered to 104 participants. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, and a one-way analysis of …

The School Experiences And Achievement Of Black Males: The Voice Of The Students, Sarah Joan Barzee

Dissertations

Problem

Black children are not achieving in public schools. What are the challenges of the schooling experience and contradictions of achievement for Black males, according to the students themselves? The answers to these questions are unclear, because they have not been given sufficient attention. Despite decades of research on achievement, few studies specifically address how students themselves define achievement, as well as what students do, feel, and think about in school.

Method

This qualitative study used focus groups and pre-existing data from 1:1 semi- structured interviews as a means to inquire about the schooling experiences of Black males. Thirty-two Black …

A World In Miniature: James Butcher And The Transformation Of African American Politics & Society In Washington, D.C, 1900-1940, Maria Alexandria Kane

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

"System Of Silence": Philadelphia Orphanages And The Limits Of Benevolence, 1780s-1830s, Brian Sweeney

Honors Theses

In 1831, Mathew Carey, a well-known Philadelphia economist, wrote a city official describing the situation of black children in the city. He called for the creation of an orphanage to aid these children and described the motives for this action as not only the “humanity and benevolence” of Philadelphians, but also “personal interest”, as this class could otherwise turn “lawless”. Unknown to Carey, the Association for the Care of Coloured Orphans had been established in 1822 by a group of benevolent Quaker women dedicated to aiding this destitute class in an effort to promote compensatory justice for generations of oppression …