Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Queen Nanny, A Case Study For Cultural Heritage Tourism: The Archaeology Of Memory And Identity, Lacy Risner

Liberal Arts Capstones

This research project is intended to provide a foundation of knowledge of the Maroon culture in Jamaica, through the legends of one of their most prominent founders, Queen Nanny, as an aid for those who want to educate themselves before approaching community leaders about tourism development. Documentation of Queen Nanny’s life is contested and shrouded in mystery. Yet, that is part of what makes her memory so powerful. The various roles that Queen Nanny is associated with feature her adamant pursuit of an independent life for herself and her Maroons. Whether she is catching bullets or teaching the Maroons how …

Amjambo Africa! (December 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

New American Leaders .............p. 2

Ladder to the Moon Conference p. 3

Appeal from 350 Maine .............p. 3

Asylum Seekers & Work Permits p. 4

Palaver Strings ............................ p. 9

Ikirenga Cy'Intore .................... p. 11

New Deal for New Americans Act .............p. 13

Coffee by Design Supports Arts ..........................p. 18

DACEP & ILAP in Lewiston...... p. 18

Mid Coast New Mainers Group ............................................... p. 19

Housing Scams ......................... p. 19

A Power Man’S Theology: Marvel’S Luke Cage And Black Liberation Theology, Diarron B. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Netflix released Marvel’s Luke Cage in 2016 to critical acclaim. Born from a 1970s comic book, the series features Luke Cage, an African-American superhero. Cage is a big, bald, bulletproof black man. Instead of tights and a cape, Cage wears a hoodie calling the audience to remember Trayvon Martin and other victims of white racism. Theologian James Cone created Black Liberation Theology in the 1970s. As a result of Cone’s work, Black Liberation Theology addresses the issue of white racism from a theological standpoint. In this thesis I present a close reading of Marvel’s Luke Cage using Black Liberation Theology …

Amjambo Africa! (November 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Palaver Strings.........................Page 2

Elections ..................................Page 3

Asylum Seeker Update..........Page 3

Mainers Prepare for Winter Page 13

Namory Keita .......................Page 19

Book Review: No Greater Love: How My Family Survived The Genocide In Rwanda, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Heroism Science

Tharcisse Seminega is an ethnic Tutsi who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide, along with his wife and all five of his children. His book, No Greater Love: How My Family Survived the Genocide in Rwanda, is his memoir of growing up in Rwanda and surviving the genocide. The book also contains shorter memoirs by his wife and some of his children, some short pieces by some of his rescuers, a selection of documentary evidence, and a timeline of the genocide. The heroes who helped the Seminega family were conditioned to rescue others before the genocide occurred. As the rescuers’ …

Inequality In Crime And The Criminal Justice System, Kyleigh A. Dinnien

Student Publications

This piece is to reflect upon the current criminal justice system we currently live in. There are significant gaps in reform and punishment when looking at minorities. This paper reflects the corruptness that is the criminal justice system and the segregated world we continue to live in today.

The Narrative Of Black Athletes In The National Hockey League, Julia E. Koller

Student Publications

Major league sports have existed in the United States since the 1920s; today we have four major league sports - the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. All of these sports have changed drastically, especially their demographics. All throughout the 20th century, Black people had fought for rights, both in and out of sports. This paper explores the narrative of Black players in the National Hockey League. Factors such as, socioeconomic status, interest level, and racism look to explain why so few players in the NHL are Black.

Economic Implications Of Racism In The United States, Pranav Kayastha

Student Publications

Racism in the United States has evolved with time, and has now taken a subtle and discreet, yet equally dangerous, form. Hiding under seemingly innocuous political agendas, media outlets, and criminal justice system, the current form of racism is not as easy to call out as it once used to be. Nonetheless, we as a society are targeting, discriminating, and denying equal opportunities to the African American community in a variety of ways. This is hurting not just those directly affected, but the U.S. economy as a whole. To identify and fight against the subtle forms of discrimination, therefore, is …

Amjambo Africa! (October 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This issue...

Lewiston ..................................Page 2

Mana Abdi

Lewiston High School

Lewiston Adult Education

African Gala.............................Page 9

Candidates Talk Issues ...Page 10/11

Holding Allies Accountable, Gisselle Flores

Student Publications

Artists, including Rihanna, Cardi B, and Jay-Z, have turned down the NFL’s offer to perform in the halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick , but it was recently announced that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be performing in 2020. This has sparked controversy because some are celebrating that there are two Latinas headlining the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time while others do not view this event as a cause for celebration because they believe that J. Lo and Shakira should have boycotted like other artists have. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira have given no prior indications …

Exigimos Inclusión, No Tolerancia: La Interseccionalidad En Los Movimientos Estudiantiles En Argentina, Angélica Ramos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Los movimientos estudiantiles en Argentina surgieron en respuesta a las desigualdades y represión dentro del sistema educativo. Los estudiantes intentan luchar para una educación de calidad, igual y gratuita para todos. Lamentablemente, como consecuencia de la historia de genocidio y esclavitud en Argentina, ideas racistas y coloniales existen hoy día en las mentalidades de muchos argentinos. Esta investigación analiza las maneras en que permanece estas mentalidades dentro de los movimientos estudiantiles y como evita la interseccionalidad e inclusión de poblaciones marginalizadas. Porque si continúa la falta de interseccionalidad de parte de estudiantes privilegiados hacia estudiantes y poblaciones femme, trans, indígena …

La Participación Y Representación De Las Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Los Movimientos De Ni Una Menos Y La Marea Verde En El Buenos Aires Actual, Olivia S. Sabini-Leite

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The myth that "there are no blacks in Argentina" or that "we do not have an afrodescendant population" remains prevalent in present-day Argentina since the beginning of state nationalization. However, immigrants and youth have sparked a movement geared at the recuperation of afrodescendancy among afroargentines. From this influence and the 31st National Women's Encounter, a strong wave of Afro-descendant women has grown, promoting the visibility, recognition and constant presence of the afrodescendant population.

During the same years, Ni Una Menos (Not One Less Girl) that responds to gender violence and Marea Verde (Green Tide) that responds to the struggle for …

The Imposition Of White Beauty Standards On Black Women, Sabrina E. Robinette

Student Publications

This paper explores the impact of racist beauty ideals on black women through a survey of personal testimonies and an examination of media’s role in perpetrating white beauty. Without sufficient black representation in media, Western beauty standards have excluded black women from defining beauty, which inflicts psychological, physical, and even economic harm on women of color. Companies make profits off of black women’s insecurity from products such as skin lightening cream, chemical straighteners, and hair dye, all of which are an economic burden on black women at best and are life-threatening at worst. Often, black women are forced to turn …

The Making And Silencing Of “Axé-Ocracy” In Brazil: Black Women Writers’ Spiritual, Political And Literary Movement In São Paulo, Sarah S. Ohmer

Publications and Research

In this article, I will focus on two influential writers from the south of Brazil, Cristiane Sobral who currently lives in Brasília, from Rio de Janeiro, and Conceição Evaristo who currently lives in Rio de Janeiro state, from Minas Gerais. I got to know them in São Paulo in 2015 at a public event: the “Afroétnica Flink! Sampa Festival of Black Thought, Literature and Culture.” I will include references to some of their younger contemporaries such as Raquel Almeida, Jenyffer Nascimento, and Elizandra Souza, all of whom reside in São Paulo, in order to illustrate the Black Brazilian women writers’ …

Queer Spaces, Future Places: Conversations With 3 Black Capetonian Femmes On Embodying Liberation, Ivana Onubogu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Black femme bodies face multi-axial oppressive forces resting on their racialization, gendering, sexuality and possible other factors like socioeconomic status and ability. I interviewed 3 queer-identified Black femmes between the ages of 18 and 35 that are based in or work out of the Cape Town area. Femmes is defined as trans womxn, nonbinary femmes, femme lesbians and femme bisexuals, effeminate mxn, or any other femme-identified queer person. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possibility of a liberated Black queer future as an embodied practice within the context of the Black Capetonian queer community. Participants were selected …

Amjambo Africa! (September 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue... Maine’s Way of Life................Page 9

ILAP Statement ....................Page 16

Afro-Cuba Transnational: Recordings And The Mediation Of Afro-Cuban Traditional Music, Johnny Frias

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes the way audio and video recordings and the internet have impacted, shaped, and helped create a transnational Afro-Cuban music scene. My focus will be on the most popular and widely-recorded genres of Afro-Cuban music—rumba and the religious repertoire of Santería, particularly batá drumming—both of which I also perform regularly with other Cuban musicians in Miami. Incorporating interviews, online ethnographic research, and participant-observation as a musician, my research has three main arguments.

First, recordings of Afro-Cuban music helped create a transnational Afro-Cuban music scene by increasing the popularity of these traditions outside of Cuba, including their amateur performance …

Amjambo Africa! (August 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Welcome Feast........................Page 8

My Life as a Refugee ............Page 11 by Veronica Kaluta

Wedding of Irene Yao & Romeo Adji....................Page 13

Amjambo Africa! (July 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Racial Inequality.....................Page 7

Welcome Table ......................Page 9

Art in Exodus ..........................Page 9

Alliance Française.................Page 13

Amjambo Africa! (June 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Furniture Friends....................Page 2

ProsperityME..........................Page 2

“It’S Hard Out Here If You’Re A Black Felon”: A Critical Examination Of Black Male Reentry, Jason M. Williams, Sean K. Wilson, Carrie Bergeson

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Formerly incarcerated Black males face many barriers once they return to society after incarceration. Research has long established incarceration as a determinant of poor health and well-being. While research has shown that legally created barriers (e.g., employment, housing, and social services) are often a challenge post-incarceration, far less is known of Black male’s daily experiences of reentry. Utilizing critical ethnography and semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated Black males in a Northeastern community, this study examines the challenges Black males experience post-incarceration.

Dmt And “The Man Box:” Provoking Change And Encouraging Authentic Living, An Arts-Based Project, Steven Reynolds

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the mind-body experience through an arts-based research approach to examine, and redefine the emotional capacity and usefulness of males through societal determinants that limits and hinders men from living their authentic selves. Through the lens of a metaphoric “Man Box” 112 men participated in a workshop recreating their personal narratives of socialization through, style of dress, coping mechanisms, belief systems and who they should be as men through society's standards. In the “Man Box,” male bonding, and emotional feelings are discouraged, while the objectification of women, material property and physical/emotional strength are encouraged. This research investigates the …

Black Body Memory: A Philosophy Of The Talk, Autumn Redcross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project offers the term Black body memory to point toward the threatened existential disposition of Black people in society today. Moreover, Black body memory points to the narrative paradigm of a shared experience. While popular conceptions theorize race as a social construction, the lived reality of Black people is frequently imbued by racialization and racism. Black body memory emerges from the intersection of the Black body articulated by Franz Fanon, Charles Johnson, and George Yancy, among others, and body memory, as described by Edward Casey and Thomas Fuchs. Black body memory is a culturally-laden and sedimented lived reality. The …

Amjambo Africa! (May 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Cultivating Community .........Page 8

Community Dialogue...........Page 15

Leadership From Within: Founders, Advocates, And Organizational Networks Operating In Maine's Immigrant Community, Samuel Robert Kenney

Honors Projects

Much of the discourse surrounding African immigration to Maine has centered on the provision of public services that facilitate community development and integration. This project investigates different types of leadership strategies employed by African individuals in Maine that advance community objectives. When African immigrant leaders are empowered to affect public policy, they re-frame traditional conceptions of aid-dependency and vulnerability commonly applied to African immigrants in media and popular culture. Through leadership in nonprofit and civic spheres, African immigrant community leaders translate grassroots connectivity with informal networks into meaningful influence in the realm of public policy. This project focuses on the …

Fatal Attraction : Intimate Partner Violence Among Black Lgbtq Relationships., Amberli A. Seay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social workers play a pivotal role in intervening in instances of intimate partner violence. It is imperative that social work intervention education is relevant, competent and inclusive. In this study, a content analysis is conducted on the true-crime documentary series, Fatal Attraction. Fatal Attraction targets Black audiences and sheds light on Black victim-survivors and perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). The documentaries in this series act as a resource to understanding representation and treatment of Black LGBTQ. The following research questions are explored and discussed: 1. To what degree are Black LGBTQ victims and perpetrators of IPV represented in media? …

Racial Becoming: How Agentic (Self-Initiated) Encounter Events Inform Racial Identity Refinement, Devin A. Heyward

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Racial identity literature has typically focused on identity formation through a series of stages. It also has centered how the experience of negative encounter events informs racial identity formation. With the advent of new genealogical and genomic technology, it is imperative to expand the focus of identity literatures to include encounter events, which participants elect to experience (i.e. self-initiated or agentic encounter events). By using this frame, identity processes become fluid and informed by individual life experiences. In the context of this study, direct to consumer genetic ancestry tests (DTC-GAT) are operationalized as a self-initiated encounter event. Participants were …

Inheritances Of Injustice/Transference Of Freedom: An Intimate Project On Black Women's Intergenerational Relationships And The Consequences Of The Punishment System, Whitney Richards-Calathes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project centers the multi-generational familial relationships between system-impacted Black women, mapping and uncovering the ways in which incarceration and practices of punishment impact, shape, hurt, and displace Black femme lineages. Through a qualitative lens and a specific focus on the current social and political landscape of Los Angeles, this dissertation examines the ways Black women are impacted by carceral ideology; from punitive definitions of Black womanhood, to the surveillance on Black femme familial intimacy and the rupture of Black women’s sense of home and place. Understandings of mass incarceration are frequently male-centered and most analyses of Black women’s system …

Genocide Masquerading: The Politics Of The Sharpeville Massacre And Soweto Uprising, Jessica P. Forsee

Honors College Theses

Apartheid South Africa represented a paradox as a US ally and human rights pariah. “Genocide Masquerading” uncovers the implications of US foreign policy on the rise and decline of apartheid, looking specifically at the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the 1976 Soweto Uprising. By comparing Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Ford, and Carter foreign policy responses, this thesis creates a comparative analysis of how effective, or ineffective, the United States was during pivotal moments in apartheid history. This thesis will not only expand on the developing South African literature but add to the conversation of international aid, diplomacy practices, and North-South relationships.

Amjambo Africa! (April 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Editorial: Migration ................Page 3

Senegalese Storytelling .......Page 12