Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

The Slater Fire Was The Product Of Settler Colonialism, William Joseph Curtis

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Slater Fire of 2020 burned in Karuk aboriginal territory overseen by the Klamath National Forest. It burned over 200 homes to the ground and ravage over 100,000 acres of forest. This thesis argues that state-enforced fire suppression policies and methods are tools of settler-colonial erasure and the continuation of genocidal violence towards Karuk people. It analyzes the conflict between interests of the colonial state on one side and Indigenous resistance and survival on the other. Fire is an essential tool for the survival of Indigenous cultural identities, the material security of said populations, and the health of the environs …

Johnson V. M'Intosh: Christianity, Genocide, And The Dispossession Of Indigenous Peoples, Cynthia J. Boshell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Using hermeneutical methodology, this paper examines some of the legal fictions that form the foundation of Federal Indian Law. The text of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1823 Johnson v. M’Intosh opinion is evaluated through the lens of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to determine the extent to which the Supreme Court incorporated genocidal principles into United States common law. The genealogy of M’Intosh is examined to identify influences that are not fully apparent on the face of the case. International jurisprudential interpretations of the legal definition of genocide are summarized and used as …

"Stay Strong": Internalized Stigma, Religiosity And Black Mental Health In Colorado, Breigh Jones-Coplin

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

While the societal stigma on mental illness deters people from seeking mental health services, there is limited research on how Black personality and cultural practices may impact stigma and Black mental health (NAMI, 2020). In an attempt to identify protective and risk factors for internalized stigma and Black mental health, the present study examined 416 Black adults in Colorado and identified significant relationships between African Self-Consciousness, internalized stigma of mental illness, religiosity, and mental health functioning. Results showed that having a strong African-centered identity and religious grounding are associated with less internalized stigma and difficulty in functioning and mental health …

Afroam: A Virtual Film Production Group, Bill Taylor Jr.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Because of the gatekeeping practices of the Hollywood film industry, and the high cost of both filmmaking and distribution in general, Afro-American filmmakers have struggled to produce films with “global reach.” This study visits the possibility of Afro-American filmmakers using alternative technologies and infrastructures to produce high-quality films, thereby bypassing the high cost and exclusionary practices of Hollywood studios. Using new 21st-century digital technology, this study involved the creation of a small geographically dispersed virtual film production team. The study’s foundational framework was a constructivist qualitative research paradigm, using Action Research, and supported by 24 months of triangulated data from …

What Factors In The Life Experience Of African Americans Cause Them To Comply With Or Confront Law Enforcement Officers?, La'shelle Jefferson-Mcdonald

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Widespread availability of cell phones has given most Americans the ability to record events as they happen. This has included recordings of increasing instances of police brutality directed at African Americans by White officers, including the shooting and killing of unarmed People of Color, particularly males. With such encounters being recorded and widely viewed by the general population, there is an increased need to focus on stopping this serious social problem. This study gives historical context on how this came about, what common stereotypes are associated with African Americans, and examples of several cases where unarmed African Americans were killed …

Exploring The Career Advancement Experience Of Black Women On Their Journey To Executive Levels In Large American Corporations, Pamela J. Viscione

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Corporations began hiring Black people into management positions in the 1960s and 1970s following the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) which made it unlawful to discriminate in hiring based on race, gender, religion, or country of origin. Black men were the first to benefit from this change in the law and Black women began to appear in entry level management roles in the 1980s. Forty years later, there have only been four Black women CEOs in the history of the Fortune 1000, the largest American companies based on reported revenues. This level of representation is closer to zero …

Native Presence And Sovereignty In College: Sustaining Indigenous Weapons To Defeat Systemic Monsters, Bhavika Sicka

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

In Native Presence and Sovereignty in College: Sustaining Indigenous Weapons to Defeat Systemic Monsters, Amanda Tachine delineates the barriers that hinder the personal and academic goals of Navajo students, and what sources of strength and comfort these students channel to guide them toward college. Tachine stresses the importance of story-sharing and world-making, which she herself employs. She uses a story rug technique, weaving together the narratives of ten Navajo students as they journey to and through college, bringing together their experiences of belonging in educational settings and offering us lessons gleaned. The storylines serve as threads, which she connects …

A Form Of Our Own: An Examination Of Black Sonnet-Samplers, Lavonna D. Wright

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study responds to the need for understanding and terminology regarding Black poets’ engagement with the sonnet form. Referring to sampling strategies in Hip-Hop to analyze Black sonnets, this study disputes limiting ideas about sonnets as ineffective mediums to portray Black narratives and honors strategies maintained in Hip-Hop culture that define Black narrative expression, resistance to assimilation, and social reflection. Black sonnets are an ever-evolving vehicle of resistance to elitist ideas about traditional forms, Black aesthetics, and the ways that poetic strategies can be defined. This study names past and present Black sonneteers’ adherence to, remixing in, and rejection of …

Historias De Una Pandemia: Documenting Latina/O/X Stories During Covid-19 Through Performed Storytelling, Elena Foulis

Spanish Faculty Publications (Archived)

Using oral histories and narratives collected during the Covid-19 pandemic, a student-led performance invites consideration about the role of language, cultural, and social pluralities in creating a socially just world.

Archiving Bilingual Latin@ Oral Histories, Elena Foulis, Brandon D’Souza

Spanish Faculty Publications (Archived)

Over the past ten years, digital archives documenting underrepresented communities have been rising. For example, oral and print historical projects about minoritized communities and ethnic cultural heritage centers have existed for decades (Daniel, 2010), yet few are fully accessible online. The increased presence of these types of archives points not only to the need to document the histories of these communities but also to the interest in making this work accessible to all. There is an urgency in documenting, archiving, and curating histories—audio, print, video, and other ephemera—because minoritized communities have consistently faced exclusion from majority historical documents. As precarious …

Pink Bamboo Ceiling: Barriers And Breakthroughs For Asian American Women Leaders, Mele W. Kramer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAsian Americans are the most diverse and fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. and have the highest average level of education of all minority and dominant groups in America making up 6.2 % of the labor market. However, Asian Americans overall hold one percent of the executive leadership roles in Fortune 500 organizations. Low leadership representation leaves this demographic without a decision-making voice and without power in society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the lived experiences of Asian American women (AAW) leaders and potential leaders as it pertains to race, gender, and stereotypes in the …

Experiences Of Counselors Who Provide Services To African American Men With Repeated Domestic Violence Abuse Reports, Miselene Kruer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence has been a major concern in the United States. To effectively work with domestic violence offenders, counselors must have the skills and knowledge needed. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand lived experiences of counselors who provide in-home counseling services to African American men who are repeat domestic violence offenders and received a subsequent abuse report within 6 months after in-home services were discontinued. The goal was to try to develop an understanding of experiences of counselors who provide services to these men. Interviews were used to collect data. I used Otter to transcribe all …

Dynastic And Generative Intent For First-Generation Black Wealth Creators In A Modern Racial Enclave Economy, Latanya White

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the underlying causes of the racial wealth gap between Black and White Americans: the absence of intergenerational wealth transfers in Black business families. As American wealth becomes concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, the data reveal that one third of the 400 wealthiest Americans inherited their wealth from the entrepreneurial endeavors of earlier generations in their family, some creating entrepreneurial dynasties. An important aspect of succession planning is the construct of generativity. Generativity is practiced through leading, nurturing, promoting, and teaching the next generation to create things to “move down the generational chain and connect to a …

Reframing Leadership Narratives Through The African American Lens, Marion Missy Mcgee

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Reframing Leadership Narratives through the African American Lens explores the context-rich experiences of Black Museum executives to challenge dominant cultural perspectives of what constitutes a leader. Using critical narrative discourse analysis, this research foregrounds under-told narratives and reveals the leadership practices used to proliferate Black Museums to contrast the lack of racially diverse perspectives in the pedagogy of leadership studies. This was accomplished by investigating the origin stories of African American executives using organizational leadership and social movement theories as analytical lenses for making sense of leaders’ tactics and strategies. Commentary from Black Museum leaders were interspersed with sentiments of …

Black Parent Advocacy And Educational Success: Lessons Learned On The Use Of Voice And Engagement, Mark Mcmillian

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

“The opportunity is there, this is what I think of when I think of role models, I think of my experience” (Anthony—a participant in this study—commenting on the effectiveness of advocating for his child). Black children encounter racism in American schools and parents need to advocate for them. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black parents developed and used their voice to advocate for their children in a predominantly White educational system with a history of racially disparate outcomes. Particularly, this study drew on the experiences of 15 participants, two men—one was a grandfather—and 13 women, …

"Because God Said So": A Thematic Analysis Of Why People Denounce Black Greek-Letter Organizations, Mea Ashley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Today, Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) struggle to use empirical data to address financial burden, elitism, hazing, relevance in social justice issues, and the anti-BGLO movement. The anti-BGLO movement frames this study. The movement stems from beliefs that secret societies, fraternities, and sororities are anti-Christian. Society will continue to question the relevance and importance of BGLOs if they cannot overcome the issues plaguing them. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to ascertain why members are leaving BGLOs, in case the organizations find the anti-BGLO movement to be a threat to organizational vitality. Through thematic analysis, 18 YouTube testimonials from denouncers …

Exploring The Needs Of Black Single Mothers In Therapy, Nompelelo Boucher

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study of 6 Black single mothers utilizes a focus group format to explore their experiences in mental health treatment. The specific barriers they face to seeking treatment are reviewed, given that this particular population is substantially underrepresented in mental health therapy. The study seeks to gain a better insight of what factors contribute to attracting and retaining them in therapy for positive outcomes. Six emergent themes surfaced highlighting the fact that these women overcome numerous historical and cultural barriers to present for treatment to address serious issues of stress, grief, and loss, that they have a desire to …

Beyond The Controversy: An Exploration Of Cultural Socialization Behaviors In Transracial Adoptive Families, Karmen Smith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The voices of the families that have successfully raised transracially adopted children with a positive cultural identity are missing from the literature: “Further research is needed on adoption from the perspective of the adoptee” (Clark et al., 2006, p. 192). There are methodological shortcomings that inhibit our ability to definitively determine adjustment outcomes for this population. Such shortcomings, combined with a failure to address additional variables that influence outcomes, have left identified gaps in the research unaddressed. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to identify the cultural socialization behaviors that contributed to the development of the participant’s positive …

Examining The Relational Space Of Native Faculty Members In Higher Education, Stevie Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the available research on Native faculty experiences emphasizes the challenges and hardships of being an Indigenous faculty member. Native faculty members are often underrepresented and rarely appreciated for the cultural teachings and knowledge they contribute within settler-colonial institutions. Nonetheless, Native faculty continue to demonstrate resilience and leadership navigating in higher education.

This qualitative research study examines the experiences of 11 Native women faculty members within higher education. The settler-colonial framing of teaching, research, and service (TRS) are areas often associated with faculty for the purposes of determining promotions and achieving tenure. However, this method of framing seldomly comprehends the …

Acknowledgment Of Culture And Stereotypes: Black Participants’ Perceptions Of Specific Therapist Behaviors, Tsotso T. Ablorh

Graduate Masters Theses

Mental health disparities for Black people of diverse ethnicities compared to people of other racial identities has been well-documented (Alegría et al., 2008; Maura & Weisman de Mamani, 2017). Research addressing this pervasive systemic and interpersonal problem often focuses on client-related factors that create or intensify barriers to care. However clinician-related factors (i.e., racial identity, multicultural training, implicit biases, behavior, etc.) also have a significant impact on barriers to care, retention in therapy, and clinical outcomes for people of African descent (Larrison & Schoppelrey, 2011; Owen, Imel, Adelson, & Rodolfa, 2012). Researchers suggest that the favoring of historically white perspectives, …