Africana Studies Commons^™

America’S First Comic Role, “The Negro”: An Analysis Of Historical Caricatures And Their Influence On African American Characters And Archetypes, Skyla A. Praylow

Senior Theses

A stereotype is defined as “a set of ideas that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.”1 Even though stereotypes are understood to be harmful, “contributing to prejudice and discrimination,” they are still believed to have some “kernel of truth,” and are viewed as “overgeneralized beliefs about social groups in society.” These stereotypes are then used as propaganda to reinforce oppressive systems in the US.2 Stereotypes create the basis of opinions that are used to create caricatures. A caricature is “a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking …

Black And Autistic In Neo-Nationalist America, Timotheus Gordon Jr

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

In "Black and Autistic in a Neo-Nationalist America," Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr. explores the intersectional challenges faced by Black autistic individuals in a socio-political climate marked by rising neo-nationalism. Drawing on personal experiences and historical contexts, Gordon navigates the metaphorical tightrope of double consciousness, as articulated by W.E.B. DuBois, to highlight the precarious existence of those who do not conform to monolithic identities. The essay critiques the melting pot analogy of American culture, advocating instead for a pluralistic society that recognizes and values diverse identities. Through a blend of autobiographical narrative and scholarly analysis, Gordon underscores the systemic marginalization of …

Feelings That Drive, Kayla M. Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

Feelings That Drive is an interdisciplinary, multimodal thesis that blends poetry, personal narrative, lyrical essays, and spiritual reflection to explore the complex intersections of Black identity, memory, trauma, resilience, and healing in the contemporary American South. Framed in five thematic sections—Worn, Anxiousness, Desperation, Hopeful, and Restored—the work traverses emotional and geographic landscapes, most notably the author’s home in New Orleans, to trace the cumulative effects of racialized trauma, familial rupture, and spiritual seeking. Through nonlinear storytelling and form-breaking verse, the thesis confronts experiences such as anti-Blackness in institutional spaces, gendered violence, economic precarity, generational silence, and the haunting …

Visibly Invisible: Reclaiming Atlanta Black Architecture Through Black Expression, Sean M. Spencer

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Architecture has long grappled with questions of self, community, and cultural identity. While the number of Black architects is growing, architecture that genuinely reflects Black identity remains rare. This lack of representation has contributed to a sense of invisibility for Black communities within the built environment—whether by design or neglect. There is an urgent need to define and celebrate Blackness and Black space in ways that reflect the cultural richness of Black communities. As George Will points out, broad labels like African American or African often obscure the unique cultural experiences within Black communities. Historically, the lack of economic and …

Fueling The Fire! How Black Students Make Sense Of Their Experiences With Youth Development Programs And Their Roles In Post-Secondary Transition And Success, Erica Austin

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I used a phenomenological research design to explore how Black students make sense of their experiences with Youth Development Programs (YDPs)and how the program components contributed to their transition and success in postsecondary education. An analysis of the interview data gathered from ten black students through the lens of Social Identity Theory revealed three themes: (a) YDPs help students feel prepared and supported by equipping them with essential academic and life skills, mentorship, and leadership opportunities; (b) Representation within YDPs fosters self-efficacy and aspiration, as mentors and role models who share students’ cultural backgrounds inspire confidence and …

Politics Of Refusal: Justice And Liberation For Black Trans Lives, Quincy Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates the challenges faced by Black trans people. In this thesis, I will explore how protest is used to highlight and confront the obstacles faced by the Black trans community. I will also examine the cultural work of Black trans people and what they teach us. The Brooklyn Liberation march and the TV show Pose is an important part of Black trans legacy. They both look at the complications surrounding Black trans lives and contributes to Black trans representation in protesting and fighting marginalization. This thesis will argue the importance of allyship to create safe space for Black …

The Definition Of A Black Man: The Entanglement Of Race, Sexuality, And Space, Michael Moore

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how Black queer men and transmasculine individuals navigate Black heteronormative and White queer spaces in New Orleans. Over the last few decades, articles, including anthropological and sociological, have focused on the relationship between race, gender performance, sexuality, and emotional expression among men such as Christian (2005), which analyzed how Black queer men expressed their masculinity within queer spaces (Christian 2005). This thesis builds on this literature to explore how societal and cultural pressures of masculinity can hinder Black queer men institutionally, socially, and romantically.

Black Women And Theoretical Frameworks, Laschanda Johnson

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Despite the upsurge in the number of woman students as well as novice faculty /administrators, there are still too few women leaders to inspire the shifting demographics. The growing number of female undergraduate students in most parts of the world has created the erroneous perception that gender equality in higher education has been attained. While women's contribution to higher education has increased, the attainment of leadership positions is practically unknown from the global perspective. Given that higher education is becoming a more complicated global enterprise, gender equality in leadership is not only an issue of impartiality but also a need …

Battling History: A Discussion Of How Controlling Images And The Matrix Of Domination Causes Recreations Of Oppression Affecting Black Female Athletes In Gymnastics Today, Nicole T. Cesanek

Student Publications

The history of the slave era led to the creation of several different tropes of African American women used throughout history including the jezebel and the strong Black woman. Coupled with the matrix of domination, researchers are able to understand how this history has led to recreations of oppression among Black female athletes. This has been particularly evident among the sport of gymnastics in which several athletes have experienced severe oppression, which in many cases, has prevented them from speaking up about other serious concerns within their sport such as sexual assault and mental health. The creation of tropes for …

Teaching Shante Curtelia Dominique Ophelia Brown Johnson : An Autoethnography Of A Black Male, Seventh-Day Adventist, Jazz Avant-Garde Artist, Michael Gayle

Dissertations

Leadership is part and parcel of societies and cultures. Leadership research can provide understanding that in turn provides knowledge, resources and growth opportunities for leaders. Leadership may be understood from a personal perspective as being bound up with identity. As I examine myself as a person and as a leader, I realize that several identities are prominent: Black male identity, Christian identity, jazz avant-garde artistic identity. Each of those identities have features that contribute to leadership.

The purpose of this study is to describe and explore leadership experiences of a Black male, from the Seventh-day Adventist Christian tradition who is …

The Black Ass History Of House Music, Segen D. Assefa

Capstones

Contrary to current thinking, the history of house and techno music is overwhelmingly Black. This capstone was written in collaboration with three members of the house music scene, who have offered their lived experiences and personal anecdotes to help us better understand the true history and culture of the genre, and how marginalized identities in the creative industry suffer through lack of widespread historical knowledge (https://imsegen.com/2023/05/04/the-black-ass-history-of-house-music/).

Hustle In H-Town: Hip Hop Entrepreneurialism In Houston, Brittany L. Long

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Imagine a sprawling, overheated American megalopolis that epitomizes diversity and segregation in one of the world’s youngest countries. Despite Houston’s history of structural racism and segregation, Houston Hip Hop entrepreneurs built communities and created storied businesses that culminate in a sense of local pride and Hip Hop identity that has not been replicated in the same manner in any other city. An examination of thought-provoking existing scholarship about the Hip Hop South and Hip Hop in Houston, as well as an examination of existing and collected primary sources (interviews) allow me to demonstrate two things: Hip Hop entrepreneurialism is a …

The Problem Of Blackness In America: Becoming When The Being Never Comes To Be, Nkiru Anyaegbunam

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The problem of Blackness in America is a consequence of the historical reality and continued legacies of colonialism, the triangular trade and chattel slavery that have been facilitated through violence and capitalism. This thesis will argue that this problem that is pronounced through racialized institutional systems of violence such as mass incarceration and housing inequality, which disproportionately negatively impacts Black Americans is part of a larger discourse on the human and (mis)recognition. This violence has created a quintessential incompleteness for Black Americans who neither are recognized as citizens nor human. The problem of Blackness will be continuously grounded in this …

Can Joy Be Racialized? Analyzing How Ghanaians Conceptualize Joy, Zakiyyah (Zaza) Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The racialization of joy is one’s own experience of joy being tied to their racial, and ethnic identity. Inspired by the concept of Black joy, which is an example of the racialization of joy, this paper aims to understand how Ghanaian university students conceptualize joy and whether they would consider their experience of joy to be influenced by their racial/ethnic identity. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In addition, photography was used as a methodology to capture images of Black people experiencing joy …

On Being Seen Or For Those Who Break Like Me, Shanisha K. Branch

English Theses & Dissertations

The nature of truly seeing is something I’ve had a hard time grappling with. If you understand the difficultly of seeing and wanting others to see you that same, then these pages are for you.

The Intersection Between Black Hair And The Environment: Hair As A Site For Environmental Justice And Sustainability, Dafina Matiku

Scripps Senior Theses

Currently, we are facing several global crises that include but are not limited to climate change, food insecurity, pollution of the body and environment, as well as racial, gender, and class inequities. This thesis seeks to understand how the natural hair movement, which strives to omit toxic chemicals while embracing textured hair, can be a tool of reconnecting to nature. As humans we are intrinsically part of ecosystems and nature, we must find our niche in it instead of occupying and destroying our environment entirely. The methodology includes compiling a small array of experiences that show the nuance of hair …

Dear Black Child: A Discussion On The Formation Of Identity For African Diasporic Adolescents In The U.S., Sokhnagade B. Ndiaye

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this capstone project, I am using art, photography, and music to depict the experiences of African diasporic youth in the United States. I will explore the white supremacist systems that contribute to the anxiety that comes with being a black child in America. In this project, I plan to discuss the ways in which African diasporic adolescents develop their identity and consciousness and the ways in which living in American society helps and/or hinders the development of this identity and consciousness. I argue that living in the United States forces black youth to form double and triple consciousnesses, which …

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 …

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 …

Yeezus Is Jesuz: Examining The Socio-Hermeneutical Transmediated Images Of Jesus Employed By Kanye West, Daniel White Hodge

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Kanye is enigmatic in many ways. His continuous reference to deity while still embracing a person like 452 makes him worth the study and effort to explore his contribution and effect in the Hip Hop cultural continuum. This article investigates, Kanye West from a theological and spiritual standpoint to provide insights from his theological aesthetics. While the ever-growing field of Hip Hop studies begins to explore religion in Hip Hop, the present work seeks to address this and develop new theologies/theories that fit both a Hip Hop and Black theology context. While the formal discipline of theology in the United …

Poem – Footnotes For Kanye, Jasmine Mans

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

No abstract provided.

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? …

The Damaging Effects Of Intersectionality And Layers Of Oppression On United States Female Soccer Players, Brooke L. Priddy

Student Publications

Black athletes face structural and overt racism in all sports across the country, in which the majority of White Americans either chooses to ignore or sometimes even use to victimize certain athletes. They are discriminated against because of the color of their skin, despite achieving the same levels of success and fame as their white competitors. Black athletes must work harder than white athletes for the same end goal, not because of any sort of athletic disadvantage, but because of racial injustice and intolerance. Soccer is a prime example of how Black athletes face racism in sport. Black female soccer …