African History Commons^™

Reproduction: The Ultimate Enemy Of Racial Passing In Harlem Renaissance Literature, Veronica Kordmany

Student Theses

"In this essay, I examine three texts that consider the repercussions of passing for Black Americans. Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) serves as a namesake for this general idea, as two light-skinned African American women represent the divisionary approach to racial passing. In George S. Schuyler’s Black No More (1931) we see a passing Black man’s virility being tested as he enters an ‘alternate universe’, in which a scientific invention grants him full access to the wondrous white world he’d always dreamed of entering. Finally, in the middle of this textual spectrum is Angelina W. Grimké’s 1919 short story, “The Closing …

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

Visual Representation Of Black Individuals At The Forefront Of Underground Railroad Interpretation, Alison Spongr

Museum Studies Theses

This thesis is grounded in a reflection and analysis of the building of an institution whose foundation and visuals position the narratives of Black individuals at the forefront of Underground Railroad interpretation. In 2018, the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center opened to the public after decades in the making. Its permanent exhibition, One More River to Cross, set in motion a shift in power – of whose stories are represented and shared – generated by visual activism.

“Between the American Revolution in 1776 and the end of the Civil War in 1865, thousands of freedom seekers escaped slavery …

In A Pickle: African Americans Struggles With Racism And Progress In Mount Olive, North Carolina, 1930-1955, Devin Lamb

History Honors Program

This paper examines the experiences of African Americans living in Mount Olive, North Carolina during the 20th century. Life in Mount Olive afforded African Americans a multitude of opportunities such as economic, educational, and access to healthcare. Though African Americans' situation in Mount Olive was better than Black people living in other locations throughout North Carolina, an exodus still occurred in the latter half of the 20th century. I argue African Americans stayed in Mount Olive because of the stability and economic opportunities provided to them by staying post-great migration, but that the persistence of racism and segregation made living …

A United Failure: The Failure Of The United Nations, United States, And Global Community In Preventing And Responding To The 1994 Rwandan Genocide, Josh Ratsch

Honors College Theses

The Rwandan Genocide represents a glaring failure of the global community to provide humanitarian protection to targets of ethnic violence and slaughter. The complete indifference displayed by the United Nations provided extremist Hutu leaders with an environment for killing without a threat of foreign intervention. Calls by the leader of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), Roméo Dallaire to reinforce the mission both before and during the slaughter fell upon deaf ears as UN leaders attempted to justify their inaction. Accounts from Rwandan representatives, who at the start of the genocide held a position on the UN Security …

To The Shores Of Tripoli: A Barbary Retrospective, Kathleen J. Brett

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The First and Second Barbary Wars were incredibly influential in shaping the diplomatic and military tactics of the early United States. These wars were fought against the Barbary states of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers, located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. The First Barbary War lasted between the years of 1801 to 1805. The First Barbary War began due to the United States’ desire to no longer pay tribute sums to the Barbary states, along with an increase in the number American merchantmen captured and enslaved by the Barbary states. Tripoli served as the primary aggressor in the …

“A Certain Brauch:” German-Georgian Palatine And Rhenish Immigrant Houses In Columbia County, New York And Their Vernacular Architectural Roots, Andrew J. Roberge

Senior Projects Spring 2022

In this archaeological and architectural survey of 18th Century Palatine and Rhenish immigrant houses in New York's Hudson Valley, specifically in Columbia County, I track the development of three houses from their earliest vernacular forms to those touched by the Georgian influence. The Georgian worldview, stemming from European Enlightenment ideals, began permeating colonial American society in the 18th Century. It's influence first began to touch the wealthy and elite most connected with mother Europe, and then trickled into more common society. I chronicle and analyze Germantown, NY's Reformed Sanctity Church Parsonage, Germantown, NY's Simeon Rockefeller House, and Clermont, NY's "Stone …

“A Change Is Gonna Come”: Music And Its Role In The Civil Rights Movement, Nathanial Humphrey

Honors College Theses

This thesis paper will provide thorough research and analysis regarding the role of music during the Civil Rights Movement. It would be the goal of this paper to answer the questions of whether or not music had an impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and if so, then in what ways and how was this conveyed through the music.This paper aims to discuss different genres of music, including but not limited to; jazz, rock, pop, blues, etc. In order to answer these questions, this paper will be analyzing songs written by artists during the movement, looking for forms of rhetoric …

The United States And Portuguese Angola: Space, Race, And The Cold War In Africa, Alex J. Marino

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an international history of the role of the United States in the process of decolonization in Angola, a former colony of Portugal. I argue that the United States embraced Portugal, Angola, and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo as irreplaceable Cold War allies. Decolonization in Africa challenged America’s relationship with all three countries, as competing forces within the American public called for Washington to adopt an anti-colonial, anti- racist ideology, while others demanded their government to support white supremacy at home and abroad. Decolonization in Angola, a protracted liberation struggle that started in 1961 and lasted until 1974, …

A Devised Ethnodrama: Conscious Voices, Sonia Pasqual

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Using techniques of storytelling, dance, poems, and monologues in the process of re-enacting life stories, the ensemble display issues that may be impeding society’s growth—discrimination against body image, blackness, females, and LGBTQ individuals. In addition, engagement in storytelling and performance can help the audience increase their cognitive skills, empathy, and ability to live a communal life. This evidence-based practice can transform lives and society. It has the potential of continuing to other faculties and with other departments, such as film, musical, and additional narratives. This specific work could be extended out beyond art and education into populations of any communities …

The Birth Of Exceptionalism: American Newspaper Coverage In The Revolutionary Era, Benjamin R. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores American exceptionalism through the lens of American newspapers during the Revolutionary era. As American newspapers covered the revolutions in France, Haiti, and Latin America, unique narratives developed around controversial leaders like Thomas Paine, Toussaint Louverture, and Simón Bolívar. Although at first newspapers covered the events in France and Latin America with glee, their coverage gradually began to change over time, increasingly finding flaws large and small in revolutions other than their own—chaos and violence in France and Haiti, and failures in the realization of republicanism in Latin America. If Americans initially believed their revolution was responsible for …

Evangels Of Emancipation: Missionary Activity In Postemancipation Sierra Leone, Jamaica, And The United States, Rowan Mcgarry-Williams

Pomona Senior Theses

White missionaries shaped the development of social relations and the political economies of post-emancipation Anglo-American societies. They imbued their destinations with a particular logic of freedom, stemming from a shared language of evangelicalism, liberalism, and white supremacy. For missionaries in Sierra Leone, Jamaica, and the United States, freedom meant the ability to engage in Christian worship and market relations. Freedom from Christianity or freedom from the market, however, did not factor into the missionary idea of what freedom entailed. In the face of conflict with formerly enslaved people and a hostile planter class, missionaries ultimately abandoned egalitarian and optimistic visions …

Sweetened Blood, Sweat And Tears, Nathan Celestine

All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects

Of the transatlantic diffusion of culture, there is no better example than what developed out of Caribbean enslavement. The loss of African identity among slaves with a common, methodically destroyed ancestry, along with the diversity inherent to the different groups of Africans and Europeans and their respective cultural elements and identities resulted in a complex homogeny of culture, race, nationality, and socioeconomic status that has continued its development since the introduction of slaves to West Indian soil. It was this same soil that would cause the demand for slave labor to explode throughout European-controlled Caribbean islands, from the addition of …

Cannot Afford To Publicly Surrender: The Public's Influence On Ronald Reagan's Strategic Relationship With South Africa, Jessica P. Forsee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reagan’s administration used the policy of constructive engagement to bring gradual reform to the apartheid system and build peace in the southern African region. The coordination of anti-apartheid activist organizations and members advocating for harsher economic pressure on South Africa successfully raised US public awareness and shifted public opinion against constructive engagement’s gradualist policies. As a result, leading Reagan staffers like Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker recalibrated constructive engagement’s focus to quicken regional peacebuilding maintain stability and control of US foreign policy in the public eye. This thesis analyzes the early influences on constructive engagement and …

An Actor's Process In Bridging The Gap Between First-Generation And Multi-Generational African-American Identities., Mutiyat Ade-Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects my process assimilating into the role of Chelle in the production of Detroit '67 at the University of Louisville. Although there have been instances of actors crossing lines of gender, nationality, race, and even sexuality, to perform roles in contemporary theatre, discussion about generational differences is almost non-existent. Through historical research, first-hand interviews, and conventional acting methods, I explore the world of my role, searching for spirituality, authenticity, and identity. Additionally, I explain my use of The WAY Method ®, a process I began creating in 2014 to help actors be clear with who they are before …

Black Historical Erasure: A Critical Comparative Analysis In Rosewood And Ocoee, Christelle Ram

Honors Program Theses

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of Black Historical Erasure in both the cases of Ocoee and Rosewood. Ocoee and Rosewood were both cites of racially motivated programs that led to the exodus of entire African American communities- in both cases however, the events were erased. Utilizing various post-modern texts, this project ultimately analyzes erasure as a force that upholds ideologies of white supremacy. Utilizing the theories of Antonio Gramsci and Karl Marx, this thesis analysis the modus operandi of violence that resulted in erasure as well as the repercussions of erasure. This thesis ultimately indicates that in Rosewood and …

“Communism May Be The Only Alternative If America Walks Away”: The Reagan Administration And The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act Of 1986, Abby Townend

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

“That New Africa Is Ready To Fight Its Own Battles": Kwame Nkrumah, The United States, And The Quest For A Modern Ghana, 1957-1966, Godwin Gyimah

Masters Theses

This project examines the United States-Ghana relationship and how the relationship transformed Ghana, 1957-1966. African leaders such as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had declared: "That new Africa is ready to fight its own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his affairs." Despite the non-alignment philosophy, Ghana was not neutral regarding the West and East blocs rivalry. The thesis argues that it was through the United States' government and private firms' contributions that Ghana was able to achieve the mark of a modern nation through industrialization, universal education, and the expansion of international trade economy. …

Killing Within Communities: What Causes Collective Violence, How We Remember It, And Why It Matters, Laleh Ahmad

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to understand motivations for collective violence beyond the traditional explanations of ethnic hatred or racism. Often, historical scholarship focuses on ethnic hatred and racism, and elaborates on the processes by which those notions and hatreds came to be. Scholarship in the political science realm often gets past the hatred hypothesis but does not explore historical myths and legacy formation as they contribute to past and current violence. This thesis employs a case study approach to understand collective violence that is global and takes multiple cultures and religions into account. The case studies were chosen thematically, and each …

The Life And Political Career Of Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Dylan Mcnutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hubert Horatio Humphrey never reached the Oval Office, but his accomplishments during his tenure as mayor, senator, and Vice President are just as noteworthy. During Humphrey’s political career he played a pivotal role in the most influential period of liberal American politics. During his youth and college years Humphrey became learned how to remain loyal to the people around him, and about the racial divisions of the South. Most research on Vice President Humphrey analyzes his time as a Senator, Vice President, and the 1968 Presidential election. The Life and Political Career of Hubert Humphrey, examines Humphrey’s life in its …

New England Slave Trader: The Case Of Charles Tyng, Paul J. Michaels

Master's Theses

Charles Tyng has been heralded as an American hero after the posthumous publication of his memoir, Before the Wind: The Memoir of an American Sea Captain, 1808-1833, in 1999. Recent research involving British Treasury report books from the nineteenth century suggest otherwise – that Tyng actively promoted and was engaged in the illicit trade of African captives. A Boston Brahmin, Tyng applied the lessons of his time at sea with Perkins & Company, the opium trading firm, to his occupation as an agent of notorious slave trading firms in Havana. This paper uses as evidence records of the captures …

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.

The Politics Of Wounds, Jonathan Nash

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

What configuration of strategies and discourses enable the white male and settler body politic to render itself as simultaneously wounded and invulnerable? I contextualize this question by reading the discursive continuities between Euro-America’s War on Terror post-9/11 and Algeria’s War for Independence. By interrogating political-philosophical responses to September 11, 2001 beside American rhetoric of a wounded nation, I argue that white nationalism, as a mode of settler colonialism, appropriates the discourses of political wounding to imagine and legitimize a narrative of white hurt and white victimhood; in effect, reproducing and hardening the borders of the nation-state. Additionally, by turning to …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Self-Executed Dramaturgy : A Journey With Miss Ida B. Wells., Sidney Michelle Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents my experience with the production of Miss Ida B. Wells by Endesha Ida Mae Holland. I used self-executed dramaturgy to enrich my process as an actor and create multiple vocally and physically dynamic historical characters. Throughout this document, I explore how my personal acting process and development as an artist are heavily influenced by the practices of the Alexander Technique. I discuss the unique challenges that I faced with scoliosis and vocal trauma and how I used the training I received during my graduate career to address those challenges. My personal account details the specific methods by …

A Colony’S State Of Sovereignty: Decolonization Has Yet To Take Place In Rwanda, Mahalia Mehu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Martin Shipway, renowned author of Decolonization and Its Impact and professor of twentieth-century French Studies stated that:

"[...]it took only about twenty years for most of the formal structures and institutions of colonialism [...]to be swept away.[The] often violent and intermittently intense period of crisis[...] [explains] an international phenomenon as complex as decolonization[...] ."

Yet this quote by Shipway does not speak to the fact that independence from former colonial powers has not been fully achieved and neither has decolonization. According to the documentation of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the former German/Belgian colony of Rwanda did not achieve the …

Bound In Bermuda And Virginia: The First Century Of Slave Laws And Customs, Max Tiffany

All Master's Theses

This study looks at the differing early slave societies of colonial Virginia and Bermuda. Specifically, this study looks at how the first century of slave laws and customs in the respective colonies varied so greatly. Relatively speaking, slave laws and customs in colonial Virginia were harsh when compared to the laws and customs of colonial Bermuda. This difference was due to the difference in the type of labor slaves performed and in landowning patterns in the respective colonies during the seventeenth century. In Virginia, slaves labored under a harsh regime on plantations, while Bermudian slaves worked often in a maritime …

Defying Convention: Atypical Perspectives Of Slavery In Antebellum New Orleans, Amanda N. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the first half of the nineteenth century, slavery became a vital economic component upon which the success of the southern states in America rested. Cotton was king, and slavery was the peculiar institution that ensured its dominance in the domestic and international markets of America. Popular portrayals, however, often neglect the complicated dynamics of American slavery and instead depict the institution in simplistic terms. The traditional view has emphasized an image of white southerners as slaveholders and blacks as slaves. In New Orleans, the lives of three men—all of whom were tied to slavery in varying capacities—reveal a much …

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?: Food Inequlaity And Black Americans, Christina Foster

Capstone Collection

Food insecurity is an issue that plagues many people throughout the world. It only requires a brief search on the United Nation’s (U.N.) World Hunger Map to determine that this is indeed a worldwide crisis. Conversely, within the United States, the issue of hunger is often treated as “minimal” in comparison to other countries. A deeper inquiry into hunger within the U.S. reveals an even more disturbing connection: the role of white supremacy and systemic racism in regard to hunger. Academic research pertaining to food access is quite recent. Be that as it may, it is of no surprise that …