Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

John “Mule” Miles, Joe G. Gonzales

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

Imagine being a 14-year-old kid doing a project for history about a topic you enjoy. My group and I decided to research the history of baseball, but more specifically, the history of the Negro League. A league that solely for Black baseball players because of segregation. We decided to reach out to San Antonio native John “Mule” Miles who played in the Negro League from 1946-1949, about a possible phone interview. One day, while in math class, my history teacher pulled my group and me out of class because Miles dropped by our school and wanted to do the interview …

The Afro-Latino Presence In Late Colonial Spanish San Antonio, Diana González Villarreal

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

San Antonio is one of the oldest cities in what is currently the state of Texas. For tens of millennia, Natives have inhabited the entirety of the Americas, and also more specifically the area that is now San Antonio because of its fertile soil and rivers; it is this geographic feature that facilitates the thriving of civilizations. As such, the European Spanish settlers and missionaries established their presence in this very area as early as 1718. Since then, the inevitable miscegenation that resulted has molded the identity of what is now San Antonio, Texas, with over 300 years of documented …

Albert Harold Banks, Jarred John Cantu

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

One thing is certain for the history of San Antonio; the African American community has had a little spotlight shined on them throughout. Today San Antonio has many different cultures throughout where ideas are all mixed together in 460 plus square miles of land according to the 2010 census. For obvious reasons, San Antonio didn’t become this way overnight. Throughout its history we have seen its fair share of many races coming over and setting up new homes here; more so in the African American community. Until recently we have only begun to understand what this community has brought in …

Homer L. Rodgers: The Commerce Street Tailor, Robert Grey Miller

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

The common heroes of our time are often overlooked. Doctors and nurses get recognition for helping the sick in times of need. Farmers working in the fields grow our food. Cowboys round up the cattle to bring to market. Teachers help students learn and prosper in society. However, the bus drivers, janitors, food service industry workers, and retail shop owners are usually passed by as insignificant. Not much has been said or recorded about the ordinary workers of our society, let alone African Americans in Texas. San Antonio provides a wealth of untapped knowledge to examine the average worker and …

G. William Bouldin, More Than A Businessman, Mario M. Gutierrez

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

When the average person thinks about African American history, the two major historical subjects that possibly comes to their mind are slavery and the civil rights movement. I believe this is the case because African American history is a subject with a limited curriculum in the history classes of our public schools. Possible causes for this problem could be budget restrictions, limited amounts of time in classes, or even to ‘soften’ the reality of American history. Despite these reasons, the undeniable fact is that African American History has many unresearched areas within the subject. For instance, the historical study of …

The History Of The Cameo Theater, Patricia M. Gutierrez

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

On March 20, 2015, Pastor Doug Robins held a church service in the Cameo Theater. He remembered one of the parishioners stating, “Hey, Pastor Doug, I went to a rave and I did Ecstasy right there, and now I’m coming to church here.” From its founding in 1940, up to the present day, the Cameo Theater has been a host to a number of diverse events, everything from religious services to raves. On June 11, 1940, the Cameo Theater opened and was owned by Carl Milentz.

San Antonio Black Aces, Edwin Ocasio-Lopez

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

Baseball has been in San Antonio since the 19th century, with the San Antonio Bronchos being the first team in any sport to bring the city a title in 1897. African Americans have been playing baseball for as long as there has been a sport of baseball. In 1908, the city’s first black baseball team, the Black Bronchos, won another championship for the city. After the foundation was laid for African American baseball leagues by the Black Bronchos, the Black Aces made their first and only appearance in San Antonio in 1919. Through immense struggles and pressures due to Jim …

Environmental Injustice's Impact On Asthma Disparities In Nyc, Tayler J. Rodriquez

Student Publications

Understanding the social determinants of health is essential when looking at low-income minorities in urban cities. Social determinants of health are conditions in the environment in which people are born, which affects a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes. Amongst other determinants, adequate housing can have a significant influence on population health outcomes such as asthma. Zoning inequality negatively and disproportionately impacts the health and the overall quality of life of low-income minorities; zoning is correlated to environmental injustice fueling adverse health effects and health disparities among low-income minority populations. Without the opportunity to receive adequate and affordable housing, …

African American Disparities Within The Medical World, Claudia E. Mischler

Student Publications

There are many challenges that African Americans face and the lack of quality in care towards African Americans is an ongoing problem. Black men and women are not given the same care compared to their white counterparts. African Americans are faced with numerous disparities in the medical world. This can exist due to factors that are out of their control such as; failure of medical professionals recognizing the sociocultural differences, distrust in the health care system, cultural differences in understanding and explaining illness, history of hospital and medical office segregation, and knowledge of available services. It is very unlikely to …

Gentrification In Seattle: Amazon Overpowers The City Council, Keyleigh N. Wallick

Student Publications

In this paper, I will analyze gentrification in the city of Seattle, Washington. I argue that gentrification in Seattle is driven by the tech and real estate industries that are powerful and lucrative enough to deter accountability despite the City Council’s efforts. First, I will discuss gentrification mostly through a sociological lens. Then, I will consider gentrification in Seattle, focusing on the Central District, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, and First Hill neighborhoods. Additionally, I will discuss the role immigration plays in gentrification and the vulnerability of certain communities in Seattle. Finally, I will analyze the efforts the City Council …

Bodies Without The Burden: White Appropriation And Exploitation Of Black Appearance And Culture, Marisa E. Balanda

Student Publications

Critiques of cultural appropriation in regards to inappropriate Halloween costumes and the phenomenon of Instagram models “black-fishing” their followers are more prevalent now than ever before, but white exploitation of black culture and appearance is nothing new. In academia, the term “cultural appropriation” describes how aspects of a marginalized group’s culture are taken by those in a dominant group without regard to their cultural significance. In her chapter, “Black Culture Without Black People,” Imani Kai Johnson refers to appropriation as “colonialism at the scale of the dancing body or the sacred ritual object, its life and dynamism reduced to a …

Covid-19: The Industrial Prison Complex And Black Bodies, Christian A. Rodriguez

Student Publications

COVID-19 has exposed a variety of issues and insecurities in our world since its eruption in 2020. While it is heavily discussed, debated and researched, much of the virus’ impact is not covered in communities and areas where marginalized bodies suffer disproportionately. One of the most undermined and blanketed populations in our country during the time of the pandemic (and for decades before) is the prison population, which has seen soaring cases and deaths since the virus first touched down in the states. Much of the prison population consist of black men and women and sadly mirror the same health …

Cannabis And Its Historical Role In America’S Intentional Segregation Of Race, William E. Kelley

Student Publications

One of the more dramatic shifts in attitudes towards a particular trend or culture we have seen during the turn of the century is none other than attitudes towards marijuana. The Cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana, has been illegal in the United States for a while now. In the past ten years, we have seen an influx of states and countries relaxing their attitudes towards marijuana, and it's potential benefits. While this shift in attitude towards a relatively harmless drug is a step in the right direction, many are unaware of the sinister and racist history behind outlawing the …

Racism In America: A Psychological Approach, Brett S. Burton

Student Publications

America is a country that has racism interwoven into its history and ingrained within its society. Blacks have been subjected to this racism and oppression for generations, and at a higher level than other minority groups. More recently in American society, we can see a transition from overt discrimination to covert discrimination through policies and legislation that affect racial groups differently. Foucault and Bentham’s Panopticon can be used to discuss the true systematic violence imposed on blacks and we can further that discussion by investigating the War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration and how they represent reincarnations of previous Babylonian …

Research On The Demographic Changes Around San Antonio's St. Paul Square From 1880 To 1920, Christopher D. Oliver

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

We often hear of the massive boom in population experienced by various Northern cities during the Great Migration (1916-1960), where over 6 million African Americans would migrate across the country in search for better opportunities. What we do not often hear is how such migration affected the larger Southern cities. Such a seemingly important and relevant question deserves to be covered extensively. San Antonio, while a large city (and once the largest in Texas), has been left unexplored on this question, while other Texas cities like Houston are receiving some coverage on this topic. I want to begin answering this …

Progressive Era Activism For Black Orphanage, Isaac L. Godoy

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

A group of American citizens that are historically overlooked and underserved are impoverished and homeless children. According to the United States Census Bureau as of 2017, when this group is divided by race, the number of African-American children that live in poverty is higher than others. This kind of data has only been available since 1959. Previously, the federal government did not have any involvement in assisting with any services to impoverished children came in the form of community activism. The most prominent institutions to provide care to homeless children were in the form of orphanages.

The Impact Of Marriage On African American Educators In Bexar County, 1880-1950, Jordan Lejeune

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

As a society, we are still having discussions about whether or not women “can have it all.” We have not moved past gendered expectations for men and women. Mollie Carey Brown, Fanny Ellis Starnes, and Lady Henrietta Boyd were Black educators in the San Antonio public school system in the late nineteenth century who have incredible stories that may feel familiar to some women today. Mollie Carey Brown and Fanny Ellis Starnes both got married and ended their careers. Henrietta Boyd never got married, and remained a teacher until retirement. All three of these women had to fight gender expectations …

The Life Of A Former Slave In Bexar County, Karina De Hoyos

Methods of Historical Research: Spring 2020 (Archived)

The Slave Narrative Collection from the WPA Federal Writers’ Project, housed at the Library of Congress, has over 2,300 first-person accounts and 500 black and white photographs of people who were born into slavery.Numerous historians have relied on these narratives to help them in their work to have a better understanding of slavery. Many people did not know how, or even where, to start their new lives, but they knew they needed to find a way to make a living, or ultimately seek work from their former masters. Despite numerous obstacles in their lives before and after the Civil War, …

Roots Of African American Christianity, Homer Jones

Georgia College Student Research Events

The basis of African American Christianity is influenced by African religion and the Gullah Geechee Corridor. This study is explored in a performance arts structure of choreography and dramaturgy. This is because there is a strong sense of arts presented in Africa as well as African American religion. This research is explored in Crowns by Regina Taylor. Crowns is important for this research because of the African American culture that is presented specifically at Georgia College and State University. Crowns is the first African American musical that emphasizes the idea of black culture and religion and how African religion is …

Ua94/6/1 My Story: Wku Women's Basketball's Sandra Skinner, Sandra Skinner

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

My Story is a series of first-person feature articles written by WKU student-athletes. The student-athletes will be telling their own stories in their own words. This article written by women’s basketball redshirt senior Sandra Skinner, whose final season was cut short because of the cancellation of the Conference USA Tournament earlier this month.

Race, Gender And Power: Afro-Peruvian Women’S Experiences As Congress Representatives, Sharun Gonzales Matute

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous accounts about the presence of women of African descent on Latin American legislatures outline Peru as an exceptional case. In 2013, Peru had three Afro-Peruvian women in its national congress, all of them former volleyball players. Compared to other countries where Black women were almost inexistent in legislatures, Peru was in a better position. Simultaneously, Afro-Peruvian women’s organizations and leaders denounce their marginalization from political spaces. This work seeks to explore the experiences of Afro-Peruvian congresswomen elected between the years 2000 and 2016 and their relation to political power. Intersectionality serves as a theoretical framework for this research because …

“They Didn’T Burn Down Our Spirit”: Heritage Terrorism And The Resurgence Of Black Church Burnings In The Age Of Obama, Jajuan Shonel Johnson

Student Theses and Dissertations

The burning of Black churches motivated by racial hatred has an extensive history in America that persists. Drawing largely from primary resources, the dissertation analyzes the resurgence of Black church fires during both terms of President Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States. The definition of heritage terrorism is applied to churches intentionally burned, particularly the arsons motivated by hatred. The study examines specific arson cases and explains the implications burnings have on the tangible and intangible heritage of communities impacted. Lastly, the study highlights the courage and resilience of communities that rebuilt in the aftermath of …

Arkansas In The African American Imaginary: A Rhetoric Of Place, Carmen Lanos Williams

Student Theses and Dissertations

Due to the history of racism in America, African Americans have always held a conflicted relationship with it. This is true in both regional and local contexts. This study imagines the ways in which African American Arkansans are contributing to the notion of “place” in both real and imagined ways via published fiction, oral histories, and memoirs. The bildungsroman, or coming of age genre, serves to unify seeming disparate genres in the project, as all texts in the study depict growing up in Arkansas. The most comprehensive treatment of Arkansas as a place may be found in Brooks Blevins’s cultural …

Lamin Fofana: Blues, Alaina Claire Feldman, Dino Dincer Sirin, Lamin Fofana

Publications and Research

Catalogue for the exhibition "Lamin Fofana: Blues" presented at Baruch College's Mishkin Gallery in 2020.

Resistance And The Black Freedom Movement: Reflections On White’S Freedom Farmers, Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Priscilla Mccutcheon, Ashanté Reese, Angela Babb, Jonathan C. Hall, Eric Sarmiento, Bradley Wilson

Geography Faculty Publications

First paragraphs:

Landmark: 1. An object or feature of a landscape . . . that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location. Synonyms: mark, indicator, guiding light, signal, beacon, lodestar. 2. An event or discovery marking an important stage or turning point in something. Synonyms: milestone, watershed . . . major achievement. (“Landmark,” n.d., para. 1 & 4)

Dr. Monica White’s Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement stands literally as a landmark, ushering in a new era of community-based scholarship with and for agrarian justice. From here …

2020 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2020 IGGAD Conference: Without Borders: Tracing the Cultural, Archival, and Political African Diaspora.

Burden, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Burden (2020) directed by Andrew Heckler.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 95, No. 20, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Alvey, Rebekah. WKU Students in Italy to Return Early – Coronavirus, COVID-19
• Williams, Matthew. Arabic Program Stands Out in State
• Lowe, Julianna. Student Government Association Rally for Higher Education
• Stack, Madalyn. Editorial Cartoon re: Politics
• Dressman, Jake. Partisan & Polarized – Politics
• Meyer-Thornton, Zane. Rolling Over Differences – Wheelchair Basketball
• Rash, Liza. A Palace for Bowling Green – Anna’s Greek Restaurant
• Lowe, Julianna. How WKU Is Celebrating 5^th Annual Social Work Month
• Wells, Elliott. Winning & Losing Is a Fine Line – Basketball
• Kieser, …

George Phillip Holt, Sr. Papers, 1971-1972, G. P. Holt

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

Finding aid for the George Phillip Holt, Sr. Papers, 1971-1972.

Park Blues Langston Hughes, Racial Exclusion, And The Park Ballad, Margaret Konkol

English Faculty Publications

This chapter draws attention to the lack of parks and nature recreation amenities during the 1920s and 1930s in predominantly African American city neighborhoods through Langston Hughes’s political poetry, specifically his blues-inflected ballad “Park Bench,” as well as “Chicago’s Black Belt” “Restrictive Covenants,” and “One Way Ticket.” Through the figure of the tramp/vagrant/bum, “Park Bench” voices a protest against inequality mapped into city space. Asserting that access to nature should be a fundamental condition of a democratic society, the poem situates the park bench as a charged site for public dialogue. The chapter argues that this poem and other Hughes …