Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

A Half Century Later, We Need The Voting Rights Act More Than Ever, Jill Ogline Titus

Civil War Institute Faculty Publications

Two years ago, the Supreme Court determined that voter discrimination is a thing of the past. The Court's decision to gut the 1965 Voting Rights Act ensures that this summer's 50^thanniversary commemoration is an ironic one.

We needed the legislation in 1965, the Court argued in its 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down the formula that made the act enforceable, but we don't anymore. [excerpt]

Alaska Natives And The Power Of Perseverance: The Fight For Sovereignty And Land Claims In Southeast Alaska, 1912-1947, Bridget Lee Baumgarte

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. Americans viewed Alaska as a source of natural resources, at first engaging in the dwindling fur trade and then expanding to mining and the commercial salmon fishery by the turn of the century. For Alaska’s Indigenous people, these tumultuous times resulted in the loss of Indigenous land and resources. Although Natives attempted to solve land disputes through diplomacy, Americans rarely listened and often ignored aboriginal land title. In 1912, young Alaska Native leaders formed the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB), an organization committed to helping Alaska Natives adjust to the changes brought …

Creating The Black California Dream: Virna Canson And The Black Freedom Struggle In The Golden State’S Capital, 1940-1988, Kendra M. Gage

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines the black struggle for racial equality in the Golden State’s capital from 1940-1988 and an integral leader of the movement, Virna Canson. Canson fought for nearly fifty years to dismantle discriminatory practices in housing, education, employment and worked to protect consumers. Her lifetime of activism reveals a different set of key issues people focused on at the grassroots level and shows how the fight for freedom in California differed from the South because the state’s discriminatory practices were harder to pinpoint. Her work and the larger black community’s activism in Sacramento also reveals how the black freedom …

Comfortable Inaction, In Action, Mike Suarez

Education's Histories

Mike Suarez reviews Dionne Danns' (2014) Desegregating Chicago's Public Schools: Policy Implementation, Politics, and Protest, 1965-1985.

History, Memory, And The Indian Struggle For Autonomy In The Seventeenth-Century Hudson Valley, Jason R. Sellers

History and American Studies Articles

This essay uses treaty records, council minutes, personal correspondence, and travel narratives to argue that Hudson Valley Indians seized on the 1664 English conquest of New Netherland to try to position Natives and newcomers as independent members of an extended community sharing a common past and landscape. Formulating a history emphasizing peace, preserving the memory of that past through ritual actions, and involving English colonists in processes that rested on that history, Native Americans sought to integrate the newcomers into their existing network of social relations and a physical landscape that manifested those relations. Meanwhile, English colonists seeking to secure …

Remedying Our Amnesia, Adrea Lawrence

Education's Histories

In this multilogue response, Lawrence discusses four methodolgical contributions of Donald Warren's "Waging War on Education" essay.

The Repatriation Of Mexican-Americans To America, Aaron Ziskin

History

Shortly following the onset of the Great Depression America undertook a policy coined as Mexican Repatriation wherein it began encouraging people of Mexican descent to return home in order to free up jobs for 'actual' American citizens. This Policy touched countless people as it was broadly applied to anyone of the Mexican race, however as American influence in World War II increased it began facing a worker shortage. In response to this shortage America and Mexico devised a program which allowed for Mexican laborers to be imported for temporary farm and manual labor positions. The focus of this paper involves …

Native Interactions And Economic Exchange: A Re-Evaluation Of Plymouth Colony Collections, Kellie J. Bowers

Graduate Masters Theses

This research furthers our understanding of colonial-Native relations by identifying and analyzing artifacts that indicate interaction between Native Americans and English settlers in Plymouth Colony archaeological collections. This project explores the nature of these interactions, exposing material culture's role in both social and economic exchanges. Selected 17th-century collections were excavated in modern Plymouth, Massachusetts, and nearby Marshfield and Kingston. My examination includes identifying materials exchanged between the Wampanoag and English settler groups in archaeological collections through scholarly literature and comparative 17th-century sites. This project draws on the documentary resources to provide contextualized insights on the relationships formed by and around …

Broad Shoulders, Hidden Voices: The Legacy Of Integration At New Orleans' Benjamin Franklin High School, Graham S. Cooper

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper seeks to insert the voices of students into the historical discussion of public school integration in New Orleans. While history tends to ignore the memories of children that experienced integration firsthand, this paper argues that those memories can alter our understanding of that history. In 1963, Benjamin Franklin High School was the first public high school in New Orleans to integrate. Black students knowingly made sacrifices to transfer to Ben Franklin, as they were socially and politically conscious teenagers. Black students formed alliances with some white teachers and students to help combat the racist environment that still dominated …

Memorandum Of Agreement Between The Department Of The Interior And The Department Of The Army Pursuant To Section 206(B) Of The Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act, Public Law 98-602 (1984), United States Department Of The Interior, Us Department Of The Army (Civil Works), Us Department Of Indian Affairs

US Government Documents Related to Indigenous Nations

This Memorandum of Agreement, dated May 6, 2015, from the United States (US) Department of the Interior, the US Department of the Army (Civil Works), and the US Department of Indian Affairs, outlines the process by which a portion of land that was taken from the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation for construction and operation of the Garrison Dam be returned to the Three Affiliated Tribes. The authority of this return is granted by the Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-602).

Museum Spaces As Psychological Affordances: Representations Of Immigration History And National Identity, Sahana Mukherjee, Phia S. Salter, Ludwin E. Molina

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present research draws upon a cultural psychological perspective to consider how psychological phenomena are grounded in socio-cultural contexts. Specifically, we examine the association between representations of history at Ellis Island Immigration Museum and identity-relevant concerns. Pilot study participants (N = 13) took a total of 114 photographs of exhibits that they considered as most important in the museum. Results indicate that a majority of the photographs reflected neutral themes (n = 81), followed by nation-glorifying images (n = 24), and then critical themes that highlight injustices and barriers faced by immigrants (n = 9). Study 1 examines whether there …

A Portrait Of Chinese Americans: From The Perspective Of Assimilation, Wei Bai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With more than 40 million immigrants, the United States is the major destination for most international migrants. It has always been so because America is a nation of immigrants. The United States has been shaped by four waves of immigration, and unlike previous waves, in the past 50 years immigrants have come from Latin America and Asia more than other regions of the world. Chinese immigration is the focus of this thesis. Chinese people have been present in this society from before the Revolutionary War, and their story is a complex one--one marked by rapid growth, discrimination, exclusion, acceptance, more …

Documenting Ferguson: Capturing History As It Happens, Sonya Rooney, Jennifer Kirmer

WashU Libraries Presentations

This poster chronicles a novel archive project—the Documenting Ferguson Project at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Our poster highlighted our steps in the documentation and preservation of materials created in the course of and surrounding events in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting death of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014. WUSTL created a committee, consisting of University Archives and other library staff, faculty, and additional university staff, to coordinate the efforts to capture the history as it happened. The Documenting Ferguson Project Team was called together in August 2014, soon after the death of Michael Brown and the first …

Ways We Remember: Rethinking Symbols Of Italian American History And Imagining Alternative Narratives, Kathryn N. Anastasi

American Studies Honors Projects

My project re-examines dominant historical narratives of Christopher Columbus and assimilation of southern Italian immigrants to the United States. Arguing that such narratives partly result from historic anxiety surrounding southern Italians’ unstable whiteness, I challenge masculinist, white-washed histories by centering and contextualizing a history of Italian immigrant garment worker and labor leader Angela Bambace (1898-1975). By weaving my own exploration of my Italian immigrant ancestors’ pasts throughout, I ultimately encourage other white descendants of European immigrants to explore their histories in a critical and loving way that "resurrects" histories without sanctifying historical figures or their white descendants to racial innocence.

Constructing National Memory: The Problematics Of Resistance & Remembrance In The Wpa Slave Narrative Collections, Nathan A. Moore

Library Student Employees' Research

No abstract provided.

“Servants, Obey Your Masters”: Southern Representations Of The Religious Lives Of Slaves, Lindsey K.D. Wedow

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This paper focuses on how representations of the religious lives of slaves, specifically their abilities to comprehend the Bible and flourish spiritually, became an issue that not only propelled the North and South toward the Civil War, but also perpetuated the conflict. Using original documents from the collections housed at Chicago’s Newberry Library, predominantly sermons written by proslavery ministers as well as documents published by missionary organizations, this paper explores the fierce defense of the institution of slavery mounted by proslavery Christians. Specifically, this paper’s interest is in how the representation of slaves by proslavery evangelical Christians as incapable of …

Eugenics No Matter What?: An Investigation Of The Eugenic Origin Of Planned Parenthood And Its Effect On Contemporary Society, Sarah Mccrea

Black & Gold

According to Students for Life of America, the reproductive health non-profit known as Planned Parenthood was founded upon the principles of the Eugenics movement. They also argue that Planned Parenthood is still working toward the goals of that movement today. While Planned Parenthood’s ties to the Eugenics movement are clear, it is not necessarily true that the organization’s workers, volunteers, and officers are toiling to achieve century-old eugenic goals in contemporary society. In fact, this hypothesis ignores a piece of the puzzle that is integral to our understanding of why Planned Parenthood facilities are located where they are: the link …

Naccs 42nd Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Chicana/o In/Civilities: Contestación y Lucha: Cornerstones of Chicana & Chicano Studies

April 15-19, 2015

Parc 55 A Hilton Hotel

#NACCSSF

John Collier And Mexico In The Shaping Of U.S. Indian Policy: 1934–1945, Wilbert Terry Ahlstedt

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Relations between Mexico and the United States have often been tense and yet they have always been interrelated. In the nineteenth century Mexicans were viewed by their northern neighbors as degenerate racial hybrids. In terms of Native Americans and their relationship to land, Mexico was seen as an example of how not to conduct Indian policy. But during the 1930s, significant numbers of officials within the Roosevelt administration expressed interest in and admiration for Mexican domestic policy, especially in relation to Indian policy. One of the most enthusiastic proponents of Mexico’s federal Indian policy was U.S. Indian Commissioner John Collier. …

Quanah And Cynthia Ann Parker: The History And The Legend, Booth Library

Booth Library Programs

Photo galleries and supporting exhibits can be found on the QUANAH AND CYNTHIA ANN PARKER exhibit page.

Exhibit Dates

This exhibit was displayed at Booth Library February 7 - April 9, 2015

The "Real Black Power": Mattie Coney And The Pragmatic Politics Of Black Conservatism, Olivia M. Hagedorn

Open Access Theses

This project examines the life and activism of Mattie Rice Coney, a black civic leader from Indianapolis, Indiana. Coney founded the Citizens Forum, Inc., in July 1964 to facilitate the smooth implementation of recently enacted civil rights legislation such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Indianapolis's Open Housing Ordinance. Employing a language of racial uplift and civic duty, Coney deftly crafted an image of black conservatism that appealed to moderate white conservatives. In articulating a "quiet," alternative civil rights agenda centered on individual improvement, Coney legitimized her sociopolitical status among whites as a respectable black leader. This status helped …

Assessing Reconstruction: Did The South Undergo Revolutionary Change?, Lauren H. Sobotka

Student Publications

With the end of the Civil War, came a number of unanswered questions Reconstruction would attempt to answer for the South. While the South underwent economic, political and social changes for a short period, old traditions continued to persist resulting in racist sentiment.

The Long Road: Eisenhower’S Inter-American Highway: The Path To Economic Investment, Political Stability, And Collective Security In Central America, Jacob A. Ross

Student Publications

This paper explores the anti-communist Cold War tactics of public diplomacy as undertaken by the Eisenhower Administration. The focus of this paper is the Inter-American Highway: a program which the U.S. government funded and constructed to develop Central America economically, politically, and beyond. Funding for this program was increased and supported by the president because it fit the axiom of spending as little money as possible in the Cold War, but spending it in a way to be effective in the battle against Soviet communism. The stance of the U.S. government was to provide Central America with increased infrastructure development …

“Strength Shed By A New And Terrible Vision:” The Organic Evolution Of The Blues And The Blues Aesthetic In Richard Wright’S 'Uncle Tom’S Children', Jeffrey J. Horvath

Student Publications

An exploration into the development of the "blues aesthetic" in the African-American literary tradition.

The Thunder Of The Marching Men Of Joshua: Day 3, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

"Let us march on ballot boxes until the Wallaces of our nation tremble away in silence.... There is nothing wrong with marching in this sense.The Bible tells us that the mighty men of Joshua merely walked about the walled city of Jericho and the barriers to freedom came tumbling down." [excerpt]

Like An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Day 2, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

"They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, 'We ain’t goin’ let nobody turn us around.'"

I met Edith today. We were walking down the road and Edith was with us. She didn't say much. She just sort of gurgled, dangling from a sling on her mother's chest. [excerpt]

Walking Through 1965 On An Alabama Highway: Day 1, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

"Outside in the backyards I had just passed other youngsters engaged in their game 'State Trooper' in which half the number lined up locked arms, and proceeded to march singing 'We Shall Overcome,' then were set upon and beat down by the others wielding sticks and branches. In situations like these, one must observe the tragedy: that the misdeeds of our immature society are imprinted in the minds of innocent children."

Carl Benkert, Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama, 1965

We were marching down the road. Seriously. We were marching down a rural Alabama highway. Hundreds of us. Marching. [excerpt …

Lancastrians Marched With Dr. King In Selma, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Fifty years after he addressed a crowd in Lancaster’s Penn Square about “the idea that all men are one,” Wayne Glick remembers that moment as if it happened yesterday. Glick’s speech, inviting Lancastrians to participate in the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on behalf of African-American voting rights, is a footnote to Lancaster County history. But the march itself, featured in the popular film “Selma,” helped to change America. [excerpt]

Link Racial Past To The Present, Jill Ogline Titus

Civil War Institute Faculty Publications

Americans have been putting a great deal of energy into commemorating the 50th anniversary of some of the key moments of the civil rights movement. This burst of memorialization has inspired one new museum in Atlanta and the redesign of another in Memphis. The Smithsonian and Library of Congress are launching a new oral-history initiative, and films like Selma bring the movement to life for those who rarely read a history book or visit a museum.

This year brings more anniversaries: the Selma-to-Montgomery March, the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and the Watts rebellion. And the commemorative stakes are …

Time For A New Revisionism, Charles Tesconi

Education's Histories

Charles Tesconi provides a multilogue response to Donald Warren's "Waging War on Education: American Indian Versions."