Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Recruiting A Diverse Lis Workforce, Janet H. Clarke

Library Faculty Publications

What are the library services and resources that Asian Pacific Americans need? What does it mean to be an Asian Pacific American librarian in the 21st century? In Asian American Librarians and Library Services: Activism, Collaborations, and Strategies, library professionals and scholars share reflections, best practices, and strategies, and convey the critical need for diversity in the LIS field, library programming, and resources to better reflect the rich and varied experiences and information needs of Asian Americans in the US and beyond. The contributors show that they care deeply about diversity, that they acknowledge that it is painfully lacking …

Finding Aid To The Collection Of Osborne Family Materials, Osborne Family, Colby College Special Collections

Finding Aids

The Osborne Family Collection centers on the members of an early African American family who settled in Waterville, Maine after the Civil War. The collection contains materials relating to Samuel Osborne (1883-1904), his wife, Maria Iverson Osborne (1836-1913), and their children: Flora Molly Osborne Strange (1854-1921), Amelia Osborne (1857-1930), and Lulu Clifton Osborne Connor (1864-1907?), all born in slavery in Virginia. The remaining Osborne children: Isabelle Osborne (1868), Annie J. Osborne (1869-1901), Alice E. Osborne (1871-1968), Edward Samuel Osborne (1874-1956), and Marion Thompson Osborne Matheson (1878-1954) were born in Waterville, Maine. Samuel Osborne worked as the Colby College Janitor for …

Black Student Union 50th Anniversary: Event Overview, Black Student Union

Black Student Union

Outline and notes of the Black Student Union's 50th Anniversary Event

Colonel John Johnston's "Biography Of Tecumtha" (1854), Caitlin Metheny

Nineteenth-Century Ohio Literature

In this installment, we have a biography of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh by Colonel John Johnston (here and, in some sources, spelled Johnson), who worked for decades as an “Indian agent”—an official liaison between the US government and indigenous peoples—at Fort Wayne and Piqua. Johnston's biography is followed by a critical essay by Caitlin Metheny.

The Frederick Douglass Diary: A Transcription, Andrew Lang, Joshua Rio-Ross

College of Science and Engineering Faculty Research and Scholarship

This document contains the transcribed text of The Frederick Douglass Diary, a 72-page handwritten diary kept by Frederick Douglass during his 1886-87 tour of Europe and Africa, with additional notes added in later years. The diary is part of the Frederick Douglass Papers available from the library of congress as scanned images. We present here the results of our use of Amazon's Mechanical Turk to transcribe the diary.

Mlk Celebration 2018 - What Is Your Position In Times Of Challenge And Controversy? Flyer, Western Michigan University

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Jan. 10 to April 14, 2018.

Mlk Celebration 2018 - What Is Your Position In Times Of Challenge And Controversy? Poster, Western Michigan University

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Jan 10 to 24, 2018.

Racism And The Latino Identity In America, 1910-1970, Cooper J. Smith

2018 Symposium

Beginning in the early 1900s and continuing today, there has been mass immigration by Mexicans and other Latin-Americans to the United States, and this has caused a great deal of strife between local Americans and these immigrants. There has been much discrimination on the part of Anglo Americans towards Latinos, claiming the loss of jobs and opportunity, and the increase in a threatening community. The identity of these immigrants has changed significantly over the course of the past century, largely due to the racism they have encountered. This research paper uses peer reviewed journals and scholarly articles to analyze how …

Chicanos: An Equal Opportunity For Higher Education, Cecilia Zamora

2018 Symposium

Latinos are the most rapidly growing population group in the Unites States and now account for the Nation’s largest minority group. This creates a significant opportunity to move forward and grow into more than a typical stereotype. This paper will explore ways to ensure that Latinos can advance and work for the jobs that will lead the U.S. into the 21st century. The U.S. Census Bureau states that 17.8% of Latinos in 2016 graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher compared to Whites at 61.3%. The percentage of Latino students graduating from college of higher education is surprisingly low. Latinos …

Latinos In The United States Military: World War Ii, Brianna R. Lasso

2018 Symposium

The reason for writing this research paper is to inform the audience and present them with a new understanding of Latinos in the United States military, during World War II. This research project brings to light the positive and negative experiences for Latinos who served their country during this period in history. It also recognizes the achievements and heroic acts of several Latinos during World War II, and explores the various roles that they played, and contributions that they made for the war effort. The method of research used for this study primarily consists of scholarly journals, books, and documentaries. …

Challenges And Motivations Experienced By 1st Generation Latina/O Students In Higher Education, Ereisa G. Morales

2018 Symposium

As of 2014, Latinx have accounted for more than half of the United States population. Additionally, the number of Latinx students pursuing higher education is increasing across the country, yet these students have also shown to be the highest in not completing their degrees. Currently, there is much research on the challenges that Latinx first-generation students face in pursuing higher education but limited on the motivation to pursue and stay in college. This work explores what keeps Latinx driven to continue their education despite the challenges experienced. Factors such as college knowledge and adjustment to college will be addressed in …

The Effect Of Chicanx Studies In High School Graduation Rates, Angelica Garcia-Macias

2018 Symposium

Chicanx students have a relatively lower high school graduation rate in the United States than other ethnic groups. This study assesses Arizona’s civic curriculum to determine the inclusivity of Latinx social movements that have influenced high school graduation rates. Additionally, Arizona has had ethnic studies within the Tucson school district for various years, since the 1990s. The study will compare graduation rates among Latinx student, through resources provided by ethnic studies. The Latinx Critical Race Theory is used to explain the findings and the works of ethnic studies on the Latinx population. The method of analysis for this study includes …

Dropout Rate Among Chicano And Latino Immigrant High School Students, Emma Smith

2018 Symposium

This paper will discuss the dropout rate among Chicanx immigrant high school students in the U.S. This study will exhibit a much higher percentage of Latinx dropouts compared to any other ethnic group in America from 2003 to 2015. There will be specific factors identified as to why this is true, among them, language barriers, the age at which the child first immigrated, and their prior schooling. Additionally, this work explores what can be done to reduce the dropout rates. With the help of scholarly articles, reviews and data analysis, this paper will demonstrate the problems that foreign born Latinx …

Deconstructing Colonization In The Classroom, Claire Israel

2018 Symposium

Many argue that the neocolonial culture that permeates the American public-school system directly leads to the disengagement of Latina/o students. In my research, I aim to unpack each element of this assertion. Though there is still a lot of work to do, many school districts and state public education authorities have introduced various innovative ethnic studies programs into their curriculums in attempts to diversify the content and reengage the Latina/o students in the public education system today. In the last 18 years, the national dropout rate of Latina/o students has dropped by almost half. By way of interviews and critical …

Latino-Owned Business’S: The Future Of The Us Economy, Jeffrey R. Styborski

2018 Symposium

In recent years the United States has witnessed an unprecedented rate of growth in the number of Latino-Owned Business’s, LOB’s, which has dramatically boosted the US Economy. However, while the number of LOB’s has increased, the sizes of these individual businesses hasn’t, growing at a rate that’s half the national average and leaving trillions of dollars and countless jobs out of reach. In search for a solution, this research bases its information in a variety of sources including government agencies and partnerships between higher education and the LOB community, among them Stanford University and the Latino Business Action Network. Through …

A Failing System, Tyler Gedney

2018 Symposium

The purpose of this research is to discover the underlying issues that Chicano children have in the American education system. The idea is to emphasis the importance of a good educational backing for all students, giving an equal opportunity to students of all ethnicity. The research will look at the work of Barbara Schhneider, Sylvia Martinez, and Ann Ownes and the idea of economic and social resource disadvantages that Mexican Americans have. This paper will also look at how the home language of immigrant parents affects the learning of adolescence in the American school system. In addition, the research will …

Latinos: Breaking The Barrier Of College Education Completion, Wendolyn J. Martinez

2018 Symposium

After being met with disadvantage for years Latinos have begun to break away from stereotypes and reaching new highs in college enrollment as the group experiences reduced high school dropout rates. Despite the high rate of Latino college enrollment, low completion rates of bachelor’s and associate degree programs persist. The goal of this project is to identify the barriers Latinos experience while attending higher education, prompting them to drop out and suggest solutions to these problems. Through the analysis of data from scholarly sources and the U.S Census Bureau, conclusions are drawn on the reasons Latinos have such a low …

The Link Between Latinx And American Music, Koby T. Sonnabend

2018 Symposium

Music is something that is constantly changing along with its listeners. What is unique about music is the affects it can have on communities and specific groups of people while in return, those people change the future music that will be released in the future. As the Latino population grows in the U.S., the impact felt by the culture follows suit. Latinx musical elements are becoming an integrated part of American popular music which coincides with the increasing presence of Latinos in America. This paper will describe the traits present in Latino music and relate them to developing traits in …

Standardized Test And The Impact On Latino Students, Jose A. Hernandez

2018 Symposium

This research reports on what Standardized Test are telling us about the type of education students of color are receiving and how it impacts them and the schools they attend. The method of analysis for this research relies on multiple peer reviewed articles and journals to draw conclusions on the impact of standardized testing. Upon examining the data, it has become clear that standardized testing indicate students of color are not getting the quality of education that their white counter parts are receiving. Standardized testing has clearly shown the education gap which has minimized future educational opportunities due to the …

Obstacles That Latinx/Chicanx Encounter While Getting Into The Medical Field, Shreya Patel

2018 Symposium

This research paper informs the audience and presents them with an understanding of Chicanos/Latino education obstacles that are in their way of getting jobs in the medical field. Among these challenges include poverty rates, language barriers and discrimination. This paper discusses the potential opportunities and benefits of Chicano students entering the medical profession. My study assess the current state of Chicano’s in the medical profession and how they can shape their future. This study relies on scholarly sources and peer review journals as the method of analysis from which its conclusions are drawn.

Latino Communities And The Health System, Savanna Stockman

2018 Symposium

This research project is to give an insight into the relationship between Latinos in both careers and lifestyle. There are thousands of graduates each year into the medical field; yet the percentage of those of Latino descent is below average. This research paper will show the involvement of Latino communities within the medical field. The reasons why the percentage of those in the field is lower than that of any other ethnicity. Surveys of Latino culture would suggest that many feel that the Healthcare system doesn’t satisfy their needs and institution rates of Latino medical graduates is significantly lower. This …

Why Are Higher Education Institutions Failing Latinx Students In Helping Them Obtain A College Degree?, Adrianna Amarillas

2018 Symposium

Latina/o’s represent the largest college going minority in America, yet only 15 out of 100 students will graduate a 4-year institution (Castellanos & Gloria 2007). Latina/o’s have been identified as the minority in the United States but now represent the majority of the minority. With the demand for higher education and degrees, this study explores whether or not higher education institutions in the U.S are fully prepared for the increase of diversity. Being the second largest ethnic group, this work attempts to identify addressing possible barriers that make it harder for students, specifically Latino students achieve higher education. Barriers such …

The Causes Of Underrepresentation Of Latin@S In Computer Science And Stem Fields, Casey Cahill

2018 Symposium

The purpose for writing this research paper is to inform readers and give them a new perspective on the low population of Latin@s in computer science and other STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) related fields. This research project shows the underrepresentation of Latin@s in high tech jobs, and some of the possible causes behind this phenomenon. This paper will look toward the statistics showing that there is an absence of Latin@s in computer science and STEM across the nation, and through those statistics attempt to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in the computer science and …

Latinos In Higher Education, Teala Frazier

2018 Symposium

In the United States the population of Latinos is disproportionately underrepresented in higher education and completing a degree. The percentage of high school age Latinos have a disproportionate dropout rate compared to other populations and as a result do not pursue further education. This study will examine whether the dropout rate in the United States since 2000 is the primary reason for the lower representation in college or if there are other factors including socioeconomic or cultural. Sources used to study this issue include newspaper, PEW research, U.S. census data, and scholarly articles. The research presented in this paper will …

Y’En A Marre! Hip-Hop Culture And Social Mobilization In Post Colonial Senegal, Lucie Latuner

Anthropology Department Honors Papers

After over fifty years since decolonization, Senegal is seen as a success story in establishing democracy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, due to neocolonialism, Senegal is still far from independent, and its leaders are still working against the interests of their people. Emerging out of a history of anti-imperialist mobilization, young rappers continue a transnational struggle against imperialism in reference to the ideology of revolutionaries before them. These rappers and journalists, drawing on a sense of responsibility to a historical, multigenerational fight, unite to create the movement Y’en a Marre—a movement of civic mobilization to oppose their authoritarian government and fight …

Yurumein - Homeland Study Guide, Andrea E. Leland, Lauren Poluha

Documentary Study Guides

The Garifuna and Carib communities of St Vincent in the Caribbean collaborated with the documentary filmmaker Andrea E. Leland to produce Yurumein – Homeland: The Caribs of St Vincent, an exploration of the historical and spiritual significance of St Vincent and Baliceaux to Garifuna and Carib communities.

This film guide speaks about the history, culture, music, and food of the peoples that were displaced from their home and, through activities addressing the film's content, informs readers about the movement to bring Garifuna/Kalinago culture back to St Vincent and reconnect Garinagu to their homeland.

Latinx/Chicanx Students On The Path To Conocimiento: Critical Reflexivity Journals As Tools For Healing And Resistance In The Trump Era, Jesica S. Fernández, Alejandra Magaña Gamero

Ethnic Studies

Anzaldúa’s concept of conocimiento guides our analysis of Latinx/Chicanx students’ Critical Reflexivity Journals (CRJ) produced in an Ethnic Studies classroom at a predominantly-white institution. Through a thematic analysis procedure of students’ CRJ entries, which we describe as written testimonios, we discerned how Latinx/Chicanx students’ writings engaged their identities, reflexivity, healing, and resistance on a path toward conocimiento. Grounding our theoretical and empirical analysis in Anzaldúan thought, conocimiento is characterized by a deep reflexive critical consciousness that unfolds across seven interconnected stages. Conocimiento builds toward a liberatory transformation that Anzaldúa describes as spiritual activism, the seventh and final stage of conocimiento. …

Fight The Power: Subversion In The Oral Tradition Of African-American Art, Craig Demelo

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint: Critical Engagement: Colin Kaepernick, Mason Sargent, Tate Henrikson, Sean N. Bennington, Justin M. Porter, Nicolete D. Moyo

Womanist Ethics

Critical Engagement is the use of practical strategies and pedagogical methods [that] challenge dominant intellectual legacies, theological resources, and ideologies that undermine the goals of Womanist ethics, namely, the empowerment of black women. It is a concept created by Floyd Thomas, in whose writings, it is one of the five Womanist tenants. We decided to base Colin Kaepernick’s ‘take a knee’ movement as an example of Critical Engagement. Using this perspective, we examined the various aspects of the movement and analyzed the effects on American culture and society through a Womanist lens.

Magazine: Alice: A Womanist Ethics Magazine, Lucy Kebler, Grace Dematteis, Karli Stankus, Laurin Hopping

Womanist Ethics

Alice is an academic magazine that focuses on the topic of womanism and one of its primary tenets, radical subjectivity. Incorporating both historical womanist content, and modern womanist perspectives, Alice brings a modern twist to the idea of radical subjectivity. The magazine concentrates heavily on current womanist celebrities, who bring womanism to the public. Alice maps out both straightforward and ambiguous instances so that the reader can better understand them. The magazine also incorporates interactive material, such as a womanist quiz, and two womanist recipes.