African American Studies Commons^™

The Blurred Lines Of Cultural Appropriation, Jaja Grays

Capstones

For centuries, fashion designers, music artists and other celebrities alike have borrowed elements or styles from other cultures for personal gain. In my piece, "The Blurred Lines of Cultural Appropriation," I demonstrate the countless ways celebrities have appropriated different cultures whether at high-end fashion shows or live music performances. Cultural appropriation refers to a privileged culture borrowing or stealing from a marginalized culture-- striping elements of the culture to use it as a prop or for profit. I also discuss how to avoid cultural appropriation and engage in respectful cultural appreciation.

The Diary And Notes Of Marcus Christian As A Site Of Rhetorical Education, Entries 1924-1945, Nordette N. Adams

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis asserts that Marcus Bruce Christian (1900-1976), a New Orleans, Louisiana, black poet, writer, and historian, used his diary and notes as a site of rhetorical education and as a space in which he constructed and reinforced a Duboisian ethos, a particular type of black identity and character shaped by the political rhetoric of W. E. B. Du Bois. Maintaining this ethos, Christian, an autodidact throughout most of his life, negotiated a society strangled by white supremacist ideology and resisted being interpellated into the negative black identity constructed by a hostile and stifling Jim Crow South.

Roots On The Record, Joaquin P. Cotler

Capstones

Roots on the Record is a podcast featuring musicians and organizers who use their music to promote social consciousness, cultural awareness, and self-empowerment. The first four episodes focus on a black banjo player named Hubby Jenkins, a Brazilian rapper named Eli Efi, a Honduran DJ named De La Ceiba and a Brazilian-American singer/percussionist named Jen Nascimento. They each have a different relationship with music and teaching in their communities.

https://joaquinpcotler.atavist.com/roots-on-the-record

Exploring Psychological Territoriality Through The Domestic Gothic In Beloved And Mama Day, Lori L. Cook

English Department Theses

The novels, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and Mama Day, by Gloria Naylor, contain narratives of families with a history of slavery that explore how their female protagonists claim their identities within the new boundaries of freedom. Using a framework of the Domestic Gothic, this paper explores how formerly enslaved female characters claim new psychological territory in bounded domestic spaces by using the chores they were forced to perform during their times of slavery as a means to independence. Domestic duties such as cooking and gardening along with magical and religious ceremonies and acts of violence are passed down through the …

African American Culture In Historical Art Museums: Remembering A Buried Tragic Past, Lana Sarkisian

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The transparency of reality reflecting in art often represents a false tragedy in African American history because of the lack of preservation and representation due to a predominantly white dominion, ultimately leaving the veracity of their history to consign to oblivion. There is a common thread of forgetfulness with the retrieval of art in today’s society that embodies the African American community. Although artist Fred Wilson does not explicitly assert his assessment to the lack of black representation on account of cultural differences, he vocalizes how African American culture is indoctrinated to the public in a white, supremacist national narrative …

2016 Election: Part 2: The Cycle Continues, Preston Love Jr.

Black Studies Faculty Publications

From Part 1: “North Omaha voted at a poor rate. We did not vote large enough to make our collective voices heard in this election. Thus our preferences were defeated. For good or bad, our non-voting contributed to the victory of Trump and the defeats of Ashford and restoration of the Nebraska death penalty…. Beginning immediately there needs to be, A New Attitude; Demands for accountability from our leadership and outside forces to develop with the community new avenues for inclusion of wealth into north Omaha. Not grants, gifts etc., but job development, small business development and supporting services. …

The Catholic Church, Catalyst For Change: Taking The Black Community Of Rock Hill, Sc From The Twentieth To The Twenty-First Century, 1946-2016, Sandra Ludwa

Graduate Theses

The Roman Catholic Oratorians came to Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1935 with the mission to minister to the poor, underprivileged, and disadvantaged of all races and creeds, and to spread the good news of Catholicism. During the past eighty-one years, the Catholic Church has had a tremendous effect on where the community stands today. It was, and remains, significant because it improves economic, social, educational, and vocational conditions for the black community in particular. The church is ever changing, growing, and evolving to meet the needs of its congregation and community, and is quite different from the Catholic Church …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 26, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Kast, Monica. Some WKU Donors Kept Confidential by Foundations – WKU Foundation, College Heights Foundation
• Ares, Nicole. Records Denial Appeal Filed to Attorney General – Title IX
• Keltner, Bryson. International Students Share WKU Experience – Ali Alessa, Eunyoung Hayley Choi
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Chestnuts Roasting
• Ho Ho Herald: College Heights Herald 2016 Christmas Gifts
• Henderson, Andrew. Look Above to the Stars for Final Week Woes
• Miller, Callie. Culture Series Attracts Expensive Speakers – Cultural Enhancement Series
• Collins, Emma. Preston Health & Activities Center …

Black Americans And The South African Anti-Apartheid Campaign In Portland, Oregon, Ethan Johnson

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper argues that in order to understand the anti-Apartheid campaign in Portland, Oregon it must be located within the particular socio-historical context of race and racism in the city and state. Thus, Black people living in Portland had good reason to compare the Apartheid system in South Africa to their own experience. Therefore, the confluence of national and local issues that move the local anti-Apartheid campaign forward is examined; the paper documents the rise and development of critical organizations in the anti-Apartheid campaign in Portland; the paper focus on the closure of the Honorary South Africa Consulate in downtown …

A Unicorn's Tale: Examining The Experiences Of Black Women In Engineering Industry, Monique S. Ross

Open Access Dissertations

Black women have recently been identified as the most educated demographic in the United States, and yet they are grossly underrepresented in engineering. They comprise 6.4 % of the U.S. population and only 0.72 % of engineering industry. Meanwhile, engineers have been identified as the key to the United States’ ability to maintain its prominence and leadership in a competitive global economy due to their contribution to maintaining and improving our infrastructures and standard of living. This significance to society has spawned national initiatives geared towards broadening participation in engineering. This research study was designed to explore the experiences of …

Reconciling The Past In Octavia Butler's Kindred, Haley V. Manis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses the observations of Nancy J. Peterson on historical wounds as a springboard to discuss Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred and its use of both white and black characters to reexamine the origins of the historical wounds and why they are so difficult to deal with even today. Other scholarly works will be used to further investigate the importance of each character in the story and what they mean to the wound itself. Specifically, Dana is analyzed alongside the other main characters: Rufus, Alice, and Kevin. Though Dana’s relationships with these characters, Kindred’s version of the past can be …

A Performance Analysis Of Dorothy Rudd Moore's Sonnets On Love, Rosebuds, And Death, Cordelia Elizabeth Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this document is to evaluate Dorothy Rudd Moore’s Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death through a performance analysis, and to discuss the significance of the Harlem Renaissance in relation to the song cycle. Moore used seven reputable poets from the Harlem Renaissance to compile this song cycle. The poets are Alice Dunbar Nelson, Clarissa Scott Delany, Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Helene Johnson. A few of them were a part of the core group that spurred this powerful movement. The Harlem Renaissance was a flourishing time in American history when African Americans felt …

Image, Narrative, & Concept Of Time In Valerie Capers's Song Cycle Song Of The Seasons, Lillian Channelle Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Once I was a classical pianist, then I was a jazz pianist, but now I’m a pianist – No label. And in my writing, I’m not concerned with any particular style. I’ve found that if you have musical groundwork and some idea of the emotional impact the music should have, the musical style will hang together.

—Valerie Capers

Primarily known as a renowned jazz pianist, Valerie Capers is a blind, African-American woman composer who defied all odds by becoming the first blind graduate of The Juilliard School. Dr. Capers also became valedictorian of the New York Institute for the Education …

Initiating Race: Fraternal Organizations, Racial Identity, And Public Discourse In American Culture, 1865-1917, John D. Treat

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on ritual books, organizational records, newspaper accounts, and the data available from cemetery headstones and census records, this work argues that adult fraternal organizations were key to the formation of civic discourse in the United States from the years following the Civil War to World War I. It particularly analyzes the role of working-class white and African-American organizations in framing racial identity, arguing that white organizations gave up older, comprehensive ideas of citizenship for understandings of Americanism rooted in racism and nativism. Counterbalancing this development, now-forgotten African-American fraternal organizations were among the earliest advocates of Afrocentrism. These organizations, form …

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 …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 25, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Dick, Jacob. Sigma Alpha Epsilon Suspended One Year for Alcohol Violations
• Sandefur, Alex. Strive for Success – Geo International High School, Refugees
• Collins, Emma. WKU Files Suit Against State Retirement System
• Kast, Monica. Greek Affairs Adviser Removed After Twitter Post – Alexandria Kennedy
• Alvey, Rebekah. List of Campus Safe Spaces Available Online
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: End of Semester
• Dimeo, Chris. Smokey Bones Is Back At It Again
• Beauchamp, Kijana. Educate Yourself Following Election
• Huff, Taylor. Taking a Look Back a the Barak Obama …

Abdurraqib, Samaa, Iris Sangiovanni, Samar Ahmed

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Samaa Abdurraqib is a Black, queer, Muslim woman living in Portland, Maine. Abdurraqib was raised in Columbus, Ohio. She attend the University of Ohio, and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received a PhD in English Literature. After graduating she worked as a visiting professor at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Next she went on to work the American Civil Liberties Union in Maine as a reproductive rights organizer. She now works for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. Her advocacy and organizing work has included places such as Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, …

2016 Election: Time For New Attitudes, New Agendas And New Actions, Preston Love Jr.

Black Studies Faculty Publications

The initial numbers from the 2016 national elections are in and the results are our new realities. Many of us along with the Black Votes Matter initiative have been calling for a strong and forceful vote to provide additional leverage to our advocacy for our community’s best interest. Our voting power assists us when arguing our case to the public and private sectors. We need our community’s leadership to demand respect and demand economic inclusions measures necessary for us to build an economically healthy and developing community for our youth, our businesses and our culture. Ultimately, our community’s welfare needs …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 24, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Collins, Emma. PolitiFact Staffers Visit WKU
• Perry, Natalie. International Dialogue Informs Students About Recent Political Events
• Keltner, Bryson. Bowling Green Black Lives Matter Hosts Action Meeting
• Miller, Callie. Associate Provost Plans Awareness of Research – Cheryl Davis
• Carlson, Kylie. Student’s Work Prompts Proclamation Signing – Antibiotic Awareness Week
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Nutrition Labels
• Burgess, Kelly. Three Major Keys to Nutrition
• Kaufkins, Barry. Standing with My Muslim Students
• Johnson, Kalyn. Coming to Understand Why People Protest
• Disalvo, Ann. Bowling Green Beauties – Miss Bowling …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 23, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Kast, Monica. Two School of Journalism & Broadcasting Majors to Move Schools – Advertising, Public Relations
• Collins, Emma. Tension – Donald Trump
• Williams, Jamie. Andre Dowell – Elections
• Carlson, Kylie. Jacob Karaglanis – Elections
• Kast, Monica. eSports Team Moves Into Permanent Space
• Miller, Callie. Sophomore, International Enrollment Declines
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon: Echo Chambers
• Build Bridges: Understanding Protests, Understanding Each Other – Elections
• Carter, Brandon. There is Much Work to be Done After Election
• Chism, Kalee. Luncheon Opens Discussion on Gender – Genderations
• Austin, Emma. …

“Way Down Upon The Suwanee River”: Examining The Inclusion Of Black History In Florida’S Curriculum Standards, William Newell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As education focuses increasingly on standards based assessment, social studies must be examined for its integration of Black History in the United States History curriculum. Using a Critical Race Theory lens, this directed content analysis attempts to examine the Florida Standards for United States History to determine if and how Black History is integrated into United States History courses. The study also makes use of Banks’ (1994) “levels of integration” to explore the degree to which this is accomplished. In addition, lesson plans created and/or endorsed by the state of Florida are analyzed for their inclusion of Black History. Data …

A People’S Journey, A Nation’S Past: The National Museum Of African American History And Culture, Danielle E. Jones

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On September 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened to the public after almost two decades of planning and more than a century of fighting for a memorial for African Americans. Starting in 1915, when a group of United States Colored Troops sought a memorial for their fallen soldiers, African Americans have worked to have their history remembered on a national scale. A congressional commission for a museum dedicated to African Americans was signed in 1929 by Calvin Coolidge, but the stock market crash in October prevented the museum from being built. The memorial …

Ua12/2/1 Topper Extra, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special football edition of the College Heights Herald:

• Heichelbech, Evan. Unique Senior Class Prepares for Home Finale – Football
• Chisenhall, Jeremy. Five Keys to Watch for in Today’s Matchup – Football
• College Heights Herald Football Pick ‘em
• WKU Depth Chart
• University of North Texas Depth Chart

Our Home By The Sea: Critical Race Reflections On Samuel Chapman Armstrong’S Accommodationism Through William Watkins’ White Architects Of Black Education, Theodorea Regina Berry, Michael Jennings

Faculty Publications

The work and words presented are a reflection of the multidimensionality of two critical race scholars and their engagement with the work of Dr. William H. Watkins, specifically his seminal text The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power, 1865-1954. This work will be framed similarly to the way Watkins framed his chapter on General Samuel Chapman Armstrong in this work. Our story, a critical auto-ethnographic narrative, will begin with a discussion of the historical context that frames the relationship we have with Watkins and the relationship we have with General Samuel Chapman Armstrong and Hampton Institute. Next, …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 22, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Dick, Jacob. WKU Professor to Elect President – Scott Lasley
• Kast, Monica. Students Encounter Polling Confusion – Brian Wiech, Brandon Killian
• Williams, Jamie. Gary Ransdell Casts Vote at Big Red Precinct
• Dimeo, Chris. Voters Disappointed, Unable to Vote in City
• Ziesig, Kathryn. Students Protest Presidential Election Results
• Collins, Emma. University Faculty, Staff Lacks Diversity
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Election 2016
• Huff, Taylor. Sauteed Selection: After the Election, Where Do We Go From Here?
• Henderson, Andrew. A Failed Press, Other Disappointments of the Election
• Joyner, …

Voting: What Do Our Kids Say?, Preston Love Jr.

Black Studies Faculty Publications

This fall Black Votes Matter, my UNO “Black Politics” class and a Benson High School class of 25 embarked on a civic education project, which revealed something wonderful. Those reading this column and have read my book Economic Cataracts (Love, 2015) are aware that one of my major concerns is that our youth are not receiving an adequate amount of civic education. As such I have led efforts to improve the situation. We led in 2015 the effort for 700 of our youth to see the movie SELMA. We are partnering with the League of votes to insert civic lessons …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 21, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Scarlett, Gabriel. Bowling Green Speaks Out Ahead of Election
• Kast, Monica. Student Surrogates Debate Foreign Policy – Forensics Team
• Carlson, Kylie. More Freshmen Enrolling with Prior Credit
• Williams, Jamie. Student Groups Offer Free Rides to Voting Polls – Ride to Vote
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Political Parties
• Henderson, Andrew. Polling Pisces: Consult the Stars to Help Cast Your Ballot
• Beshear, Andy. Attorney General Continues to Fight for Education
• Schroader, Miles. Students Talk About Voting Decisions
• Schroader, Miles. Singing Groups Join to Celebrate Culture – …

From Recovery To Discovery: Ethnic American Science Fiction And (Re)Creating The Future, Daoine S. Bachran

English Language and Literature ETDs

My project assesses how science fiction by writers of color challenges the scientific racism embedded in genetics, nuclear development, digital technology, and molecular biology, demonstrating how these fields are deployed disproportionately against people of color. By contextualizing current scientific development with its often overlooked history and exposing the full life cycle of scientific practices and technological changes, ethnic science fiction authors challenge science’s purported objectivity and make room for alternative scientific methods steeped in Indigenous epistemologies. The first chapter argues that genetics is deployed disproportionally against black Americans, from the pseudo-scientific racial classifications of the nineteenth century and earlier through …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 20, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Ares, Nicole. Potter College of Arts & Letters Undergoing Four Leadership Changes – Loup Langton, Saundra Ardrey, Robert Dietle, Michael Williams
• Dick, Jacob. Western Kentucky Orthopaedic & Neurosurgical Associates Protests Denied by State Cabinet
• Collins, Emma. Confucius Institute Open, But Not to Public
• Williams, Jamie. Equestrian Team Fundraises with Miniature Ponies
• Moore, Elisabeth. Latte Art Showdown Brews for Charitable Cause
• Miller, Callie. Candidates Narrowed for Presidential Search
• Editorial Cartoon re: Fairness Ordinance
• What’s Fair is Fair: Bowling Green to Adopt Fairness Ordinance
• Kentucky Board of …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 17 [19], Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

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

• Dick, Jacob. Director of Journalism School to Step Down – Loup Langton
• Kast, Monica. As American As: Photo Exhibit – Diversity
• Collins, Emma. Candidates Debate Local, State Issues at Public Forum
• Kast, Monica. Candidates for Associate Provost Announced
• Perry, Natalie. Students Collect Aid for Hurricane Matthew Victims
• Johnson, Leah. Educational Talent Search Program Expanding its Reach
• Carlson, Kylie. Record Number of Kentucky Voters Registered Online
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Potato Chips
• Burgess, Kelly. Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Pumpkin?
• Henderson, Andrew. Rigged Election: …