African American Studies Commons^™

The Executive Director Experiences Of African American Women In Mainstream Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations, Davida S. Gobin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women are presently underrepresented in mainstream nonprofit performing arts organizations (PAOs) throughout the United States. Despite this inequality, a small number of African American women have overcome the odds and have productively earned senior leadership roles as executive directors in mainstream nonprofit PAOs. Using the conceptual frameworks of intersectionality and critical race feminism, the purpose of this study was to explore the shared lived experiences of African American women in executive director positions and the impact of race and gender on their leadership development and training for advancement in a mainstream nonprofit PAO. Four research questions explored the …

First Generation African American College Student-Athletes And Their Lived Experiences, Ikenna Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-generation African American male student-athletes are faced with challenges when attending a four-year institution of higher education. Many of these individuals are leaving their family and hometown for the first time, which can cause them to feel lonely and as if they are an impostor. Using the imposter syndrome lens as the conceptual framework, this case study sought to understand the experiences of first-generation African American male student-athletes at a primarily Caucasian NCAA Division III campus. Three participants responded to recruitment flyer for the face to face interviews. Themes derived from the analysis of individual interviews with 3 participants and …

Comparison Of Gpa And Act Reading And Math Scores For African American Males In Afrocentric Versus Mainstream High Schools, Marissa Irene Prince

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, the academic achievement of African American males is not at the same level as their peers from other ethnic backgrounds. There are negative social and financial implications for African American males who do not experience positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on critical race theory, was to compare the effectiveness of traditional high school education and Afrocentric high school education on the educational outcomes of African American males. Three measures of educational outcomes were examined: GPA at graduation, ACT reading score, and ACT math scores. The participants were 143 African American males, …

African American College Students’ Attitudes Toward Help Seeking For Mental Health Illness, Sylvia Krow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has shown that African Americans are less likely to seek treatment for mental health illness compared to individuals in other ethnic groups. Research has also revealed that African American college students’ attitudes, perceptions, and stigmas against mental illness impacts their willingness to seek treatment for mental illness. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational study was to investigate the predictive relationships between ethnic identity, perceptions of mental illness, stigma and attitudes toward seeking professional help for mental illness among African American college students attending Historically Black colleges and universities. The research question addressed the predictive relationships between ethnic …

African American High School Graduates’ Perceptions Of Their African American Principal’S Leadership, Patricia Mitchell Marzett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a need to increase high school graduation rates for African American students, decrease dropout rates, and narrow or close the achievement gap between African American students and White students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to determine the perceptions of African American students who graduated from high school regarding the leadership of their African American principal. Delgado and Stefancic’s critical race theory and Bass’s transformational leadership constitute the conceptual framework for this study. Nine participants who graduated from high schools led by an African American principal were interviewed, and transcripts were analyzed using in vivo coding. …

Acculturative Experiences Of African American Military Wives In An Arctic Environment, Demetria Roshan White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

United States military wives typically relocate every few years with their active-duty husbands. But little is known about the acculturative stress and stressors associated with relocating and reestablishing a military home in an Arctic environment. This qualitative research focused on African American women who were also military wives and the acculturative stress they encountered in relocating to an Arctic environment. Face to face interviews provided a platform for 10 military wives to share their personal experiences. The acculturative stress that African American military wives’ acculturative stress and stressors encountered in relocating from a non-Arctic to an Arctic environment are not …

Black Women's Voluntary Use Of Mental Health Services, Dr. Natasha Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Black women engage in formal mental health services at a lower rate than White men and women. In addition, the issues faced by Black women engaging in mental health services are multiplicative, major, and often divisive. Much of the research to date has centered on the barriers to, and negative experiences of, Black women in mental health. Grounded in critical race theory and Black womanist thought, this study investigated the lived experiences of Black women who voluntarily engaged in mental health services. The study included a purposive sample of 6 Black women from 2 …

Maternal Discrimination Stress And Negative Birth Outcomes Among Black Women, Quantrilla Y. Ard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women are more than twice as likely as White women to experience losing their infants in the first year of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between maternal discriminatory stress and negative birth outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, very low birth weight, and infant death among Black women with varying levels of education. This study was grounded in critical race theory and Black feminist theory, positing that Black women are the sum of intersecting identities that shape their world view. A sample of 107 Black women were recruited by convenience and …

Differentiating Instruction To Prepare African American Males For High School Accelerated Courses, Monique Carson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Differentiating instruction is important in helping students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles understand curricula; however, this can be challenging for educators. The educators at the study site reported that teachers’ instructional practices could be affecting African American males’ preparedness for accelerated courses. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how rigorous, differentiated instructional practices were being used in the classroom to prepare African American male students for accelerated courses at an urban, Title I school in the Southwest United States. The study was guided by Tomlinson’s differentiated instruction framework. Research questions addressed the types of instructional …

Program Evaluation Of A Black Barbershop Health Outreach Campaign, Berkina Denise Porter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black-owned barbershops in the Black community lack barber administered interventions to provide education and health screenings to Black men. Increasing knowledge of health assessments in a black barbershop setting increases the number of health screenings and preventative care among Black men. Grounded in general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative summative program evaluation was to explore the extent to which a nonprofit Black barbershop health program aligns with the Health Research (HR) program objectives. The evaluation was performed for a nonprofit organization located in Maryland, 6 years after the organization implemented the HR Program Network of barbers and salon …

Relationship Between Parental Involvement And 4th-5th Grade Students’ Academic Motivation, Charla Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The achievement gap between African American and White students has been well documented. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether parental involvement in academics predicted academic motivation of fourth- and fifth-grade African American students in the Southwest United States. Social development theory provided the framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 43 students and 43 parents using the Parental Involvement Scale and the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. A t test, linear regression, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated no significant difference between how parents and students perceived parental involvement …

African American Sibling Survivors Of Homicide Victims: A Phenomenological Study, Terra Natia Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American bereavement experiences are underrepresented in the literature in comparison to Caucasian experiences. Due to cultural differences, the available literature may be misleading and unhelpful to African Americans dealing with grief. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to fill the void in the literature regarding African American bereavement. Guided by attachment theory and social constructivism as the theoretical frameworks, this study explored the lived bereavement and grief experiences of 12 African American siblings bereaved by homicide. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to gain firsthand knowledge of the siblings’ bereavement experiences via semi-structured interviews, which allowed the participants …

Narratives Of Black Male Law Enforcement Officers Racial Profiling Experiences, Dujuan Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem and purpose of this study was to examine the personal narratives of Black male law enforcement officers with racial profiling and police violence. It was believed that narratives would reveal the existence and negative effects of duality victims and possible offenders for the participants in this study. The theory of social behaviorism by Mead was used as a lens for theoretical foundation and conceptual framework. Mead asserted that racial profiling and police violence acts are forms of social behaviorism and assimilation into law enforcement for Black male officers. The research question for the study inquired about the …

Child Welfare Workers' Perceptions Of The Effective Black Parenting Program, Kharmynn M. Bullock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The child welfare system (CWS) serves around half a million families each year in America. Of those, in Texas, hundreds of thousands of African American families represent the greatest percentages of families in the CWS when compared with their respective numbers in the general population. In 2013, African American children made up about 13.9% of the overall population of children in the United States; however, these children represented close to 26% (or 101,938) African American children in the system with CWS. Child Protective Services (CPS) has various programs and services, including parent education referrals to social services agencies that carry …

Africentrism, Leadership, And Human Rights At Indiana University’S African American Dance Company, Vickie M. Casanova-Willis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The need for educational leadership to prepare multicultural students for 21st-century careers in a global economy is high; however, there is scant research on the right to culturally relevant education and its potential to foster the dispositions required of individuals and society in this context. Critical race theory, human rights ideals, and distributed leadership theory provided the conceptual framework for this interpretive qualitative study to explore the experiences of those who participate in African-centered arts education and to investigate its possible benefits as a reparative human rights tool. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 9 former and current members …

Perceptions Of The Reentry Process Among African American Male Ex-Offenders With Multiple Incarcerations, Chanae Latrice Lumpkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Within 3 years of their release from the criminal justice system, almost 7 out of 10 released African American males go back to. There is limited social science research into how these ex-offenders perceive their lived experiences after release. The research questions that guided this inquiry related to understanding the post-prison experiences of African American males with a history of multiple incarcerations. The conceptual framework was guided by Tajfel’s social identity theory and Becker’s social reaction theory. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 6 African American males with a history of multiple incarcerations who had been released from …

African American Women’S Perceptions About Double Jeopardy And Mentoring In The Federal Government, Fatimah Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that women’s leadership development can be fostered through gender-based mentoring. However, even when involved in gender-based mentoring relationships, African American women face additional challenges due to the intersectionality of their race and gender, often known as “double jeopardy.” The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how this intersectionality shapes African American women leaders’ perceptions about their gender-based mentoring experiences from the perspectives of both mentors and protégés. The theoretical framework for this study was Black feminist thought. One research question and two subquestions addressed the role of intersectionality, the benefits and challenges of gender-based mentoring, and …

An Exploration Of Recidivism Based On Education And Race, Michael Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with over 2,200,000 individuals in jails and prisons. From 1970 to 2000, the U.S. prison population increased by 500%. African American men are rearrested 72.7% of the time within 3 years of their release from prison. African Americans have a higher incarceration rate than any other racial group in the United States; nearly 1,000,000 African Americans are in jail or prison. Moreover, 60% of African American men who drop out of school are incarcerated by the age of 30 years old. Researchers have demonstrated that education can reduce …

Afriican American Students' Experiences Of Stress From Discrimination In Online Doctoral Education, Senovia Wyche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

There is a lack of current research about the experiences of stress related to discrimination encountered by African American students in online doctoral programs. Such discrimination can negatively impact the academics, educational experiences, and overall health of this student population. In this generic qualitative study, how African American students in online doctoral programs interpreted, perceived, and responded to their experiences of stress regarding discrimination was explored. Using the conceptual framework of Lazarus and Folkman’s cognitive appraisal theory, the research questions addressed stress related to discrimination encountered in online educational institutions, discriminatory factors perceived as inhibitors towards earning a doctoral …

African American Women’S Use Of Spirituality To Cope With Intimate Partner Violence, Vanessa S. Barnes Bey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread public health problem in the United States (U.S.) linked to physical, mental, emotional, and psychological problems for women who experience it. Previous researchers indicated that African American (AA) women in the U.S. experience more severe effects from IPV than women in other ethnic groups in the U.S. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report AA women’s lived experiences of using spirituality to cope with IPV who were not actively engaged in organized religious practices during the time of the abuse. Semi-structured audiotaped phone and face-to-face interviews were used …

How Feminist Beliefs Relate To Self-Objectification In African American Females, Ashton Shelby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual objectification has consistently been found to significantly influence self-objectification in women. Self-objectification has been linked to a number of adverse effects in women including depression, sexual dysfunction, and disordered eating. All females are vulnerable to sexually objectifying experiences and thus, developing self-objectifying behaviors and issues. Although extensive research explores both forms of objectification with Caucasian females, less is known about females in minority groups. In addition, little research has explored potential moderating variables. In other research related to investigating women’s mental health, feminism is one variable that has been found to have a positive effect on women’s issues. This …

Area-Level Factors Linked To Obesity In African American And Caucasian Women In Michigan, Marjorie Arrey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is a major public health crisis, affecting every segment of the U.S. population. African American women have higher prevalence of obesity than all other subpopulations and are disproportionately burdened by the disease and its comorbidities. Despite this disparity, African American women are often underrepresented in obesity research. This research examined obesity-related risk factors specific to African American women compared to those for Caucasian women. The design was based on the socioecological model and social cognitive theory, both emphasizing the impact of social factors on health outcomes. The data set included only adult Michigan women from the NHANES study. Multiple …

Ua19/16/1 Hilltopper Football 2019 Bowl Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Media guide for the First Responder Bowl, WKU vs. Western Michigan University.

Kamala Harris And The Complexity Of Racial Identity Politics, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

Vinay Harpalani reviews Kamala Harris' run as Democratic nominee for President, contrasting her challenges with Barak Obama's campaign to show how racial identity politics are complicated and constantly evolving as well as the intersectional, or multifaceted, issues Kamala faced during her candidacy.

Race, Sense Of Belonging, And The African American Student Experience At Predominantly White Institutions, Anthony Kane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study utilized a critical race theoretical framework and methodology to explore the lived experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution. The purpose of this study was to identify how race impacts the sense of belonging of African American students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This study highlighted the racialized experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution and how these experiences impacted their sense of belonging. Additionally, this study sought to understand the type of support African Americans students preferred and needed in order to develop a positive sense of belonging.

Six African …

The Unsung History Of Prince Hall Freemasonry, Ann Seymour

Capstones

Historical review of the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry examined through the experiences of a modern-day member. Prince Hall Freemasonry, the African American branch of the organization, has faced marginalization from the mainstream version of the organization since its inception in the late 18^th century. Despite these struggles, members have remained committed to both the fraternal organization and to fighting for the rights of African Americans in the United States. However, this history has been largely overshadowed by the attention given to mainstream Freemasonry. By speaking with contemporary members of both Prince Hall and mainstream Freemasonry, I created a …

An Exploration Of Kinesics In Black American Sign Language, Micayla Ann Whitmer

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

The relationship between kinesics, a sub-field of linguistics which focuses on the intersection of expressive language and nonverbal communication, and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or Ebonics has been studied extensively; however, the existence of kinesics in Black ASL has not been studied. This study found that kinesics does in fact occur in Black ASL. In addition, this paper points out that although Black ASL has been compared with traditional or white ASL, Black ASL has yet to be extensively compared with AAVE. Data came from raw video footage collected during the Black ASL project and is available for public …

Turner, Ruby: A Living Legacy, Ruby Mckie Turner

Oral Histories

[Turner has] chosen not to write an oral history of African Americans but, rather, one of Colored Americans through images. These images are those who were among the first freeborn generation of the Civil War, thereby placing them in the historical period of the country changing its course to admit freed former slaves.

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates with order of exercises for all WKU campuses.

Performance: All Our Names Were Freedom, Jessica Wilkerson, Kevin Cozart

About the Project

Students in Jessica Wilkerson's class, SST 560 (Oral History of Southern Social Movements), participated in a staged reading of All Our Names Were Freedom: Agency, Resiliency, and Community in Yalobusha County, a multivocal and multilayered narrative inspired by listening to the interviews recorded that semester. The event at the Spring Hill M. B. Baptist Church was attended by approximately 70 community members, UM faculty and students, and six of the interviewees.