Thesis (M.A.)--Villanova University, 2006. / English Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

This work employs historical memory as a theoretical framework in which to explore racial violence in Florida in the 1920s. Focusing on Baker County and Taylor County, I explore the ways in which white memory was (and is) commemorated in public spaces while black memory is often relegated to a more private sphere. Because black memory is underrepresented in archives and public spaces, black citizens and their experiences have been, in many ways, left out of the historical record. In both communities, violent atrocities were committed against African Americans who lived there. I explore the long-term effects of these incidents and how local residents continue to contend with or commemorate their past. This work also examines how memories concerning racial violence and southern identity are created and maintained. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / November 14, 2018. / florida, lynching, memorialization, memory, race, violence / Includes bibliographical references. / Maxine D. Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine L. Montgomery, University Representative; Jonathan A. Grant, Committee Member; Jennifer L. Koslow, Committee Member; Katherine C. Mooney, Committee Member.

With tourism serving as its principal industry by the end of WWII, Florida had solidified itself as the preeminent leisure paradise among America's mainstream destinations. Dubbed the "Magic City," Miami was the most popular retreat for the financially affluent and social elite. But Florida was neither magical nor paradise for thousands of colored residents who lived in the country's southernmost state, nor its Negro tourists whose desires to vacation on the warm Peninsula were overcast by segregation and discrimination that touched every facet of black life. The Miami Times, a black-owned and operated newspaper established in 1923, used its editorial and publishing power to expose the façade of Florida's "Magic City" as a welcoming tropical haven. Founded by Bahamian-born H.E.S. Reeves who ran the newspaper with his son Garth C. Reeves Sr., the Miami Times financially and editorially supported efforts to desegregate Miami schools, beaches, residential communities, public transportation systems and sports complexes. In 1948, Miami Times' management took a strategic role in the effort to destroy the racially discriminating policy that governed the city's municipal golf course. This dissertation helps inject the Miami Times into the historical narrative of the civil rights movement in Florida. This case study illuminates its activism between 1948 and 1958 by highlighting the weekly's effort to help abolish the "Monday-only" policy that restricted black golfers to a singular day of access to the Miami Springs municipal golf course. Support of the legal challenge is but one example that demonstrates how the newspaper, as an agent of change, worked with other Miami community leaders to improve conditions for the city's black population. The newspaper's support of the fight to integrate the city's golf course is evidence of its value as a conduit of social and political change in Miami and the state of Florida. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / September 22, 2014. / African-American Press, Black Press, desegregation, Florida black newspapers, golf course, Miami Times / Includes bibliographical references. / Maxine D. Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine L. Montgomery, University Representative; Joseph M. Richardson, Committee Member; Jim P. Jones, Committee Member.

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Since there are few studies which address the relationships between racial/ethnic identity and acculturation in the African-American community, the purpose of this study was threefold: 1) explore the relationship between racial identity and African-American acculturation; 2) examine racial and ethnic identity associations; and 3) observe the connections between these cultural constructs and psychological well-being. One hundred ninety-four African-American undergraduates from a predominantly White institution and two historically Black colleges completed measures of these constructs, self-esteem, and depression. The findings indicate a relationship between racial identity and acculturation for three of the four Cross (1971) stages (encounter, immersion-emersion, and internalization). Relinquishing the White frame of reference and achieving inner security with their Blackness coincides with immersion in the eight facets comprising African-American culture. Individuals who do not identify with their race (pre-encounter) less often affiliated with their ethnic group. Conversely, achieving racial identity (internalization) was associated with ethnic identity attachment. Finally, the study's findings suggest that identity development may affect how individuals perceive themselves and feel emotionally, which may depend on identity achievement. Pre-encounter stage scores were associated with reports of higher depression and lower self-esteem; whereas, higher internalization individuals reported higher self-esteem. As for ethnic identity, those who have explored options and made commitments to their ethnic group reported fewer symptoms of depression and higher self-esteem. The converse was also true. Community acceptance was predicted to mediate the relationship between acculturation and psychological well-being. Although this was unfounded, the data indicate that traditional individuals living in predominantly White neighborhoods reported more depressive symptoms than did dominant society acculturated individuals living there. Interesting demographic findings and future research directions are provided.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1951 A57 / Master of Science

This study examined the role of variety and frequency of dialectal features in relation to dialect awareness of African American English (AAE) and Standard American English (SAE) forms. Participant data was derived from oral and written language tasks examining sixty-eight third and fifth grade students’ dialect awareness in both oral and written modalities. Oral language samples were elicited with the Favorite Game or Sport task (Nippold, Hesketh, Duthie, & Mansfield, 2005) and were coded for morphological and phonological features of AAE. Descriptive statistics were reported to indicate the frequency and variety of dialectal features present in the children’s language samples. Frequency and variety of dialectal features were compared by examining student performance on an editing task to differentiate AAE and SAE forms in a written passage and on a repetition task derived from the DELV-S to determine accuracy of spoken SAE. By acknowledging previous research, it was predicted that both the frequency and variety of AAE features in oral language samples would significantly and positively correlate with the children’s performance on the editing and repetition task. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between frequency and variety of dialectal features, a significant negative relationship between dialect density and oral dialect awareness, and a significant positive relationship between dialect awareness in the oral and written modalities. These results are consistent with previous research that suggests a denser dialect results in poorer performance on tasks that require understanding of standard American English. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 6, 2018. / African American English, Code-Switching, Dialect, Dialect Awareness / Includes bibliographical references. / Shannon Hall-Mills, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Carla Wood, Professor Co-Directing Thesis; Toby MacRae, Committee Member; Hugh Catts, Committee Member.

This dissertation seeks to provide a critical investigation of several novels written by African American science- and speculative fiction author, Steven Barnes. In exploring Lion's Blood (2002), Blood Brothers (1996), the Aubry Knight trilogy (1983, 1989, 1993), and Iron Shadows (1998), the project posits that there is substantive work being done in depicting the Black embodied somatic as a site of allegorical historicizing. Herein, I read the novels' work with subgenres of alternate history, dark fantasy, cyberpunk, and fantastical AfroAsia (respectively) as serving as a means by which Barnes's constructions of gendered Blackness can meaningfully be read as a kind of Afrofuturist engagement with both the Afrodiasporic past and globalized dimensions of the yet-to-come. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 16, 2018. / Afrofuturism, Alternate History, Blackness, Mecha, Somatic, Steven Barnes / Includes bibliographical references. / Jerrilyn McGregory, Professor Directing Dissertation; Delia Poey, University Representative; Maxine Montgomery, Committee Member; Candace Ward, Committee Member; Dennis Moore, Committee Member.

The idea of “musical consciousness” centers around the cultural awakening, acknowledgement, preservation and expression of the elements that epitomize the African-American culture and the African-American sound. The chosen vehicle to express this consciousness is David Baker’s Concertpiece for Viola and Piano. With this research, I strive to expand the awareness of the African-American sound by exploring the vast musical traditions of the West African culture; to identify the rich musical elements of repetition, melody, scales, and rhythmic figures (patterns) within the West African music culture; to notice the resemblance and modifications in African-American music; to analyze these elements within David Baker’s Concertpiece for Viola and Piano; and to promote the research of African-American musical history, composers and music. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 17, 2018. / African-American Composer, African-American music, Black Composers, Black music, Concertpiece for Viola and Piano, David Baker / Includes bibliographical references. / Pamela Ryan, Professor Directing Treatise; Charles E. Brewer, University Representative; Kasia Bugaj, Committee Member; Gregory Sauer, Committee Member.