No description available.

The purpose of this research is to recount and analyze the role of the Atlanta Urban League in securing the Negro hospital—Hughes Spalding Pavilion of the Grady Hospital Center. The campaign took place in the late 1940's when Atlanta was strictly segregated, and non-indigent Negroes had only small private hospital facilities with no place for training Negro physicians. The Hill-Burton Act provided the impetus for the cooperation of the League and the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority in the struggle for the hospital. Mrs. Grace Towns Hamilton as Executive Secretary of the League, and Mr. Hughes Spalding as Chairman of the Authority combined their efforts and enlisted the support of local and national Negro and white leaders in this successful campaign for a Negro hospital. While employing the techniques of oral history and the historical method, the investigator interviewed several prominent Atlantans including doctors and other professionals to ascertain the lifestyle of Negroes in Atlanta in the 1940's as well as the plight of the Negro insofar as medical facilities were concerned. The bulk of the material on the Atlanta Urban League was found in the Grace Hamilton Collection at Atlanta University, although the minutes of the League proved to be an invaluable source and may be examined by permission at the Atlanta Urban League offices.

This study examined the similarities and differences between John S. Mbiti's analysis of African religion and the theology of the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church (P.A.O.C.C.). The study sought to establish whether the similarities represent African retentions and conscious adaptations within the P.A.O.C.C. Five aspects were considered in the analysis of African Religion and the P.A.O.C.C. They are: revelation, god, humanity, savior/messiah and church. The researcher found that within the theology of the P.A.O.C.C. there exist significant African retentions and learned adaptations of African religion that parallel Mbiti's analysis of African religion. The P.A.O.C.C. consider themselves a theological institution with Afrocentric practices and tradition. The conclusions suggest that the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church is an institution of contemporary Afrocentric religious expression.

No description available.

During the late 1960's in America, Black people began to realize the failures of the Civil Rights Movement. Their previous desire for non-violent integration, -which had sparked behavior in the white community ranging from violent opposition to benign neglect—had radicalized to embrace a notion of separatism and liberation from America. Black Cultural Nationalism called for Black Power and an affirmation of the currency of Black culture that required representation. The Black Arts Movement attempted to meet these needs by attempting to establish a Black Aesthetic. Qualities of Black art and the Black aesthetic were hotly debated in the media as both black and white writers argued the relevancy of black art. The Black aesthetic advocated a return to figuration and social realism, deemed essential to communicate with the black masses, as well as an espousal of the political responsibility of the artist. The critique of a black art was based on the argument that the category ghettoized and essentialized black artists. Instead a Greenbergian modernist aesthetic was embraced that favored abstraction over figuration, perceiving figurative art as low art. This was the dilemma faced by the politically minded artist in Franti's lyric. How can an artist make aesthetically valid art and maintain its access—and relevancy to Black people. An articulation of these black cultural problems needed a specific visual vocabulary. In my paper I will examine the art coalition called Africobra—The African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists- as they attempted to negotiate the fine line between socially relevant and aesthetically viable art. Formed in Chicago in the wake of the 1968 Democratic Convention Riots, Africobra wanted to produce and exhibit art specifically for Black people without their art being dismissed as protest art. By merging their figurative art with African color schemes and textile patterns, Africobra aspired to create their own type of African-influenced social commentary. They chose Africa as a source of pride as the 'dark continent' had recently shed its colonial ties to emerge as a free land for Black people. Africa thus represented ties to a forgotten past, and hope for an independent future for American Blacks. My thesis will focus on an event that galvanized the Black Arts Movement, and brought together the artists that would later form Africobra. That event was the 1967 creation of the Wall of Respect, a public mural on the south side of Chicago that depicted images of Black heroes and contemporary politics. Using the mural as well as Africobra prints and paintings, I will argue that their work questioned conventional aesthetics and endeavored to create a space for a new black aesthetic. This merging of social realism and African color was made more poignant by the inclusion of African notions of the functional communal object. By returning to their African roots, Africobra was critiquing the Western art world while glorifying their own heritage. By doing this they believed that they could inject some much needed color into White America.

<p> The six piano suites of R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) constitute a substantial body of piano music that illustrates the musical development of an important, but historically neglected American musician. Dett was a seminal figure in the preservation and study of spirituals, both as a writer and choral leader, and as a great teacher and inspirer of African-American musicians in the generations that followed him. Educated at Oberlin and Eastman, he was lauded as the first American composer to fuse Negro folk music with European art music tradition. </p><p> The writing of a series of like-genre works over a composer's lifetime, reflecting stylistic changes and a deepening world view, is a special event in the history of keyboard music. Unfortunately, Dett's piano music is rarely performed except for the second of the suites, <i>In the Bottoms</i>. Although his importance to African-American musical history is generally acknowledged by musicologists, his works for piano have remained largely unexplored by performers. </p><p> Dett's eclectic pursuits included poetry, the Rosicrucian Society, and religion. This study explores the connections between the suites and other musical styles and traditions, Dett's many extra-musical interests, and his performing life. It also offers some possible explanations for the relative lack of attention received by his piano music. </p><p> This study incorporates research from readily-available sources, as well as the Nathaniel Dett archives at the Niagara Falls New York Public Library and Hampton University. The first three chapters give an overview of Dett's style and influences, as well as a description of how his musical language developed from his first suite, <i>Magnolia</i> (1912), to his last, <i> Eight Bible Vignettes</i> (1941-43), written at the end of his life. Each suite is examined individually in detail in the following six chapters. It is hoped that this work will stimulate appreciation of Dett's piano music and lead to more frequent performances. Its goal is to give to the reader the same sense of admiration and joy that the author's exploration of these works has given him.</p>

<p> This paper will examine the historical and cultural significance of the development of the African-American dance form known as "jitting". I will explore the dance lineage of jitting and ask these questions: how does the development of jitting inform our understanding of historical and current forms of African-American dance and culture? What place does jitting occupy within the lineage of well-known American and African-American movement? What role do oral traditions play in the lineage of African-American dance? To answer these questions I have studied the literature of twentieth century African-American artistic traditions in Detroit, the history of American concert dance, African dance history, and cultural anthropology texts covering aspects of artistic development and differences between Western and African artistic traditions as they relate to jitting as a dance form. I conducted interviews with people who are active in this art form, and I gained information from the pioneers of jitting; Johnny McGhee, James McGhee and Tracy McGhee. I also interviewed Hakeem Rasul, Cornelius Harris, and Tokkyo Faison. Rasul is also a jitter and the director of a jitterbug documentary, and he is the owner of the dance company Hardcore Detroit, one of the ambassadors of a style known as New Detroit jit. Harris is the label manager for Underground Resistance as well as the founder of Alter Ego Management. He is an MC and composer of techno music used by jit artists. Faison played a big part in the exotic entertainment scene from the late 1980's into the 2000's and was influential in the development of jitting as a major component in the exotic dance world in Detroit. I have also reflected on my own journey as a dancer and my life experiences, all of which led me to explore these ideas. </p><p> Why is it that art forms such as hip-hop dance are passed down through generations, but not often formally documented? I make the argument that it is important to document these forms so that the past is never forgotten and so people can learn from the past to continue the evolution of art. Does this lack of formal documentation keep these art forms from getting the recognition they deserve? In terms of being recognized on an equal basis with European art forms, I believe it does. We must understand how important it is to document this work so that our modern-day culture can look at the past in order to better understand the present. I want to be able to bring a better appreciation of the significance of this art form to people of all walks of life. Many audiences understand that movement is often reused and adapted, but many do not know that the original purpose or meaning of these movements is often changed to represent something entirely different. It is natural for art forms to change as they evolve, but it is necessary to know the cultural origins, especially if art is to be respected and have its rightful place in the world. </p><p> An example of the lack of recognition that African-American art forms are given can be found in the use of the word "ethnic." This word is often a code word for "less than," in comparison to European art forms. Could this be related to the fact that European cultures tend to have more formal documentation of their art forms? I hope to be able to answer these questions and uncover the hidden connections that will shine a light on this vital form of dance. </p>

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the experiences of four African American undergraduate students and two White professors, all current or former affiliates of a predominantly White university (PWI) in the Midwest. The objective was to gain an understanding of whether their experiences were ones that have been addressed in the past and recent research surrounding why African American undergraduates leave college before graduating and to determine if any changes in practices of beliefs occurred since their participation in the Difficult Dialogue. The data were collected using the evaluations from the Difficult Dialogue event and in-depth interviews. The data were then analyzed using a narrative analysis where recurring themes were highlighted and used to find dominant themes. The study confirmed findings that students feel isolated while attending a predominantly White college. New findings in the professor-student engagement include: 1) lack of student self-advocacy in the student-professor relationship 2) lack of professor awareness of students’ feelings of exclusion and isolation, 3) professor discomfort in reaching out to African American undergraduate students, and 4) an overall lack of awareness of one another’s feelings. The most salient conclusions from these encounters with African American undergraduates and professors was that an opportunity to communicate in a purposeful dialogue or the process of “thinking together” collectively allowed group participants to examine their preconceptions and prejudices, as well as explore the creation of new ideas.

Thesis (D.Min.) -- Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on May 1, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.