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The salience of racial socialization among African American families has received considerable attention in the literature; however, few scholars have examined how the process of racial socialization unfolds in families with very young children. This study investigated how African American mothers of preschool-age children approached the process of racial socialization. I interviewed African American mothers who were at least age 18 (N=12) with biological children between the ages of three and five to explore the following: (a) the strategies and messages used during the racial socialization process, (b) how mothers' perceptions of colorism influenced the content of messages, and (c) mothers' perceptions of external forces that influenced their children's racial socialization experiences. I applied an integrated Black feminist-child development theoretical framework and grounded theory methodology to examine how African American mothers negotiated intersectionality when racially socializing their preschool-age children. Four major themes emerged from data analysis: motherwork as conscientization, bidirectional process in maternal racial socialization, skin tone politics in maternal racial socialization, and defining African American motherhood. From these themes, I concluded that mothers preferred to use cultural and egalitarian strategies and messages with their preschool-age children. Maternal racial socialization has a bidirectional component that involves mother-child conversations about race that occur when the child notices differences in people based on skin color, a race-related situation occurs, or the child initiates it. Colorism did not directly influence the content of racial socialization messages but did inform maternal interactions with extended family members. For African American women, motherhood is characterized by societal expectations and pressures for African American children. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study has been to determine what extraliterary forces--cultural, historical, political, social--shaped the critical reception of Alice Walker's first novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970). The philosophies of Hans Robert Jauss, as espoused in Toward an Aesthetic of Reception (1971), guided this study. Particular interest was placed on Jauss's claim that every work has its own specific, historically, and sociological determinable audience, that every writer is dependent on the milieu, view, and ideology of that audience and that literary success presupposes a book which presents what the audience expects, a book which presents the audience with its own image. (26)The Third Life of Grange Copeland appeared at the end of the Civil Rights Movement, in the midst of a Black Arts Movement (a movement that presented black artist with a criteria for representing their people), and on the cusp of a black feminist movement which moved black women from the object to the subject position in black literary discourse.The politically charged context in which Walker's first novel appeared determined her first audience's reception to her work. The reception from black civic leaders, literary critics, scholars and the black community was largely negative. This initial negative response has followed Walker throughout her literary career despite the fact that she has won both the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. / Department of English

Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Ill., 1996. / This is an electronic reproduction of TREN, #077-0011. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-110).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Ill., 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-110).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-218).

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / Perceptions of family influence as a source of motivation to attend college were explored. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate how, and in what ways, families shaped the pathway to higher education among 12 African American male collegians. Comparisons of these perceptions across family compositions and an extant model of family influence and college choice were also explored. The students in this study attended both public and private 4-year historically Black and predominantly White colleges situated throughout seven states in the Midwest and the South. A phenomenological qualitative research approach was employed to forward this study. Also, interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) techniques were applied to data gleaned from face-to-face interviews. Results of the study revealed two overarching themes of family influence and college choice for African American males: (1) deliberate family involvement and (2) contextual family influences. Eight subthemes illuminate the overarching theme deliberate family involvement: (1) emphasizing hard work, (2) aiding with pre-college paperwork, (3) offering messages about value of college, (4) supporting extra-curricular activities, (5) encouraging positive decision-making, (6) cultural indoctrination, (7) providing affirming words and praise, and (8) regular accessibility. Four subthemes buttress the overarching theme contextual family influence: (1) family educational choices, (2) family participation, (3) family representation and reactions, and (4) family stress. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are also presented.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of marital equity and sex role identity to the career commitment of black dual-career wives and to determine who does what in the family. Five research questions guided the study: a) What is the relationship of selected demographic variables (education, income, age and number of children) of husbands and wives to the career commitment of the wife? b) Is there a significant difference between husbands and wives and their commitment to pursue a career? c) Is there a Significant difference between husbands and wives in sex role identity and marital equity? d) Is there a correlation between the career commitment of wives and the extent to which marital equity exists? e) What is the relationship of sex role identity of husbands and wives to the career commitment of the wife? A sample of 200 dual-career couples were systematically selected from a predominantly Black sorority. The instruments used to collect the data were: Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), career commitment and marital equity scales (Nicola, 1980), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequencies, means, percentages, correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, t-tests, and multiple comparisons. Study results indicated that while the couples' education and income were not significantly associated with the wife’s career commitment, wives were more educated. Although the number of children did not matter, the age of the oldest child was Significantly related to the mother's career commitment. The mean career commitment scores for husbands (41.03) and wives (41.61) indicated that partners shared similar attitudes about time and emotional investment in careers and family pursuits. Mean marital equity scores for husbands and wives revealed that wives did significantly more than husbands in the areas of household tasks and child care. Similarly, wives did most of the initiation for family communication and problem solving. Data supported equal sharing in decision-making (eg. vacations, relocation, financial matters). While couples' sex role identity scores were significantly different, they had no significant effect on the wife's career commitment. / Ed. D.

A collection of five memoiristic essays arranged about themes of family, womanhood and the African-American community with a preface. Among the experiences the memoirs recount are childhood abandonment; verbal and emotional child abuse; mental illness; poverty; and social and personal change. Essays explore the lasting impact of abandonment by a father on a girl as she grows into a woman; the devastation of family turmoil and untreated mental illness; generational identity in the African-American community. One essay describes the transition from the identity-forming profession of journalism to academia. The last essay is about complicated and conflicting emotions toward patriotism and flag-waving on the part of a black woman who has lived through riots, little known police shootings of students on black campuses, and many other incidents that have divided Americans.