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This dissertation examines the historical and cultural context of lynching and lynching trends in scholarship and places Claude Neal's lynching within that context. The dissertation provides a detailed account of the Neal lynching by comparing previous accounts of his lynching supplemented with an analysis of primary documents. Further, the dissertation examines how NAACP secretary Walter White staged a rhetorical campaign that situated Claude Neal at the center of their renewed push for Antilynching legislation. White worked with Senator Edward Costigan of Colorado and Senator Robert Wagner of New York to reintroduce the Costigan-Wagner Antilynching bill in the 1935 Congressional proceedings. This dissertation examines the ways in which Claude Neal's lynching has been interpreted and used by White and the NAACP in their push for Federal antilynching legislation through the 1935 Costigan-Wagner bill. Finally, the dissertation ends with a look at how lynching has become the root of systemic racism in America that manifests today in police brutality, criminalization of black men, unequal medical care, housing, education for black people. Through a discussion on Equal Justice Initiative's new memorial, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, in Montgomery, Alabama, it examines how public memory and efforts to memorialize lynching aid in the reconciliation process. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / November 7, 2018. / Antilynching legislation, Claude Neal, Costigan-Wagner Bill, Lynching, Public memory, Rubin Stacey / Includes bibliographical references. / Davis Houck, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine Jones, University Representative; Brian Graves, Committee Member; Steve McDowell, Committee Member.

Although not as important as timber, the coal mining industry did play a significant role in Washington's economic development of the 1880's. But coal mining was not an easy business in which to make a profit. The product itself was medicore; costs were high, and competition was stiff. The leading independent coal company, the Oregon Improvement Company (OIC), suffered from continual financial problems and was hampered by poor management. To reduce costs the OIC emphasized the factor of production that appeared to be easiest to control — labor. Like all Washington coal operators, the OIC officers were opposed to labor organizations, which they believed both increased costs and interferred with a company's right to conduct its business. The nature of coal mining and the structure of mining towns made conflict almost inevitable between a company and its employees. The mine workers quickly learned that organization was not only essential to protect their interests in an irregular and dangerous industry, but also to counteract the overwhelming influence of the company. When Knights of Labor organizers appeared in Washington in the early 1880's, they were enthusiastically received by the mine workers, and local assemblies of the Knights were established throughout Washington's mining regions. A company like the OIC wanted to mine coal efficiently and economically without any interference from employees or labor organizations. In order to inhibit the influence of organized labor the OIC encouraged faction among its employees, with the intent of keeping the workers divided and quarreling among themselves. To the OIC officers it appeared that the workers could be permanently divided along racial lines. Their experience with placing low-paid Chinese workers in the mines had shown them that their white-employees completely accepted the prevailing racial stereotypes. Not only were the mine workers opposed to Chinese in the mines, they became leaders in the movement to expel the Chinese from Washington. Racial animosity and a fear of cheap labor prevented the mine workers from seeing what they had in common as workers with the Chinese. In this sense the Chinese laid the groundwork for the far more successful use of blacks in the mines. The first black mine workers in Washington were imported from the Midwest in 1888 by the Northern Pacific Coal Company. With the use of blacks the company broke a strike led by the Knights. In 1891 the OIC decided to follow the example of the Northern Pacific, and black workers were imported under contract to work in the OIC mines. With cheap black labor the OIC believed it could conduct its business more economically and suppress organized labor by encouraging racial hostility among the workers. The OIC's use of blacks precipitated the complete defeat of union mine workers in Washington. A national tradition of anti-Negro prejudice enhanced by the West's more virulent racism, and the minimal participation of blacks in the developing labor movement, all contributed to their successful use in the Washington mines. Racial animosity and hostility to cheap labor kept the blacks and whites divided. Initiated by the Knights, the retaliatory strike of the white mine workers failed, and mining unions disappeared from Washington for over a decade. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

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.

The problem of this study was to ascertain the status of the teaching of Negro history in American history classes in the public high schools of Texas.

An estimated 22,000 children were born in England during the Second World War as a result of relationships between British women and .American GIs. Of these children, around 1,200-1,700 were born to African .American servicemen. These figures are estimates only; the actual number of births will never be known. / The research study is based on personal interviews with eleven members of this cohort. The interviews explore their life experience and examines their sense of identity as ex-nuptial children, of mixed-race parentage, who had no contact with and usually little information about their GI fathers. Of the eleven mothers, over half were married with at least one other child at the time of the birth. Nine participants/respondents were raised by their mother or her extended family. Two were institutionalised. At the time of the interviews all of the respondents were either searching for, or had found, their black GI fathers. / This is a qualitative study which aims to bear witness to the lived experience of this cohort and to analyse the meaning individuals gave to their experience. Data collection involved personal interviews with the eleven participants. The data was then subject to a thematic analysis and the major themes and issues identified. Content analysis was undertaken using a constructivist approach. / The interviews are presented as elicited narrative relayed through an interpretive summary. Consistency was maintained by using common questions organised within a loose interview framework. The findings were organised around the major conceptual issues and themes that emerged from the case summaries. Common themes, including resilience, racial identity, self esteem and stress were identified. / The researcher has professional qualifications as a social worker and clinical family therapist. She has ten years experience in the field of adoption, including the transracial placement of Aboriginal and overseas children in Australian families. She is also a member of the researched cohort. Issues arising when the researcher is also a member of the researched cohort are discussed in the methodology. / The experience of this cohort suggests that despite the disadvantages of their birth, they fared better than expected. The majority demonstrated high levels of resilience, successfully developing a sense of identity that incorporated both the black and white aspects of their racial heritage. However, for some this success was only achieved at considerable personal cost, with several participants reporting relatively high levels of stress and/or stress related symptoms, such as anxiety, mental illness and heart disease.

This thesis is a descriptive and historical study of the many contributions the negro has made to the American way of life in spite of the many problems and handicaps in education, health, and economical opportunities which are peculiar to the environment of the negro.

Since his rise to fame in the late nineteenth century, Booker T. Washington has been incorrectly labeled a compromiser and power-hungry politician who sacrificed social progress for his own advancement. Through extensive research of Washington's personal papers, speeches, and affiliations, it has become apparent that the typical characterizations of Washington are not based exclusively in fact. The paper opens with an overview of Washington's philosophy, followed by a discussion of Washington's rise to power and consolidation of his "Tuskegee Machine," and finally the split that occurred within the African-American community with the formation of the NAACP. The thesis concludes that, while Washington's tactics were different from and far less visible than those of more militant black leaders, they were nonetheless effective in the overall effort.

This thesis examines the role of blacks during Reconstruction in Norfolk, Virginia. The years of Reconstruction in Norfolk were years of dramatic change for blacks. Blacks seized the opportunity to exercise control over their own lives and pushed for equality with whites in economic, social, and political realms. This study shows Norfolk blacks were active agents whose actions shaped the course of Reconstruction in their city. / Master of Arts