Thomas Kuhn's 1962 groundbreaking work, The Scientific Revolution, established the process for creating, and the components of, a disciplinary paradigm. This "scientific revolution" has evolved to become the standard for determining a field's claim to disciplinary status. In 2001 and 2003, Ama Mazama, used Kuhn's model to establish the disciplinary status of Africology, through the categorical structuring of the Afrocentric Paradigm. Though her work conclusively made the claim that Africology is a legitimate academic discipline, still more work remained in effort to meet other criterion set forth by Kuhn. Through the use of content analysis, this work extends Mazama's work by addressing four additional areas of paradigm development that was established by Kuhn: (1) the scientific revolutionary moment for the discipline; (2) the nature of consensus among the scholars of the discipline; (3) the intellectual identity of the discipline's scholars; and (4) the distinct intellectual behavior of the discipline's scholars as seen through their evolved epistemic and methodological tradition. This work also reconfirms Africology's fidelity to the roots of the original Black Studies Movement, identifies independent intellectual tools for Black Studies scholars, identifies Afrocentric excellence and rigor, and provides an instructive tool for burgeoning Afrocentric Scholars. / African American Studies

The utilization of natural elements of the earth to remedy corporeal maladies dates back to the medical systems of ancient Nile Valley culture. Given the continuity and intergenerational transmission of knowledge evident in African expressions of culture, these olden naturalistic health techniques, throughout time, have continuously been used as therapeutic modalities by posterior African cultures—both continental and Diasporic. Due to its tripartite approach to healing—of mind, body and spirit— this age-old African healing tradition has gained popularity in contemporary times and is commonly known today as the locution: holistic health. The principal objective of this intellectual project is to reveal an unbroken genealogy of a thriving Africana holistic health tradition upheld by both advocates and practitioners in the field. Notwithstanding the current state of health of Africans residing in the United States, the praxis of these ancient healing customs is extant within communities which the population is predominately African. Through considering the publication of How to Eat to Live in 1967, this study articulates a resurgence among contemporary African healers of an olden healing tradition once customary on the banks of the Nile. The proposed outlook of this work to highlight the various means of alternative health available by and for African descendants that ultimately serves as a catalyst to take matters of health into our own hands. / African American Studies

In the available research on Afrocentric K-12 education, one area of primary concern is measuring Afrocentric education’s effectiveness at enhancing the performance and achievement of African American children relative to what they would achieve in traditional schools. A significant part of determining the level of success of the Afrocentric educational model involves ascertaining the efficacy of Afrocentric teachers. However, the existing research on various specific Afrocentric schools, both past and present, suggests that acquiring teachers sufficiently qualified to teach an Afrocentric curriculum is an area of concern. This raises a number of important questions including whether this suggested problem actually exists in the current Afrocentric school community, what constitutes “sufficient qualification,” how important Afrocentric qualification is relative to a particular school’s mission, and what is being done by actual schools to ensure that its teachers are properly qualified. In an effort to address these questions, this study investigated Afrocentric school administrators’ attitudes toward Afrocentric teaching competence. It also explored their assessments of the proficiency of their own teachers, and their opinions about what constitutes effective teacher preparation programming. This primarily qualitative exploratory study was conducted by surveying principal administrators of Afrocentric and African-centered schools. The participants in the study worked at private and public charter schools located in various states. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze the responses to a participant-administered online questionnaire. The results of the survey indicate that there is significant variation in the ways that the participants define and implement the Afrocentric education model as well as in the ways that they both conceive of and measure Afrocentric teaching competence. The findings imply a need for further, more intense exploration of what it means to be a competent teacher within an Afrocentric school as well as extensive research into potentially establishing standards for the demonstration of competence in the classroom. Doing so should provide a starting point for fully engaging the Afrocentric education community’s beliefs about the successes and failures of its teachers, which should in turn open up space for exploring how best to proceed with future teacher development. / African American Studies

African American detective fiction has not been consistently examined as a complete body of work nor has it been analyzed for its cultural differences and its important contribution to African American studies. The earliest authors and dates of black detective writing have been ignored or mis-stated by critical theorists. The Blues Detective surveys African American detective fiction from its inception at the beginning of the twentieth century up through the postmodern period of the 1970s. The writers studied in this work include Pauline Hopkins, J. E. Bruce, Rudolph Fisher, Chester Himes, Ishmael Reed and Clarence Major. After a preliminary discussion of detective fiction in general, the author examines the ways in which black detective fiction differs from the traditional Euro-American genre. African American detective writers utilized detective fiction for their own ends, transforming both classical and hardboiled detective genres through the use of the four tropes of black detective fiction: altered detective personas, double-conscious detection, black vernaculars and hoodoo. The use of these four tropes by black detective writers was initiated at the very beginning of black detective writing. The author shows how these four tropes were handled by each successive black detective writer in their works. In the process African American detective writers created a tradition of black detective writing that transformed both the style and content of Euro-American detective fiction, expressing important social and political aspects of African American consciousness and culture in their creative use of a popular culture form. The author finds that black detective writing is an important aspect of black literary expression and that its influence has continued into the contemporary period.

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Black on Black victimization amongst inner-city African American youth is a well-documented phenomenon. Less understood are the shared lived experiences of inner-city, middle-aged African Americans who have been victims of crimes perpetrated by African American youth. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived, shared experience of this population. Social ecological theory, psychological sense of community, and crisis theory served as the theoretical frameworks for the study. A qualitative method of phenomenological inquiry was used to gain insight into the meaning ascribed to the victimization experiences, as well as the resulting thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and life-impacting implications. In-person, audio-taped, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 victimized, middle-aged African Americans. Data were analyzed using Moustakas' method of data analysis. The study produced seven major themes: (a) physical, psychological, and emotional responses; (b) coping, (c) hopelessness, (d) betrayal, (e) traditional values, (f) societal issues, and (g) disengaged acceptance. The data analysis indicated that African Americans residing in this metropolitan location struggle with myriad intraracial and intergenerational challenges; approaches to addressing the challenges were reflected in the seven major themes. The results of this study may contribute to an enhanced understanding of the effects of intraracial, intergenerational victimization, leading to the ability of the mental health community to effectively address the physical, psychological, and emotional outcomes of this victimization experience. This study may also lead to a decrease in mental health related issues and costs, as well as serve as a catalyst for conversation amongst stakeholders.

The mother-daughter relationship holds a special place in the lives of African American women, given the rich history of women of African descent and the complexities of female relationships. However, few studies have discussed the evolution of this relationship and what it means in the lives of African American mothers and daughters. Using relational-cultural theory (RCT) and Black feminist theory, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences and evolution of the African American mother-daughter relationship. A sample of 10 mother-daughter dyads was interviewed together about their relationship. Research questions addressed how African American mothers and daughters define, maintain, and value their relationships with one another. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Themes generated from the data included the relationship undergoing ups and downs, including changes and fluctuations as the pair maintains an enduring bond; unconditional love; legacy; ongoing support; care; learning and spending time together; the role of communication; being available; and mutual acceptance. The results provide insight into the unique evolution of the African American mother-daughter relationship and provide a theoretical foundation for understanding how this relationship develops, evolves, and is maintained. Mental health clinicians who read this study may gain greater awareness of and sensitivity toward African American mother-daughter relationships, as well as insight into how these fluid relationships function. By applying this knowledge to their practice, they may support clients' healthy personal development and interpersonal growth.

The percentage of qualified African American senior military leaders is significantly lower than the percentage of African Americans serving in the enlisted ranks. With the changing demographics of the 21st century, increasing the number of African American Army officers is a practical as well a moral issue. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand African American cadets' perception of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Leadership Program and the impact of ROTC on their lives. The theoretical basis for this study is Sternberg's theory of intelligence and Woodman, Sawyer, and Griffin's theory of organizational creativity. The research problem explored the relationship between African American college student retention and their success in ROTC programs. A random sample of 23 junior and senior ROTC cadets at a Historically Black College and University completed a self-administered survey; 12 cadets later participated in an unstructured focus group interview. A statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between African American college student retention and the level of support offered by institutions, families, and peers. Qualitative analysis using the phenomenological approach resulted in data that supported the statistical findings. Results of this study may lead to positive social change through the identification of student influences that promote academic and military achievement, as well as effective retention strategies for African American Army ROTC cadets. Understanding the perceptions of African American cadets about ROTC programs can enhance recruitment and retention efforts of administrators and instructors in both ROTC and higher institutions of learning.

African American students have been historically underrepresented in gifted programs throughout the United States. Research about retaining identified African American students in gifted programs is limited. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the perceptions of a purposeful sample of seven identified talented and potentially talented African American middle school students about participation in gifted programs. The purpose of the study was to understand the meaning of participants' expectations, attitudes, and experiences with regard to participating and remaining in a gifted program or participating and then dropping out. Data were collected through individual interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that participants expected talented and gifted programs to be challenging, boring, or fun. Attitudes about learning in gifted programs included a preference for hands-on activities, the study of other cultures, accelerated work, and a desire for a daily class rather than a pullout program. Male and female African Americans experienced participation in gifted programs differently. Males perceived that they are normal and like everybody else, but females perceived the need to resist conforming to negative African American stereotypes. Recommendations that could improve retention rates for African Americans in gifted programs include revising policies regarding gifted program delivery and providing teacher training with an emphasis on African American cultural sensitivity. The contribution of this study to the body of research literature has implications for positive social change because developing the talents and gifts of African Americans through gifted programs could result in higher college graduation rates and greater employment opportunities.