<p> In recent years, there has been an interest in the effectiveness of college assessment preparation, which has prompted many studies. The majority of these studies researched instruction/coaching on the Scholastic Assessment Tool (SAT). Notably, the college entrance exam has become a growing concern for minorities, particularly African American students. Prior research by ACT, Inc. (2012, p. 2) has shown African American students rank the lowest in American College Test (ACT) scores of all racial groups. Between 2006 and 2011 the average ACT composite scores increased for White, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and American/Pacific Islanders. Hispanic scores remained unchanged and the scores of African Americans students declined by an average of two scale points. The focus of this research investigated whether instruction/coaching for the ACT would increase the scores of African American students. The participants of this study were African American high school students who attended a suburban high school in the Midwest. These students took a pre-test (PLAN) and a post-test (ACT) and were provided with reflective journals to document comments and attitudes of this six-week program. The average increase in the ACT scores after taking the ACT Preparation Course was 2.00 points. Considering other variables, it appeared that the increase in these scores could be attributed to the instruction they received taking the ACT Preparation Course and prior to taking the ACT. This research compared both scores of African American students over four semesters, analyzed questionnaire data, and reflective journaling data to examine if student attitudes and scores could be affected as a result of taking a preparation course. The resulting data suggest there was not only an improvement in ACT scores, but also an improvement in student attitudes after completion of the ACT Preparation Course. Student attitudes were positively impacted towards taking the ACT in that the majority of students felt more confident when taking the test as well as acquiring a new perspective in testing skills and study strategies.</p>

<p> The purpose of this thesis project was to write a grant proposal to secure funding for &ldquo;Power to the She,&rdquo; a program for low-income, single African American mothers with children in the child welfare system. A literature review was conducted to examine topics related to mental health issues among African American women and how they impact parenting. The purpose of the proposed program was to improve the emotional, mental state, and overall functioning of low-income, single African American mothers involved in the child welfare system through the implementation of services such as culturally congruent and trauma focused group therapy, self-esteem building, parenting trainings, and empowerment presentations to facilitate dialogue around systems of oppressions that impact their daily lives. The Jason Hayes Foundation was identified as the potential funder. The actual submission or funding of this grant proposal was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</p>

<p> Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities in Florida. The collected data included reviews of local news reports, voter turnout reports, and community health assessments, along with focus groups and semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 of the communities&rsquo; African American residents. Benet&rsquo;s polarities of democracy model was employed to analyze the relationship between racism and social capital. Analysis included inductive coding followed by pattern matching to identify overarching themes between the selected cases. One key theme was that perceived racial disparity inhibited bridging and linking social capital in the selected communities. Another key theme was that racism created social capital deficiencies and a dysfunctional community culture, which limited the capacity to address collective issues. Social change implications include specific policy recommendations to state and local leaders to increase the participation of Black community members in democratic processes. Additionally, this research has potential to improve understanding of the various ways that racism may affect Black Communities.</p>

<p>One of the most discriminated groups of people in the United States are African American men who experience daily individual, institutional, and systemic racism. This research study will explore how several factors may influence the impact of the experience of discrimination on African American males who are over the age of 18 years. More specifically, this study will examine how formation of a sense of identity, personal definition of life satisfaction and an individual's adaptability in stressful situations impact the overall sense of well-being among African American males in the United States. There were 5 self-report research measures used in this study. This study?s correlations showed that if African American men experience stress in one area, they would also experience stress in other ways. An individual having a more developed racial identity and a higher sense of coherence will have a higher sense of well-being and overall satisfaction with life. The findings in this study can benefit the African American male community by providing more information to understand how discrimination and internalized oppression adversely impact their overall quality of life.

<p> African American women (AAW) are at a high risk for type 2 diabetes, a debilitating and potentially fatal disease for which there is no cure. The purpose of this study was to extend the research of Mosca et al. (2012) by examining the relationship between caregiver status and self-reported health status for AAW 18 years or older diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The chronic care model (CCM) provided the theoretical framework for this study. The CCM promoted routine care for patients with chronic illnesses to migrate from acute care to proactive, planned, and risk-based protocols. A binomial logistic regression investigated the relationship between caregiver status, categorized as paid or unpaid, and self-reported health status, which was dichotomized as either good to excellent health or poor to fair health. There was a statistically significant relationship between primary caregiver status and self-reported health status among AAW diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes after controlling for age, education, and marital status (<i>p</i> &lt; .004). Based on the fitted binomial logistic regression model, there were 186 cases of AAW with type 2 diabetes; having a paid caregiver was associated with a lower odds of having good to excellent health (OR = 0.294). About 12.3% of the variance in self-report health status was attributable to caregiver status. Overall, 82.6% of predictions were accurate. Nearly all participants required frequent assistance from a caregiver in the preceding 12 months. These findings suggest a critical need for healthcare service providers to educate caregivers as a means to deliver post-acute care to AAW diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, consistent with the CCM.</p>

This study identifies forces that prevent or contribute to women's participation in breast cancer screening and other breast cancer prevention activities. The study was based on the premise that women from the lower socioeconomic groups in India, South Africa, and the United States had a higher rate of breast cancer because they are diagnosed at the more advanced stages of the disease and do not engage in breast screening opportunities. Moreover, there is limited access to services and transportation, and there is little faith in the professional health care provider and the treatment received from the health care provider. Surveys and interviews were used to assess the women's level of involvement in breast cancer related prevention programs. Similar methods were used to assess the level of involvement by health care professionals in providing breast cancer prevention activities. The researcher found that the issues related to breast cancer are comparable in South Africa, India, and the United States. Further, it was found that, for the women in all three countries, there was a lack of access to health care; thus, women were not receiving the medical treatment they needed; the women were diagnosed at the more advanced stages of the disease; there was a lack of available transportation to the sites where they could participate in health prevention programs; there was a lack of information about breast cancer made available to women of color; and the level of participation in health care programs is related to the socioeconomic conditions and to the cultural aspects of some women's lives and the long waiting periods for medical services. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggests that a culture-sensitive model is needed for women of color, and health care professionals need to be more sensitive to the needs of women regardless of socioeconomic level. The three countries should consider holding global workshops on breast cancer, and health clinics and other medical facilities should send reminder cards to female patients or have health care workers do home visits to remind patients of the need for mammogram.

This thesis examined the political history of Black Nationalism in America in order to determine those internal organizational factors that have prevented Black Nationalists, specifically of the Black Power Era (1 966-1 975), from achieving selfdetermination, with the highest expression being the founding of an independent Black nation-state. The study was based on the premise that the goal of Black Nationalism was the founding of a Black nation-state for African-Americans. A historical comparative analysis was used to determine what internal factors prevented Black Nationalists from successfully founding a Black nation-state. The researcher found several internal factors that interfered with the founding of a Black nation-state. Factors which contributed to the unsuccessful movement were the immaturity of Black Nationalist leadership, the abandonment of political programs, shifts 1 in program strategies, and the antagonism and neglect of the Black Church as an ally in the movement. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggest that there are other internal factors which need further exploration.

The novels written by Paule Marshall are examined chronologically to demonstrate how Africa functions and is represented in her works. Published interviews and essays by Marshall are also examined, as well as critical analysis of her works by scholars. Africa is present in Paule Marshall's novels through ritual, history, language, and myth. Paule Marshall's work demonstrates how Africanisms operate in the United States and in the Caribbean. She articulates the need for people throughout the African diaspora to confront and use the past as a vehicle for empowerment. Marshall's protagonists are women who find that when they confront the past not only do they better understand themselves as African people, but they also gain greater awareness of their womanhood. Marshall's female protagonists discover that their African identity and their female identity are intertwined.

This study discussed the significant link between Anna Julia Cooper's A Voice from the South (1892) and the work of twentieth-century, black, Southern women writers through their exploration of specific issues, black feminist theory, and the conditions under which they were written. This thesis was based on the premise that Cooper's text can provide clarification for contemporary black women's issues, show a continuum in the work of Southern writers, and prove that similar conditions exist today for black women as in the nineteenth century. Chapter One defines some of the similar issues found in Cooper's work and contemporary writings. Chapter Two discusses the intellectual discourse that commonly identifies these issues, and how they are addressed, within the canon of black feminist theory. Chapter Three clarifies why these issues, in general, have existed in the writings of black, Southern women writers for over a century. It examines their common denominators, Southern heritage and ideological hegemony; and their position in the African-American literary tradition.

<p> Many studies have been conducted on the achievement gap between Caucasian and minority students (Bankston &amp; Caldas, 1998; Brown &amp; Donnor, 2011; Howard, 2008; O&rsquo;Conner, Lewis, &amp; Mueller, 2007; Osborne, 1999), as this gap has been a persistent problem for decades. However, despite more students of color gaining access to institutions of higher education, there is still a severe gap in college graduation rates (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011), with African American males being the least likely group to be found on college campuses (Dunn, 2012), and thus, possessing the lowest college graduation rate. St. Peter Claver Academy (pseudonym) is a Catholic, male high school located in an inner city, low-income community in the western United States. The demographic composition of the school is 65% Latino and 35% African American. Despite the fact that 100% of seniors are accepted into a college or university, the graduates of St. Peter Claver Academy have very poor college graduation rates. This qualitative study investigated the narratives of seven African-American graduates of the school in order to understand their college experiences, looking closely at attrition, retention, resilience, and persistence. Through the lens of critical bicultural theory, the voices of these former students are central to this study in an effort to seek common threads about their experiences, which can provide educators useful insight on how to improve the college graduation rate for this underrepresented student population group.</p>