The poems that form this collection titled, Pretend the Ball is Named Jim Crow, are written in the persona of Negro League Baseball’s Josh Gibson (1911-1947) and those closest to him. Gibson is credited with hitting over 800 home runs in his career and was the first Negro League Baseball Player to be inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame without ever playing an inning of Major League Baseball.

This essay examines Frederick Douglass’s My Bondage and My Freedom in a liminal space between disciplinary lines of inquiry. In imagining his work within this space, I utilize Kenneth Burke’s notion of identification and cooperation as a means of understanding how Douglass enacts rhetoric and for what end. The rhetorical situation Douglass faces is highly fraught: other people’s lives are at stake, and the institution of slavery forces him to make legible the atrocities being done to African American bodies. My conceptualization of Douglass’s text as rhetorical theory in practice proffers a new way of understanding what shape and form rhetoric and narrative can take, especially for Douglass. Rhetorical theory in practice builds upon Barbara Christian’s understanding of what theory and theorization looks like within African American communities of practice. She argues that African American theory “is often in narrative forms, in the stories [they] create, in riddles and proverbs, in the play with language” (68). In My Bondage and My Freedom, I examine the ways in which Douglass locates rhetorical theory in the lived experiences of enslaved people. While doing this, he pays homage to four narrative forms: the captivity narrative, the criminal confession, the travel narrative, and the picaresque novel. He borrows from these forms to display his literary dexterity but also to enact a sort of rhetorical theory. His descriptions, sequence of events, and the way in which he orchestrates his text enact a rhetorical framework for advocating for the humanity of enslaved African Americans. Subsequently, he develops a rhetorical theory in practice that emerges out of his lived experiences.

Three studies examined prejudice as an explanation for the overrepresentation of Black Africans and the under-representation of native-born Black Americans in Ivy League institutions. I hypothesized admission officers may use Black Africans as a "cover" for their prejudice against Black American natives. The admission of more Black Africans may allow admission officers to express their prejudice toward Black American natives while maintaining an egalitarian image. In Study 1, although the Black African applicant was evaluated as more likable, competent, and had a greater chance of being admitted than the Black American native applicant, differences were only significant when compared with the White American applicant. In Study 2, the Black American native applicant was significantly less likely to be admitted when being directly compared to a Black African applicant (versus a White American applicant). Study 3, tested the boundary effects of Study 2 by exposing participants to an Affirmative Action statement. Similar to Study 2, the target Black American native applicant was significantly less likely to be admitted when in direct comparison with a Black African applicant. In Studies 1 and 3, levels of internal motivation and/or levels of external motivation to respond without prejudice significantly moderated the relationship between ethnicity and decision to admit. Furthermore, findings indicated that the decision to admit the target Black American native versus the competitor was dependent on perceptions of SES. Collectively, these studies offer evidence that the admittance of Black African applicants may provide a cover for discrimination against Black American natives. These results suggest that ethnicity, in addition to race, may affect the educational opportunities of minority group members.

Over the past several years I have been on a quest to locate a world beyond the one I’ve been presented. I am interested in the history of atomic particles - like everything that radiates off of a monument (both literally and those things that are metaphorically reified) - invisible things, and the ways in which these things insect beyond our knowledge systems. This inquiry takes many forms. Mine is a conceptually based practice linked to record keeping and time, and the ways in which these concepts find plurality within our culture; or more pointedly, the importance that we attach to “time” and “the record”, as they relate to our “legacies”, “cultures”, or “the canon”; our histories and the ahistorical, the prehistorical, fantasies, the things that never happened but could’ve, imagined futures and parallel universes.

The use of religion-based spirituality was examined as a factor in strengthening and increasing emotional intelligence and regulation, facilitating relationship choices and maintenance, and as a key factor in the decision-making process of dating and partner selection among African Americans. The theoretical framework for this study included Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, on which both theories of spiritual and emotional intelligence stand, and Bowlby's theory of attachment. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze relationships between spiritual and emotional intelligences and attachment styles among African American adults. In a criterion-based purposeful sample of 98 African American participants aged 27 and older, a negative correlation was found between high levels of spiritual and emotional intelligence in African Americans and attachment styles, meaning secure attachment styles were found in African Americans with higher levels of both spiritual and emotional intelligence. The study contributes to the validity and reliability of the SISRI, SSEIT, and the ECR-R among African Americans. Scores on these instruments in the study were within normal range. The information in this study may serve as a foundation for future studies on the importance of religion-based spirituality and the strengthening of emotional intelligence to facilitate successful romantic and marital relationships among African Americans, leading to stronger families and communities.

Perceptions of Marital Dissatisfaction Among African American Couples by Terrence Schofield MS, Walden University, 2012 BS, Knoxville College, 1994 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University August 2016

Thousands of youth exit Ontario's Child Welfare System (CWS) each year and perform poorly after returning to the community. However, understanding African Canadian youths' perspectives about their experiences and needs was problematic because no outcome data was available in the Canadian database. Using a phenomenological design grounded in a constructivist framework, the purpose of this study was to explore the meaning(s) that African Canadian youth ascribed to positive outcomes on exiting the CWS. A purposeful sample included 10 participants (6 females and 4 males, ranging in age from 19-24). The data collection method was face-to-face interviews with hand coding used to transcribe the data. Inductive analysis of themes and member checking ensured the trustworthiness of the interpretations. The 9 resulting themes related to concerns about their stay in care, as well as readiness for exiting CWS successfully: in-care instability (multiple foster homes and changes), unpreparedness for the transition, counselling/lack of counselling, behavioral management, education, maintaining motivation homelessness, shelter living, extended care connections, Extended Care and Maintenance (ECM), and Youth Voice in decision making. These themes represented issues that African Canadian youth believed would improve transitioning from CWS to independent living, particularly in negotiating community connections and resources. Social change can occur when policy makers and stakeholders acknowledge the problems and special needs of these youth by implementing the resources, services, and supportive programs to assure continuity of care and more successful outcomes.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are significant public health issues that affect people of all races; Type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects African Americans with higher diagnosis, morbidity, and mortality than it affects Caucasians, and Type 1 has been increasing in incidence. Diabetes self-care activities (DSCAs) and social support have been shown to help in managing both types, which can reduce morbidity and mortality. African Americans with diabetes in San Francisco have higher rates of complications, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits secondary to diabetes. This study assessed whether a relationship exists between emotional support, practical support, affirmational support, informational support, and self-care behaviors. This cross-sectional study was guided by the health belief model and social cognitive theory and was conducted using the Summary of Diabetes Self Care Activities (SDSCA) and the Social Support Survey Instrument. The median SDSCA score for performance of diabetes self-care activities was 32. The Spearman correlation between informational support and the SDSCA score was positively statistically significant (p < .002), and the affectionate support score was also positively correlated with the SDSCA score (p < .0001). The emotional support and the practical/tangible support scores were negatively correlated to the SDSCA score, but the correlation was not statistically significant. The results of this study may help to effect social change by encouraging provision of informational support with diabetes self-management education and affectionate support by including family and friends in their care process. This provision could lead to improvement in DSCAs and reduction of hospitalizations and emergency room visits among African Americans.

In 2014, less than 16% of executive leaders in U.S. corporations were women and less than 5.3% of executive leaders in U.S. corporations were African American women. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of 20 African American women in senior executive positions in the Southeastern region of the United States. The goal of this study was to provide business leaders with information to recognize the value of diversity and equality in the workplace. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. The conceptual framework incorporated general systems theory, which highlights the bidirectionality between an individual and his or her environment. Data were gathered from audio-recorded semistructured interviews that were transcribed and coded for emergent themes. The findings revealed several strategies for success among African American women, such as tolerating opposition in a male-dominated work environment, and overcoming barriers such as race and gender discrimination. These findings have implications of positive social change by increasing awareness among business leaders of racial inequalities in the workplace. Such awareness may, in turn, decrease workplace discrimination to foster a more conducive environment to promote African American women into executive leadership positions. By making the issues of inequalities for African American women more visible, this research opens the opportunity to discuss the topic and seek resolutions across all organizations.

The Black Church has been a powerful support system for African Americans, providing economic, and psychological support in addition to meeting spiritual and religious needs. African American church leaders continue to provide a multitude of services to the community; however, research has shown that African American Protestant Christian churchgoers'€™ preference for informal supports may exacerbate some symptoms of mental illness as people may postpone seeking formal help. Utilizing a nonexperimental, cross-€sectional design, this study examined the relationship between these churchgoers'€™ attitudes toward religious help-€seeking and attitudes toward professional help-€seeking. One hundred four African American Protestant Christian churchgoers in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States participated in this study. Data were collected using online and paper and pencil self-€administered surveys. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Religious Commitment Inventory-€10, The Attitudes toward Religious Help-Seeking Scale, and The Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between religious and professional help-seeking attitudes while controlling for the religious denomination, prior utilization of counseling services, and religious commitment. The results of this study support previous research showing that African Americans who are affiliated with a church have more favorable attitudes towards seeking help from their church than they do towards seeking professional help. The results of this study can influence the way counselors communicate with church leaders to improve mental health care for the African American community.