The purpose of this study was to provide a holistic and historically contextualized approach to the ways that we understand race and identity online. Specifically, I analyze the underlying logics of social network sites—understood as empowerment, influence, and entertainment/reprieve—as they foster automated connectivity. By pulling from José van Dijck’s (2013) understanding of connective media and André Brock’s (2016) Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA), this dissertation examines the functionalities of online connectivity to reveal how social network sites are significantly shaped by racialized and gendered users as well as their resistance strategies online. Guiding this study are the overall research questions, which asks, how do social network sites, and the logic of connectivity that undergirds them, shape race, resistance, and identities? Secondly, in what ways are racialized users changing the landscape of digital media through long-existing practices of resistance strategies and embodiment? In order to approach these overarching questions, I provide the foundational literatures in which I intervene in chapter one. As a pre-history of social media, chapter two explores the resistance tactics and media interventions that black publics have utilized throughout each major time period in the U.S. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how the creation of a black public was sustained toward a racial sociality and a race public opinion that can be found in reimagined ways online. Through the case study #GrowingUpBlack, chapter three investigates the underlying sensibilities of social network sites— empowerment, influence, and entertainment/reprieve— and their relationship to contemporary race and resistance. In this chapter, I argue for specific ways that racialized resistance shapes and is shaped by the logics of social network sites. Lastly, chapter four breaks apart the notion of a singular approach to racial resistance and connectivity by examining the ways that intersectional resistance circumvents and re-writes social media’s logics. Through focus groups with 20 African-American women, chapter four connects the underlying sensibilities of social network sites alongside intersectional resistance strategies in order to demonstrate the continuities of race and media as well as resistance discourses’ influence on online communication. Toward a Raced Connective Media hopes to make an intervention in the digital media and critical race field by surveying and analyzing media platforms as connective wholes rather than fractured parts regarding the relationship between media, race, and resistance.

African American women are significantly underrepresented in the role of community college presidents in the United States. Insufficient research has been conducted related to the reason behind the underrepresentation of African American female community college presidents in this nation, warranting an investigation that led to this study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of 7 current and former African American women who are, or have held, the community college presidency role to gain an in depth understanding as to why, from their perspective, an underrepresentation of African American female community college presidents exists in the United States. Critical race theory is the theoretical foundation that guided this phenomenological qualitative study. Semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data. The data were interpreted using phenomenological analysis. This study found that African American female community college presidents identified several barriers that lead to their underrepresentation. Race and gender were the most influential factors noted. Gender bias was evident in that women are not expected to hold the presidency position. The respondents noted that the U.S. society still has elements of white supremacy where people of color are not trusted with certain leadership positions. These sources of bias have limited access to the college presidency, leading to their lack of representation in the role. The findings of this study can assist leaders and policymakers in formulating and implementing appropriate strategies and policies to end or minimize the disparities of Black women leading US community colleges.

Introduction: The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in 1987 was 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 18.0 deaths in 2015. This increase in MMR has occurred disproportionately. The same report demonstrates that black women are more than 3 times as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than non-Hispanic white women. The present study explores how structural differences in the economy, education system, and public policy affect the health of black, pregnant women in the U.S. Methods: This research examined epidemiological studies of maternal mortality in the U.S. Data from previous studies was used to investigate the relationship between the racial disparity in MMR and societal, economic, and political factors that contribute to said relationship. Data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Census Bureau, the United Nations (UN), and the Claremont Colleges Library network was examined. Results: Studies show that between 2008-2012, black women were found to have the greatest prevalence of preexisting conditions prior to pregnancy. Furthermore, white women are more likely to have their labor induced than black, Asian, and Hispanic women. The increased prevalence of preexisting conditions among black women can be greatly attributed to factors stemming from institutional racism. These factors include less access to health care, education, and equal economic opportunities. Conclusion: Implicit bias among practicing health professionals must be addressed via multiethnic education. It is necessary to create an equally safe environment for women of all races. Additionally, health care providers should take on the responsibility of educating pregnant women about any possible preexisting chronic conditions to properly care for themselves. Prenatal health education must be made readily available and accessible to all demographics. Reports demonstrate that the creation of standardized, disease-specific procedures that target chronic conditions may reduce the U.S. MMR. For black women to overcome the current rates of comorbidity, U.S. public policy must change in a way that decreases the disparity in the socioeconomic status of all Americans.

The paper explores the complicated intersection between Black womanhood and performance by considering Josephine Baker as a site to engage the concept of “performing identity.” It discuss both the development of burlesque and the history of Josephine Baker to provide a foundation for the investigation of her early-career movement and visual practices. Then, the paper explore these hallmarks through Sherril Dodds’ “critical components of neo-burlesque striptease” writ into her book, Dancing on the Canon: Embodiments of Value in Popular Dance. The second half of this document includes a script of CATHARSIS, a self-devised solo show created to process one’s personal journey towards self-recognition amidst the (de)stabilizing effects of adoption. The show broadly explores the dynamic relationship between visibility, movement, and healing as Megh negotiates what it means to take space and be vulnerable in an environment that seeks to minimize black femme expression. The script is followed by a reflection on the initial two performances.

Race- and gender-related contextual factors influence Black women’s sexual behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes. Contextual factors of Black women’s sexual behaviors include stereotypes, microaggressions, ethnic identity, and self-concept. Little to no research has examined race- and gender-specific microaggressions (i.e., gendered racial microaggressions; GRM) impact on Black women's sexual health. Responsively, using an intersectional approach, this study hypothesized that ethnic identity’s influence on the relationship between GRM and sexual behavior (i.e., condom use, lifetime sexual partners) is conditional on self-conceptualization moderated effect on ethnic identity and sexual behavior. Participants included 124 unmarried Black women, recruited from mTurk, a southeastern university and community. Moderated moderation analyses revealed the relationship between GRM and number of lifetime sexual partners is conditionally based on one's level of ethnic identity and self-conceptualization. Findings could potentially enhance existing HIV interventions by increasing awareness of GRM and implementing coping strategies to combat GRM’s effect on sexual behaviors.

The strong Black woman ideal is a long-established image in U.S. society pressuring Black women to maintain a facade of strength at all times. The strength ideal is internalized as an integral aspect of their identity, so much so that Black women socialize each other to habituate behaviors reflecting strength. The Strong Black Woman Collective Theory (SBWC; Davis, 2015a) posits that Black women re-appropriate the strong Black woman image and use certain communication behaviors to affirm strength in each other. By exhibiting these behaviors, they delineate a safe space to promote solidarity within the group and confront oppressors collectively. This new theory needs to be corroborated with empirical data to examine how the theoretical tenets are actualized in a real-world communication context. To this end, the present study conducts a partial test of the SBWC theory by observing Black women friend groups engage in supportive discussions about racial discrimination. This is an ideal context to test the SBWC theory because the friends are gathering together as a group of same race-gendered persons; they are discussing the wrongdoing of an identifiable external hostility that they are motivated to retreat from and confront; and strength gets reified as a form of support during the conversation. The study advances a path model to represent the empirical associations among four key variables: strength regulation, group identification and solidarity, verbal confrontation, and relational quality with the out-group member. Fifty-two Black women friends groups (three in each) aged 18-89 years were sampled but only the data from the support seeker were used for analyses (n = 52). All data were collected in the home of one of the participants as a way to observe the supportive conversation in a safe, naturalistic environment. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the Strong Black Woman Collective path model. The findings revealed that strength regulation was positively associated with group identification/solidarity, such that women felt more connected to the group when strength was regulated and reinforced. Also verbal derogation was inversely associated with relational satisfaction with the White woman aggressor. That is, support seekers reported lower levels of relational satisfaction with the White woman after she was verbally derogated during the discussion. The results also showed that strength regulation was positively correlated with verbal derogation, even though the relationship was approaching significance. Finally, verbal derogation had a very weak and nonsignificant association with group identification/solidarity. Findings from this study demonstrate that strength is functional in the context of Black women’s communication spaces and has important implications for their relationships with in-group affiliates and outsiders. The conclusion of this dissertation discusses the implications of these findings in relation to future articulations of the SBWC theory, extent research in Feminist Studies and Communication, and Black women’s day-to-day encounters with discrimination.

The growth in the number of black women in the prison system necessitates more research become rooted in an intersectional approach. This quantitative study will empirically apply intersectionality to address the unique circumstances of imprisoned black women by comparing and analyzing sentence convictions shared between black and white incarcerated women in Georgia. Drawing on 600 inmate profiles published by Georgia Department of Corrections, this study will address the statistical significance of race, class and gender on the length of sentence for incarcerated white and black women using regression models.

<p>This dissertation examines the topic of social perceptions regarding political candidates at the intersection of race and gender. Within this project I analyze 1) the degree to which stereotypes are held at different points of this intersection; 2) the degree to which these stereotypes can be influenced by way of priming via common news reporting messages; and 3) the ways in which these stereotypes and perceptions influence evaluations of Black female political candidates and their electoral prospects. In order to examine these issues, I utilize data from two surveys I have designed: the 2011 Social Cognition and Evaluation Survey and the 2012 Political Candidate Evaluation and Social Beliefs Survey. The former gathers information regarding social and personal perceptions of "average" and "elite" Black women, White women, Black men, and White men, and the ways in which negative intersectional priming messages can influence the evaluation of each of these groups. The latter survey includes an embedded experiment in which respondents participate in two mock elections and candidate evaluations. One mock election includes a Black female with a relatively dark complexion as the fixed candidate and the other includes a Black female with a relatively light complexion as the fixed candidate, with each competing against either a White male, White female, or Black male opponent. Based on the data from the aforementioned surveys, I find that people engage in stereotyping in an intersectional, rather than a one-dimensional, manner. Consequently, Black women at different social status levels and with differing skin tones are subject to distinct intensities of the attribution of racialized, gendered, and intersectional stereotypes. In turn, the ways in which the voting public evaluates them as political candidates are influenced by these stereotypes.</p> / Dissertation

Kara Walker, winner of the MacArthur “Genius” award and the Smithsonian Lucelia award, is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary African American artists. Her work, especially her cut-paper silhouettes depicting grotesque antebellum scenes, has inspired as much outrage from an older generation of Black artists as acclaim from the mainstream media. This thesis gives an overview of the artist’s life, analysis of some of her works, and an examination of the controversy her work has caused. In the conclusion, I introduce the next generation of Black American artists, self-proclaimed “Art Stars,” including Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou.

Previous research on grandparents as kinship care providers demonstrated that grandparents are confronted with both challenges and rewards. Using qualitative research methods, I examined the lives of 35 black aunts who served as kinship care providers for nieces and nephews. I found that grandparents and aunts experienced increased time demands, financial burdens, and family stress. However, this study demonstrated that aunts’ experiences differ from grandparents’, due to the younger age of aunts and the fact that aunts are of the same generation as the biological parents. Moreover, I found that aunting, or the care and nurture of children by aunts and great-aunts, is gendered and invisible work that, at the most basic level, salvages children’s lives. Salvaging children’s lives involved three non-linear stages: making the decision to become a kinship care provider, transitioning from aunting to parenting, and parenting nieces and nephews. I utilized a synthesis of symbolic interactionism and black feminist thought as a theoretical framework that examines how the meanings that black women attach to family influence their definitions of self and affect their decisions to act on behalf of family members. These findings extend the research on black women’s lives and on kinship care within black families. I used a narrative style that allows the respondents’ voices to be heard, as these are their stories. I offer suggestions for future research, as well as outline a number of policy and theoretical implications. This research is important because black children are disproportionately represented within the child welfare system. If interventions and policies are to influence other black women or black men to accept responsibility for many of the most at-risk children in their families and neighborhoods, research must explore and report the challenges, sacrifices, costs, and rewards of becoming kinship care providers within black families.