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The dialogue around violence against women has gone from a private matter to a national audience, primarily due to the sexual violence on college campuses and a recognition that it is part of a comprehensive system of power that affects all women. Researchers have shown that sexual violence is a significant issue on college campuses and there are various demonstrations of how colleges and universities have found ways to support individuals who report these interactions. Although women of all races, ethnicities, and cultures are affected by sexual violence, how it is experienced racially and culturally is unique. African American women’s experiences are often missing from narratives because of the lack of understanding of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) an acknowledgment of the historical and ongoing oppression that they experience in both their race and gender identity. This understanding is essential because several studies show that African American women are at high risk of experiencing sexual violence (Cantor, et al., 2015) and are the least likely to disclose, not only on college campuses but in general. Although universities are making great strides to improve their support for students experiencing sexual violence, the area that continues to lack research and data explores how different cultures, specifically the African American culture, respond to and address issues of sexual violence. Given the lack of empirical information, how can African American women be supported and educated around the topic of sexual violence? With the increased sexual violence occurring on a college campus and researchers demonstrating that African American women are at higher risk of sexual assault and are the least likely to disclose their sexual violation, it is crucial to dissect the African American female college students' perspective. This qualitative study engaged participants in a semi-structured interview to understand how African American undergraduate women perceive sexual violence and how history has influenced their perception. There were six major themes identified from the study that helped provide insight into the four research questions. The findings reveal that participants in this research understand and can apply a foundational definition of sexual violence, as demonstrated through the use of the vignette method. The notion that African American women’s silence regarding sexual violence is due to a lack of awareness and education is unlikely; however, inappropriate sex education and sex-role socialization did influence disclosure patterns. The women in the study demonstrated that African American culture, history, and sex-role socialization influenced African American women’s’ perceptions of sexual violence, which resulted in barriers to help-seeking, and disclosure patterns about sexual violence. Findings revealed that there are complexities of African American women’s perceptions of sexual violence. The lack of intersectionality within messaging and educational efforts is active contributions to their silence. There were three primary recommendations for practice and policy and two primary recommendations for theory and research. These recommendations focus on communicating care and concern, including African American women's voices in decision-making processes, and understanding and honoring African American women's experiences concerning sexual violence practices. The recommendations for practice and policy are: (a.) Institutional response and care, (b.) Education and awareness, and (c.) Adopting a social justice paradigm for sexual violence; future research recommendations are (a.) peer support and research and (b.) African American women’s sexual self-acceptance. This study's findings provide insight into African American undergraduate women’s perceptions of sexual violence and its influence on help-seeking and disclosure patterns. It also provided a focused lens on how intersectionality assists African American women in navigating environments that have not traditionally included them. / Educational Leadership

Recent events- including the overlapping pandemics of hyper-visible racism, policebrutality, economic downturn, climate crises, and the Covid-19 virus- have reified the significance of teacher diversity to counter structural inequalities in education. Of particular concern are low-income urban schools. While greater teacher diversity exists in urban schools, Black teachers - and Black women in particular- experience high turnover compared to their white and male counterparts. Through a contextual analysis of Black women teachers, the purpose of this study was to explore intersectionality and identity negotiation by investigating whether professional experiences and decisionmaking were moderated by ethno-racial and gender identities. Multiple sources of data were collected regarding eight self-identified Black women of the African diaspora with at least two years of experience in urban schools. Analysis of demographic surveys, open-ended responses, and three rounds of semi-structured interviews yielded ten themes: 1) supplementing curriculum with counter-narratives and role models, 2) facilitating conversations about race-related current events, 3) teaching the truth about American history, 4) guiding students to navigate a racialized society, 5) experiencing microaggressions in interracial interactions, 6) disengaging from diversity initiatives, 7) participating in supportive intra-racial relationships, 8) avoiding gendered racial stereotypes, 9) pursuing desired ends, and 10) redefining professionalism. The result of this study adds to the research base regarding intersectionality and identity negotiation as factors influencing teachers of color in urban schools. Additional recommendations are also given to guide research, practice, and policy. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis sought to understand the messages Black women receive from contemporary images and how these messages may be used to help them develop a sense of womanhood. The framework for the analysis used in this research lies within the feminist standpoint theory and Black feminist thought. The interviews conducted for this research helped to reveal that young Black women recognize patterns within the images of Black women in contemporary media. The images help them to understand the treatment of Black women and about the Black women they want to be.

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African American rites of passage (ROP) have historically contributed to adolescent gender socialization enabling Black youth to overcome the effects of racism and oppression. ROP in the schools provide lessons in Black history, traditions, and culture as they guide youth through the turbulent terrain of adolescence via the communal "coming of age" process. This study examined adolescent girls' experiences in weekly ROP classes at Ella Baker Freedom Academy (EBFA) Charter School over the course of one academic year and five months. EBFA is an African-centered Freedom School in a northeastern city in the United States. This study employed ethnographic methods within a Black Feminist/Womanist framework to investigate how rites of passage support adolescent girls' gendered ethnic identity, self-concept, and peer relations. This study fills in gaps in the literature on ROP, focusing on the participants' ROP experiences within the intersections of adolescent identity formation, womanhood and sisterhood empowerment, and culturally relevant gender socialization practices in school. Three major questions guided the study: 1) How ROP classes supported adolescent girls' intersecting and developing gender and ethnic identities; 2) How ROP classes supported students' female peer relations; and 3) How African values were utilized in ROP classes. The study revealed the interconnected ways in which ROP supported participants' developing gender/ethnic identities, and improved peer relationships, conflict resolution strategies, and personal definitions of womanhood. The ROP classes supported students by: a) developing a critical awareness of sexism, internalized oppression; i.e., colorism, negative racial/gendered stereotypes about Black women and girls in U.S. society, particularly those propagated through the media; b) building appreciation, esteem, and respect in themselves and each other; c) cultivating positive academic identities through healthy female peer relationships via critical dialogue, trust building, conflict resolution, and empowering communications; d) developing personal standards for womanhood using African-centered values; and e) revealing gendered passageways to womanhood and sisterhood in intergenerational and emotionally safe spaces, and across school contexts. / Urban Education

This critical qualitative research study describes and explores undergraduate Black women Resident Assistant (RA) experiences in the context of Predominantly White Institutions (PWI). While serving in the capacities of both student and student affairs professional, this study explored how women navigate the responsibilities of their role and the intersections of race and gender. Given the influx of campus hate crimes motivated by race across the United States, and to ensure the success and support of Black women students serving in these roles, it is imperative that we understand their racially gendered experiences within predominantly White contexts. Phenomenological research methods and a series of semi-structured interviews were used to examine the lived experiences of nineteen Black undergraduate women. Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Thought, and Intersectionality were used as frameworks to examine how participants navigate their social identities and associated experiences as an employee and student. Findings from the study indicate that the intersection of Blackness (e.g. race), being a woman (e.g. gender), and serving in the leadership role as an RA, is influenced by oppressive conditions which presented themselves in the following seven themes: Institutional Oppression; Racism; Physical, Emotional, and Psychological Stress; Fear; The Outsider Within; Controlling Images; and Care through Counterspaces. This study’s findings and future recommendations have the potential to support and inspire Black and other minoritized undergraduate student RAs, illuminate the diverse experiences of undergraduate Black women, and to enhance professional leadership development of residential life practitioners at PWIs. / Urban Education