<p> This participatory action research (PAR) described Restorative Justice (RJ) as a paradigm that supports the socio-emotional and behavioral development of students. Restorative practices are a framework for building school community, responding to challenging behavior using authentic dialogue, and accepting accountability to make things right. RJ is a philosophy that shifts from punitive discipline to an alternative, positive- based approach to discipline. Students of color have been disproportionately suspended from school, specifically Black male students. School suspensions lead to poor attendance, loss of instructional days, low academic achievement, and potentially to dropping out of high school. RJ is a proactive approach to transform schools and stakeholders into a positive school culture built on the foundation of community building, fairness, and justice. The purpose of this action research was to investigate and describe the experiences of 10 Black male 10th-grade students who participated in the restorative justice group. Participants engaged in a 6-week Restorative Justice Community Building Circle to develop social-emotional learning and to explore in-depth outcomes in the process. The following research questions were used to guide the study. 1. What is the experience of Black male students&rsquo; in restorative justice Community Building Circles? 2. To what extent did Black male students change during the Restorative Justice Community Building Circles in terms of social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes? </p><p> This PAR provided a systematic approach to qualitative research. The findings were based on observations, semistructured interviews, and the interview protocol. The students expressed 6 predominate themes that showed relationships matters in the success of young Black male students. The participants reported that the RJ community building circle positively improved their self-perception and influenced their attitude and mind-set. The teacher-to-student and the student-to student relationship matters for the success of Black male students. The relationships teachers have with students appear to be related to student performance and academic achievement. The participants described the RJ group as a safe space that provided solidarity to express their personal views, thoughts, and emotions openly. The recommendations suggest how RJ can be embedded in school practices and how they can be used to address traumatic experiences of students.</p><p>

<p> This narrative inquiry explores the professional identity construction of Black women U.S. Government Senior Executive Service members in the Washington, DC area. In line with narrative inquiry methodology, this study is guided by a research puzzle. The research puzzle guiding this study concerns how Black women Senior Service members experienced being Black women as they progressed in their careers and how those experiences may have contributed to the construction of positive professional identities. Black women are underrepresented in the Senior Service of the United States Government. Over the next decade, however, the number of Black women entering the Senior Service is expected to steadily increase. With this, it is crucial to understand the positive professional identity construction experiences of Black women who have achieved Senior Service membership. </p><p> Six Black women Senior Service members were selected to participate in this study, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of the study are presented in the form of narrative accounts, which are a retelling of participant stories. The researcher also identified common elements across participant accounts then organized a presentation of those elements as five sets of experiences that influenced positive professional identity construction: 1) early life and work experiences, 2) support, 3) identity threat, 4) movement toward the true self, and 5) connection. Moreover, this research suggests that there are specific opportunities to enhance Black women&rsquo;s potential for constructing positive professional identities, thus contributing to nuanced theories of positive professional identity construction. </p><p>

<p> This project examines African American adolescent males&rsquo; perception of fatherhood by exploring the participants definition, assessing how personal experiences shape this definition and defining the external influencing factors and assess the influence of African American adult males who work with them in an employment or volunteer setting. The study occurred in two phases, the first was in-depth interviews with African American adult males and the second phase was focus groups of African American adolescent males. The definitions of fatherhood and masculinity were different among the study population. The adult males focused on traditional fatherhood and male roles using language that described actions and physical and personal attributes, while the adolescent males found their definitions of fatherhood and masculinity to be nearly the same, as they used traditional language to describe the role but contemporary language for their needs. Black masculinity, expectations of fathers and father figures, and influences were found to be the dominant themes that emerged in their perspectives. These findings indicate: the definitions provided were demanding and one could easily falter; all participants showed awe in the role; African American adolescents can understand and communicate their needs; and this research counters the narrative and negative imagery of Black fathers. </p><p>

<p> This study examined the lived college-to-career experiences of 23 Black and Hispanic first-generation bachelor&rsquo;s degree recipients who completed an 18-month career preparation program conducted by Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a non-profit organization dedicated to the career preparation and professional advancement of high-performing emerging leaders from underrepresented, diverse communities, including undergraduate students transitioning from college to career. </p><p> With record high costs of higher education, increased demand for bachelor&rsquo;s degree credentials in the labor force, and disproportionately higher rates of unemployment for Black and Hispanic first-generation college graduates, understanding the forces that influence the college-to-career transition of Black and Hispanic first-generation bachelor&rsquo;s degree recipients is critical. Using a qualitative research approach, the data gathered from semi-structured interviews were analyzed through the prisms of human capital theory and social cognitive career theory, a career-related construct for examining the personal, behavioral, and environmental forces influencing individual career choices, expectations, decisions, and outcomes. </p><p> The findings point to five forces influencing the college-to-career experiences of the 23 Black and Hispanic FGC graduates in this study: family, persistence, preparation, networking, and race.</p><p>

<p> This thesis details the Phase 1 archaeological investigation into Black-Americans who were active on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan during the mining boom of the 1850s&ndash;1880s. Using archaeological and archival methods, this thesis is a proof-of-concept for future work to be done that investigates the cultural heritage of Black Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. </p><p>

<p> In using the qualitative method of grounded theory, data was collected from 10 individuals who identified as Black, lesbian teachers from across the United States. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate an idea of a new model or refine an existing model that explained the process of developing career and professional identity. In-depth interviews were completed, via in-person and secure video-conferencing. Field observations with field notes and member checking were utilized as tools for maintaining the study&rsquo;s validity. The core themes identified were (a) self-identity versus professional identity, (b) support, (c) trust, and (d) awareness. The subthemes were teachers versus school dynamics and honesty. These findings support the notion that Black lesbians were equipped as any teacher with the tools and knowledge to do their jobs just as effectively as their nonheterosexual counterparts. The findings also found that the more support this population received from their families and communities, there was a positive correlation between increased reports of career and life satisfaction, job efficiency, and productivity. With results from this research, these findings can further assist clinicians, work organizations, and educational policies in aiding to empower career success in Black, lesbian, teachers, their students, as well as other teachers who might be ethnically diverse or nonheterosexual.</p><p>

<p> The current qualitative phenomenological research study was used to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of African American male elementary teachers who were between 22 and 35 years of age and their underrepresentation in elementary education. The study underpinned their need to influence African American boys. The study was guided by 5 research questions with data collected from African American males working at the elementary education level. Data were collected using interviews and observations. The findings of the study indicated African American males are underrepresented in elementary education based on: (a) low salaries of beginning teachers; (b) lack of a qualified pool of candidates; (c) perception of the career as a woman&rsquo;s career; (d) lack of respect; and (e) weak recruitment and retention strategies. The findings were used to identify 4 developing themes geared toward reversing the trend of underrepresentation of African American males in the elementary education field. The 4 themes were: (a) to provide increased salaries that match competitive and current economic standing; (b) promote the profession whereby it is viewed as not a &lsquo;woman&rsquo;s only&rsquo; career, so that African American males are comfortable applying for employment; (c) provide positive exposure for African American males; and (d) increased involvement by school district leaders in recruitment and retention strategies. The participants expressed the need to be highly visible in elementary education to employ their talents, skills, and abilities in the lives of African American boys, ultimately aiding in closing the achievement gap and their success. The research had some limitations, and further research on the topic of the underrepresentation of African American males in elementary education is recommended. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to provide context around the often-complex involvement that multiple minority identities can have on an individual. With the use of current identity development models around racial identity and sexual orientation, there have been no provisions around multiple identities or to the intersection of other identities building one main identity. As there is also a lack of literature around the topic of multiple identities and influences, this study&rsquo;s main purpose is to add to the literature. The use of an intersectionality methodology was to provide a framework that would allow for discourse around marginalized identities to be examined simultaneously, in an effort to understand the complexities around this particular demographic. The sample consisted of women who identified as Black and lesbian between the ages of 18-51. A case study was conducted to gather information on how participants navigated their development process. The data analysis found several themes which were (1) sexual identification, (2) What it means to be and experiences related to (identity), (3) how the participants juggled (managed) intersecting identities of being Black and lesbian (4) acceptance of sexual identity (5) religion (6) discrimination. The findings provided an interesting outcome as there were many layers that were not considered such as how religion interacted with them and the development of their identity and was often a negative aspect in their lives to the discrimination that they felt not only in the LGBT community but also the Black community.</p><p>

<p> This Master&rsquo;s thesis looks at the solidarities of black radicals in the mid-20^th century and traces how they evolved in contact with the Cuban Revolution. I argue that the Cuban Revolution refracted and altered existing threads of black radical solidarity by acting as a discursive site for theorizing and debating the tactics and ideology of black freedom. This resulted in the strengthening of black American Third World identity, the proliferation of a colonial understanding of the black condition, and the development of competing forms of black nationalism. This thesis positions the Cuban Revolution as a definitive moment in black radical intellectual history which did not necessarily originate any of the major threads of black radical solidarity, but which had a profound impact on the ways that the animating ideas of mid-20^th century black radicalism were theorized and expressed from the 1960s through the 1970s and beyond.</p><p>

This dissertation argues that Protestant Christianity provided the language through which individuals and communities created the political, social, and cultural future of the post-emancipation South. Christian arguments and organizations gave newly emancipated African Americans strong strategies for claiming political and civil rights as citizens and for denouncing racialized violence. Yet simultaneously, white southerners’ Christian claims, based in proslavery theology, created justifications for white supremacist political power and eventually for segregation. This project presents a new history of the creation of segregation from the hopes and uncertainties of emancipation through a close analysis of the Mississippi River Valley region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and West Tennessee. Religious arguments furnished foundations for the work of building a new South, whether in newly formed African American churches and schools, local political debates, or white supremacist organizing. Studying both African American and white Christians during the years when churches quickly became racially separated allows this work to explain how groups across lines of race and denomination responded to each other’s religious, cultural, and political strategies. This dissertation centers these communities’ theological ideas and religious narratives within a critical analysis of race, gender, and political power. Analyzing theology as the intellectual domain of non-elites as well as those in power allows me to demonstrate the ways that religious ideas helped to construct categories of race and gender and to determine who was worthy of civil and political rights. This work draws upon a wide range of archival sources, including previously unexamined material. This dissertation advances several scholarly conversations. It offers the first sustained examination of the life of proslavery theology after emancipation. Rather than presuming that white southern Christians abandoned such arguments after emancipation, this project shows that white Christians reconfigured these claims to create religious justifications for segregation. Within these renegotiated religious claims about social order, African American and white Christians made religious arguments about racial violence, ranging from justifying the violence to arguing that it was antithetical to Christian identity. During the same years, African Americans argued that they deserved civil and political rights both because they were citizens and because they were Christians. This linking of identities as citizens and as Christians provided a vital political strategy in the midst of post-emancipation violence and the uncertain future of African Americans’ rights. Through its five chronologically-structured chapters, this project demonstrates Protestant Christianity’s central role in African American and white southerners’ political lives from the Civil War to the turn of the twentieth century. / Religion, Committee on the Study of