Over the years, social scientists have devoted much of their time to understanding the neighborhoods of low-income blacks. However, few studies seek to provide insight into the residential enclaves of middle class blacks. In this project, a case study of a black middle class subdivision in New Orleans, Louisiana is used to understand black middle class community building. Pontchartrain Park was established in 1954 and marketed as New Orleans' first black middle-class subdivision. This analysis of Pontchartrain Park pre and post Hurricane Katrina provides a unique context to understand the process of community building and how the black middle class responds to disaster. Specifically, I investigate how Pontchartrain Park residents use churches and neighborhood organizations to establish and maintain community solidarity over the years, the role churches and neighborhood organizations play in the rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina and the role of racial uplift in creating and maintaining community solidarity. Multiple-data collection strategies, including in-depth interviews with current and former residents, ethnographic observation of neighborhood meetings and archival research show how original residents relied on the ideology of uplift to create and reinforce the neighborhood's respectable image. I argue that although uplift ideology served as a source of solidarity for the black middle class, it also reinforced oppression and created tension between other blacks in the city. Black middle class community building also sheds light on the changing meaning of black middle class over time. Black neighborhoods, organizations and institutions were once a necessity for original homeowners in Pontchartrain Park. Findings from the case-study, however, suggest that neighborhoods and organizations continue to play a significant role in the lives of the new black middle class despite a decline in overt racism. Finally, in-depth interviews and observations of neighborhood meetings suggest that an uplift ideology has been important in the neighborhood's recovery. I argue that uplift ideology is more than just contesting negative stereotypes through respectable behavior. This ideology also promotes self-help and racial solidarity. In the aftermath of Katrina, neighborhood churches and organizations have been instrumental in providing resources for residents who wish to return to Pontchartrain Park / acase@tulane.edu

The purpose of this study was to document and examine the career of Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither, and to analyze the impact and the nature of his contributions on Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and black athletes of Florida. A further purpose was to determine the factors which influenced Gaither's life and career: his philosophy as it related to coaching and to education; the impact which he made on black athletics and black athletes, as perceived by the athletes themselves; and the contributions which he made to Florida A&M University. / An instrument consisting of 22 items requiring a response on a modified Likert-type scale and open-ended questions, including a description of a critical incident, was used to survey a random sample of 200 former players, 96 (48%) of whom responded. Twenty-four structured questions were used in interviews conducted with 24 former colleagues in coaching, non-athletic FAMU colleagues, and relevant external figures. An open-ended question provided an opportunity for additional information. / Analysis included calculation of mean ratings of questionnaire items by player subgroups. Responses to open-ended questions and responses of subjects interviewed were analyzed for content and summarized. / The findings of the study indicated that: (1) Gaither was influenced by his strong religious background, respect for authority, and the rights of others, instilled by his parents. Illness resulting from a brain tumor required great courage and determination and inspired a strong will to survive and win. (2) His coaching philosophy was an extension of the man himself and inspired survival and achievement. Players' academic achievement reflected in acquisition of degrees was considered his greatest success. (3) Gaither provided a father image who instilled self-respect and self-worth within his players which were positive influences after college. (4) Gaither's successful Health and Physical Education and athletic programs drew national attention and support for Florida A&M University. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0263. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The purposes of this investigation were to: (1) Determine the differences in the average performance of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at a predominantly Black institution in critical reading. (2) Determine if the instrument, Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT), is reliable and valid for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors at a predominantly Black institution. / The data obtained from this study resulted from the administration of the Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT). The test questions dealt with seven reasoning fallacies: appealing to conformity, improper data, stereotyping, false authority, either-or, part-whole, and sexism. The test's readability is approximately on the fourth grade level. / The population for the study consisted of 501 students from a predominantly Black university with an approximately even distribution of students in each classification. / The results were analyzed by performing a factor analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (Nie, Hull, Jenkins, Steinbrenner, and Brent, 1975) and by using a One-Way Analysis of Variance Test (ANOVA) at the.05 level. / There are no significant differences among the mean scores of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT) is reliable and valid for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at a predominantly Black institution. / Since the Fallacies in Reading Test (FRT) was determined to be reliable and valid, it may possibly be useful as a diagnostic and instructional tool for colleges and universities. Because there were no significant differences in the critical reading ability among freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, there appears to be a need for more emphasis on improving the critical reading skills of students attending traditionally Black colleges. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-12, Section: A, page: 3085. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

A trilogy of three plays based upon the life of Florida-born author, Zora Neale Hurston, which emphasizes Hurston's unique place in American literary history. The plays, Zora, Color Struck and Weary Blues, and Tea with Zora and Marjorie are based on not only interpretations of Zora's works, letters, and conversations with people who remember her, but also the works and letters of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Carl Van Vechten, Fanny Hurst, and Langston Hughes. The three plays present Hurston first as a child in Eatonville at the turn of the century, then as a young woman during the Harlem Renaissance, and finally in her full maturity. The structure of Zora and Color Struck and Weary Blues is concentrated on two of the most important days of Zora's life, which are the day of her mother's death when she was about 12 and the night of the Opportunity Award's Banquet which launched the Harlem Renaissance. The structure of Tea with Zora and Marjorie is different from the two previous plays because it relates to the period from 1942 until 1952 in the life of not only Zora Hurston but Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, another prominent Florida writer. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1458. / Major Professor: Shila Taylor. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The research approach governing my work is interdisciplinary, including religious history, hermeneutics, theology, and sociology of religion with an emphasis on the intersections of religion and culture. My dissertation uncovers notions of healing through an attempt to transform social and racial reality within African American Christian thought and life. Making the Wounded Whole challenges the dominant assumption that black Christianity, is governed by a primary theological focus on corporate liberation. Accordingly, it uncovers a deep concern with healing---in relation to bodily, political, spiritual, and social restoration---as a theological thrust fueling black Christian religion. I reveal this concern through an interrogation of the bio-political and socio-political significance of enslavement and its consequences. This theme of healing and identity (re)formation manifests itself within various aspects of religious life and activity---among them are ritual and worship, aesthetic presentation, Scriptural interpretation, and general resistance to racial oppression. I argue that such practices are in consequence therapeutic, in that social and political imagination is recast in ways more suitable for a healthy existence. I locate these practices as a particular style of religious life and therefore a way of understanding the nature of black Christian experience. Ultimately, this work connects these ideas to normative Christo-religious practices found within the black enslaved experience during the antebellum period.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2007. / Title from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 25, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0533. Adviser: Nancy Chism.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Carolyn M. Shields. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-120) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Autobiographical digital storytelling (DST) is a burgeoning multiliteracy practice in in- and out-of-school spaces. Recently, education researchers have explored DST's potential as a robust critical literacy tool for non-dominant youth to tell agentic counter narratives. A less explored area of youth DST practices relates to how authors account for audience (local and macro discourse) when composing digital autobiographies. Using feminist poststructural theory as a heuristic and analytical tool, I investigated the varying discourses youth authors engaged throughout their processes and products related to autobiographical DST. </p><p> The ethnographic data for this dissertation were collected in an English Language Arts high school classroom, African American Literature, over the course of four months across fall semester 2012. The three case study findings chapters illustrate three non-dominant students' approaches to negotiating their subjectivity within the school context across multiple school spaces. The findings from this study complicate notions of agency; namely the case studies demonstrate how diverse youth of color negotiated multiple and competing discourses when narrating stories of the self in relation to a perceived peer audience. More specifically, each case provides a detailed analysis of how Darius, Malcolm, and Gabriel, negotiated local and macro discourses related to Black masculinity, salient intersecting subjectivities for each. </p><p> This study holds theoretical implications in establishing the importance of using poststructural feminist theories in combination with Critical Discourse Analysis of student processes and produced related to autobiographical storytelling by way of detecting the complex power relations youth navigate within the school context. Moreover, this study reports important implications regarding the utility of digital storytelling as a culturally responsive, multimodal, critical literacy practice that affords youth opportunities to draw on personally and culturally meaningful discourses (e.g., hip-hip music) as they compose digital representations in relation to local and macro discourse. Additionally, implications for English Language Arts practice encourage future examination of how youth author's attentiveness to peer audience discourse demonstrate students' facilities in composing narratives in relation to audience.</p>

In an effort to accentuate the need for Black Psychological theory, research and methodology within the field of Africology, Africana professor Dr. DeReef Jamison argues that in order to gain a full understanding of the African American experience, Africana scholars must consider the importance of Black Psychology as it relates to their work. In his article entitled, Through the Prism of Black Psychology: A Critical review of Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Africology as seen through the Paradigmatic Lens of Black Psychology he notes that while Black Psychology is identified as a core component of Black Studies, few programs include such courses within their curricula. He further suggests that the goal within Black Psychology of examining the impact of African Americans historical experiences on their psyche speaks to the primary goal of Black Studies. Thus the empirical nature of Black Psychology utilized to understand the African American psychological experience can have tremendous implications for the field of Black studies. Through an overview of the field of Black Studies, its core curriculum, select graduate programs, and the field of Black Psychology, this paper will extend Dr. Jamison’s arguments by suggesting that African-Centered psychology specifically, needs to be central in the field of Black studies. While Black Psychology empirically addresses the African American psyche considering African-American historical experiences, it is the African Worldview analytical approach, which is central to African-Centered psychological theory and methodology and provides a culturally specific analysis, which is critical to the Black Studies intellectual pursuit. / text

<p> This study investigated the effects of racial microaggressions on symptoms of anxiety and depression in Black and African American women. The study employed an online survey and snowball recruitment method that involved individuals from high income and highly educated populations. The participants responded to questions related to demographic information; symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, &amp; L&ouml;we, 2006b); depression (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009); and racial microaggressions (IMABI; Mercer, Zeigler-Hill, Wallace, &amp; Hayes, 2011) in order to assess current mental health functioning and level of distress in response to racial discrimination. Results indicated that those who reported higher levels of racial microaggression distress also reported higher symptoms of anxiety and depression. The findings related to racial microaggressions and symptoms of anxiety and depression indicated positive correlations. However, when age and level of education were investigated for a moderation effect, neither was found to be significant. Therefore, neither age nor level of education acted as a buffer for racial microaggression distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results supported the need for assessing and addressing racial discrimination within the therapy session, awareness of racial microaggressions and their clinical implications on mental health, and normalization of these experiences for Black and African American women. </p>