The Cuban antislavery novel of the 19th century will provide the focus for this study. The cultural metamorphosis undergone by the black slave is revealed in this subdivision of colonial literature. From their colonial role as slaves, blacks went on to become an integral part of the cultural mosaic of the region. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how blacks were incorporated into the society that enslaved them, how they claimed a presence in that society and how they fought to establish their own identity. The concluding remarks will demonstrate that it was the Cuban antislavery novel which granted blacks a voice, a presence. This is the modest contribution offered by this investigation. / A testimonial narrative, the antislavery novel, flourished in Cuba during the colonial period, specifically during the 19th century, and it can very well be considered as a prelude to the black search for a space, for a presence, in society. This investigation begins with an introductory chapter which deals not only with the testimonial narrative to be discussed, but also with the accounts which detail the manner in which the black presence became a reality in the region. The three subsequent chapters analyze the following Cuban novels: Francisco by Anselmo Suarez y Romero, Sab by Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, and Cecilia Valdes by Cirilo Villaverde. The emphasis in each of these works is on the search for black identity: the transculturation and integration of blacks in colonial Cuba. These three novels reflect the social context of the Cuban colonial period; therefore, other antislavery novels which portrait the same subject will not be included since their theme is best represented by the aforementioned. / This investigation will conclude with a chapter reaffirming the ideological conceptions that allowed for the emergence of this type of narrative. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1350. / Major Professor: Roberto G. Fernandez. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This was an archival study of the effect of support services on academic achievement, students' knowledge of their learning disability, students' acceptance of their learning disability and students' satisfaction with support services. In this study students' files and responses to a support services survey were reviewed. The student file review included a review of grade point averages (entrance--at end of high school; cumulative--after one academic year at the university). The Support Services Survey included demographic information on classification, age, gender, major, region, population of hometown, educational level of parents, parents' incomes, and professions. / Subjects for the study were selected from the population of students currently enrolled in the Florida A&M University, School of General Studies' Learning Development and Evaluation Center. / The statistical procedures for the study were a paired T-test analysis and a multiple regression analysis. The paired T-test analysis was used to compare entrance grade point averages to the students' cumulative grade point averages. The multiple regression analysis was used to ascertain the relationship between the dependent and independent variables, and the interrelationship between each of the independent variables. / A significant difference was found in the students' entry level grade point average and their grade point average after receiving support services for one academic year. In addition, there was a significant relationship between students' knowledge of their learning disability, their acceptance of the disability and the students' academic achievement. A significant relationship between students' knowledge of their learning disability, their acceptance of the disability and satisfaction with support services was not indicated. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-01, Section: A, page: 0219. / Major Professor: R. William English. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

As soon as they were emancipated, freedmen established schools. Their resources were limited and assistance came from the North. When representatives of the American Missionary Association (AMA) arrived in Macon, Georgia, in December 1865, they quickly established a teachers "Home" and arranged to continue the Lincoln Schools that had recently been established in black churches. / The AMA's educational program at Macon emphasized "religion, patriotism, morality, and an industrious black citizenry." To increase the number of black teachers, in 1868 the AMA instituted a normal curriculum at its newly opened Lewis High, which soon became a model teacher training school. / The Macon School Board designated Lewis High a public school for blacks in 1872, but in 1875 the AMA resumed control. In 1888 the AMA built a new, larger facility, renamed Ballard Normal School. The purpose of this dissertation is to trace the history of Ballard until 1949 and to determine its effectiveness in educating African Americans in Central Georgia. / Until the 1940s Ballard was one of few secondary schools for blacks in Georgia. Led by principals such as George Burrage and Raymond von Tobel, students thrived and the school not only survived but excelled. Public schools for black students in Bibb County ended at grade six, and fully-accredited Ballard offered the only opportunity for a high school education. After completing Ballard's four-year college-preparatory course, many students pursued higher education. Those completing the normal program became teachers. Ballard graduates went on to make significant contributions to their professions, their communities, and society at large. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-01, Section: A, page: 0402. / Major Professor: Joe Richardson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study will chronicle the contributions of Irene Olivia Colbert Edmonds (1908-1968) to the field of educational theatre. The study will focus on her years as an educator at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) during the years 1947-1968. / The dissertation is organized into six chapters. Chapter one establishes the historical importance of Edmonds before examining her family heritage and her place in the socio-political context of the time. Specifically, it provides background information on the woman and on her career prior to her arrival at FAMU. / Chapter Two, involving the years 1947-1960, deals with Edmonds' initial years at FAMU and her place in the historical development of educational children's theatre from an African-American context. Additionally, the chapter will discuss Edmonds' position as a cultural role model within the black community. / Chapter Three focuses on Edmonds' varied essays in literary criticism and politics. Edmonds' writings speak symbolically, eloquently and directly to the racism that permeated the United States during her lifetime. / Chapter Four examines the role that Edmonds played in the 1958 continental tour of Africa by the FAMU Playmakers Guild. This group was the fourth university group and significantly, the first entourage from an historically black college or university (HBCU) to be selected by the federal government to represent the nation under President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Special International Cultural Exchange Program. / Chapter Five discusses the final decade of Edmonds' life, and focuses on her work with the FAMU Playmakers Verse Choir. The group demonstrates Edmonds' continuing experimentation with dramatic presentations until the time of her death. / Chapter Six presents the summary and conclusions derived from the study and suggestions for further research. This dissertation documents an American original, a pioneer within the American theatre who was uniquely qualified to leave her mark on the history of educational theatre. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4207. / Major Professor: John A. Degen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

<p> This dissertation examines hip-hop fatherhood narratives from 2010-2015 influenced by drug addiction, mass incarceration, underground economies, trauma, and dysfunctional co-parenting. Explicitly, the paper explores how marginalized, urban African American dads are imagined as protectors, providers, and/or surrogates in hiphop lyricism. Additionally, the research pays attention to hip-hop artists&rsquo; depiction of identity orchestration and identity formation of black adolescents and patriarchs by utilizing David Wall&rsquo;s theories on identity stasis. Moreover, the dissertation critically analyzes hip-hop lyrics that reflect different concepts of maleness such as hypermasculine, the complex cool, biblical, heroic, and hegemonic masculinities. In sum, the paper examines rap lyrics use of mimicry calling into question representative black male engagement with American patriarchy.</p><p>

<p> Working class Black girls experience multilayered oppression informed by their triadic social identity that sits at the intersection of race, gender, and class in their lives and more specifically in their schooling experiences (Collins, 1986, 1989; Onyeka-Crawford, Patrick, &amp; Chaudry, 2017). A variety of mentoring practices have been adopted among educators throughout the public-school system to remedy the impact of poor educational opportunities for Black girls. In contrast to the use of traditional mentorship practices that solely focus on the individual, critical mentorship seeks to engage and support the cultural, political, and economic contexts that positively shape the experiences and aspirations of Black girls and young women. To better understand this phenomenon, this deeply insightful autoethnographic study engages the following questions: (a) What were my particular experiences with mentors that prepared me to persevere in education in ways that nourished my commitment and empowerment? (b) What were the particular experiences with my mentors that assisted me in connecting with the Black girls that I have mentored in my work? and (c) What can my experiences as a Black feminist mentor of Black girls contribute to our understanding of critical mentoring? The application of Black feminism, Black girlhood studies, and critical mentoring frameworks found the following major themes to be critical in mentoring Black girls during childhood, adolescence, and the university years: (a) individual identity development, (b) development of individual voice, (c) sisterhood and solidarity, and (d) conscientization and resistance. This dissertation offers key principles in mentoring Black girls, and recommendations for how to shift the larger approach of mentoring to better meet the needs of Black girls in childhood, adolescence, university years, and beyond. </p><p>

Much of the history of the civil rights era rests on the myth of nonviolence: the notion that the civil rights movement achieved its goals through nonviolent direct action. This dissertation argues that, on the contrary, black violence and threat of civil disorder played an indispensable role in forcing the federal government to enforce the newly enacted civil rights laws Despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, many communities in the Deep South refused to desegregate. The Klan and other segregationist groups took the lead in using terror to discourage implementation of the new law. In response to this violence and intimidation, a group of black men from Jonesboro, Louisiana founded the Deacons for Defense and Justice, a black paramilitary organization formed to defend the black community and civil rights workers. Formed in 1964, the Deacons quickly grew to twenty-one chapters concentrated in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. With a total membership of several hundred--and thousands of ready supporters--the Deacons soon became a popular symbol of the growing frustration with Martin Luther King's nonviolent strategy The organization's activities reached their apex in 1965 in Bogalusa, Louisiana, when the Deacons' threats to launch a bloody civil war with the local Klan eventually forced the federal government to destroy the Klan and restore order / acase@tulane.edu

This study was conducted to analyze the funeral rituals of young African-American male homicide victims from lower-income neighborhoods. It focuses on the rituals practiced at the funeral of a 17-year-old trumpeter who was murdered. A growing large number of young African-American males from poor communities are being killed. They have created extraordinary funeral rituals in their subculture. The rhetoric that is used at these youngsters' funerals are also presented in this thesis. Furthermore, background information on memorial Rest in Peace (R.I.P.) T-shirts, which are usually worn at the funeral of slain victims, are also introduced in this study This paper also contains what African-Americans general believe about death, and it explains the African-American funeral services from the beginning of slavery. In addition, it elaborates on the history of traditional jazz funerals, and shows the origin of Benevolent Societies / acase@tulane.edu

This study endeavors to view Mexican society from 1750 to 1821 through the perspective of one of its lower status racial groups---blacks. It addresses such themes as race, slavery and the free population. An effort is also made at understanding the effect of the interaction of the social, demographic economic, and political forces upon the various sectors within the society. Each of these questions is viewed at different points in time in an effort to gauge change. The black's experience within the Mexican community is examined at the local level. The local setting corresponds to the city of Queretaro in the modern state of Queretaro. And finally the conclusion tries to place the Mexican slave's experience in the context of slaves in other industries than the textile. Finally, it analyzes the dissolution of slavery and the transition to freedom in an urban environment / acase@tulane.edu

Historians have had much to say about the slave family of the nineteenth century South; it has been the focus of a lively debate for nearly three decades, much of it over the relative stability or instability of the black family under slavery and the degree to which it was matrifocal. They have not, however, utilized to a large degree in reference to the United States slave community and its household and family development the kinds of analytical procedures popularized by the Cambridge Group in England and employed internationally by demographic historians This dissertation presents a study of household composition among rural slaves of Louisiana. The first chapter approximates slave organizational structure through the construction of a model to which other slave populations can be contrasted. This model is based on a sample of 155 slave communities form 1810-1865, representing 10,329 slaves residing in major slaveholding parishes. The records, generally inventories, were gathered from archives, parish records, and private collections. The primary criterion in the selection of communities for the sample was that a firm indication of family and household divisions was provided. The lists were transcribed, computerized, and analyzed according to standard definitions of family household types and the various subcategories within those types. The results of the experiment were further described according to variations existing among the sampled communities according to time, place, and size The major objective of this study was to determine the structure of a large number of Louisianans in bondage, but statistical analysis alone could not provide information on the dynamics of change within these communities except in broad outline. Only an intensive study of several slave communities over time could assess the developmental patterns which are inevitably reflected in domestic arrangements. The latter section of the dissertation is composed of three in-depth case studies of Louisiana slave communities and analyzes how their household structures developed and changed according to internal and external factors. The conclusion summarizes the findings emanating from the larger statistical study and the case studies / acase@tulane.edu