This dissertation argues for an ethical investment in the flourishing of black trans women. It builds on the ongoing work of womanist and black theological ethics and draws from the personal narratives of black trans women. Carrying forward the black ethical tradition, this project recognizes black trans women and their lived experiences as an ethical source from which a unique, ethical posture emerges: ploughing. Necessitated by a social context that understands black trans feminine existence as abject and expendable, this ethical posture is a necessarily dynamic and laborious movement through life that resists and disrupts the moral ground thereby revealing and creating new moral possibilities in the process. Ploughing shows how the everyday experiences of black trans existence embody moral postures of resistance to heteropatriarchal systems of surveillance and violence. Ploughing denotes a series of ethical postures that generate alternate moral capacities that embrace embodiment and underscore the centrality of community. Focusing on respectability politics, its influence on black (Christian) religious spaces, and the operations of Black Sexual Panopticism (BSP), a system wherein black sexuality is acculturated through surveillance, chapters 1 and 2 examine the long history of social narratives that regulated and disciplined black movement and sexuality in ways that later targeted black trans femininity. Chapter 3 turns to black aesthetics. It examines blues culture and its links to black gospel through gesture and performance, introducing interstitial performativity as a glimpse of the moral potential within black-constituted spaces that affirm black erotic expression. The remaining chapters develop ethical postures through the metaphor of ploughing, highlighting distinctive features of black trans women’s existence. Drawing on published personal narratives, Chapter 4 outlines the social realities that confine and relegate black trans femininity in service of oppressive demands for social order. Chapter 5 identifies four ethical postures -- claiming pleasure, humble un/knowing, incessant becoming, and “no mind” ethos -- that coalesce to form ploughing. These postures irrupt social expectations and forge new moral trails in the process. This project recognizes black trans women as moral exemplars largely overlooked in Christian ethics, and the moral imperative to prioritize black trans feminine futures.

The focus of my dissertation deals with ways that early identification and preventative measures can reduce the high number of African American students who do not fare well in school. The goal of this study was to explore ways to enhance the cognitive and social development of low ability African American kindergartners. It was an attempt to investigate how certain strategies and practices can reduce the rate of failure in the upper primary grades. The proposed investigation involved five case study participants with four cross case study participants. The research design also involved the use of qualitative and quantitative paradigms in the form of participant observations, survey interviews and student assessments. An individualized curriculum was developed for each case subject during this investigation, that was designed to address their academic and social needs. Varied methods of instruction such as one to one instruction, heterogeneous grouping, whole language and integrated learning were used during this investigation. Parent involvement strategies were also developed during this investigation to facilitate information and to disseminate materials as part of a home based learning program (which supplements the subject's individualized curriculum). Parent surveys and regular home-school collaborations have occurred as part of this procedure.

This study was designed to investigate factors involved in the initial employment of African-American graduating seniors at a predominantly white university. More specifically, this study focused on examining the job activities which contributed to African-American seniors securing entry-level professional positions and the role played by the Mather Career Center in the job search of graduating seniors. Questionnaires were sent to the graduating seniors of the Class of 1992. From the ninety seven respondents, a subset of twenty four were selected for indepth interviews. Theses interviews provided the primary data for the study. Data was obtained by the use of two instruments. A survey was constructed using a Likert-type scale combined with open and closed form questions to assess how many job-seeking activities the seniors participated in at the Mather Career Center. One thousand questionnaires were distributed; ninety-seven were returned completed. The questionnaire included four categories: Self-Development and Marketing Skills, Networking System, Career Planning and Placement, and Post-Placement Information. Sixteen questions focusing on the individual experiences of twenty four African-American and white graduating seniors were used to determine those factors that may have been involved in securing an entry-level professional position. The findings of this study revealed that several factors are a consideration for sampled African-American graduating seniors in their job search activities: networking with relatives and other support systems, lack of support from faculty, focus on race and ethnicity, heavy course and workloads, and spirituality. A significant difference was found between African-American participants and white participants in the amount of hours worked during their college careers. One important finding is that, while 66.6% of the African-American graduating seniors of this study did take advantage of the Mather Career Center, most relied upon external resources outside of the University, such as their support systems to assist with actual employment. The study suggests that there must be a collaborative effort among faculty, administrators, students, parents and the private and public sectors to facilitate a smoother transition for graduates in becoming future professionals.

The problem examined in this research is that South Africa practices a system of education that sorts people in a way that makes Blacks receive unequal and separate education. The closer people are to the white power structure, the better their education and the farther away they are, the poorer their access to opportunities for a quality education on equal terms. In other words, it seems that the more white you are, the more opportunities and benefits you receive. This system of education does not appear to help students, especially black children and youth, learn at high levels of accomplishment. Rather, it creates long lasting problems in people's lives and as such may need to be restructured in a way that permits students of all backgrounds to receive a quality education on equal terms. The purpose of the study was to understand reasons selected black South Africans seem to oppose their education system. More specifically, perceptions of these black people were helpful in suggesting the directions in which educational reform in South Africa ought to go. Specifically, the study was guided by two major research questions: (1) What are the perceptions selected black South African adults in the United States have toward their experiences in the apartheid education system in South Africa? (2) What are the recommendations of selected black South African adults in the United States for improving the education system for children and youth in South Africa? To answer these questions, interviews were used to collect data. Seven black South African adults were interviewed and their responses were analyzed, organized and thematically presented. One finding of the study is that apartheid education seems responsible for making respondents feel inadequate, incapable, less human, unable to think critically, inferior, anxious to venture in life beyond school, helpless, uneasy, and dubious to participate in class related activities. The findings of the study show that the education of black people in South Africa deserves speedy attention and major reform. The study concludes that apartheid education is an intolerable system of education that should be eliminated. The form of education to be created is a matter for intense discussion and wise decision making which may lead to quality education for all South Africans. The study recommends that black people should understand their historical underpinnings to help restore their confidence, to dispel negative fabrications, and to become contributors in the development of quality education in South Africa.

Internalized racism is a contributing factor to the inability of African Americans to overcome racism. (Speight, 2007) Because this is a cognitive phenomenon over which individuals can have agency, it is important to study, understand, and seek out ways that African Americans are able to gain a liberatory perspective in the midst of a racist society. By using colonization psychology and post-traumatic slave psychology to define the phenomenon, and Jackson’s Black identity development model theory to ground and analyze participants’ process of liberation, this study used phenomenological in-depth interviewing to understand the experiences of African American and Black women who have gained more consciousness of their internalized racism. The researcher interviewed 11 U.S. Born African American and Black women for an hour and a half to gain their understanding of internalized racism and liberation. The study found that Black and African American women in a process of liberation 1) move from experiencing lack of control to an experience of having agency; 2) gain agency from developing greater knowledge and pride of a positive black identity; 3) replace negative socialization with a knowledge of self; and 4) are supported in their liberation by a systemic analysis of racism. The study also found that 1) internalized racism and liberation are complexly defined phenomena, 2) participants continued to practice manifestations of internalized racism while practicing a liberatory consciousness, which confirms the theories of the cyclical nature of identity, and 3) racial identity development models offer a framework for understanding a transition from internalized racism towards liberation but lack clarity about how transformation actually occurs.

The purpose of this study is to examine a small number of minority retention programs in the North, South and Mid-West in order to determine why African-American students at predominantly-white institutions of higher education continue to face greater social and academic adjustment problems than their white counterparts. The literature supports the researcher's contention that the needs of many African-American students enrolled in various colleges and universities across the country, are not well met. While some institutions have established retention programs (some more successful that others), many more have not. Institutions of higher education, this study concludes, should be required to not only examine the needs of African-American students, but also to implement programs to address the needs. This comparative analysis, uses a historical framework to examine a few of the retention program that are successfully addressing a significant number of the educational needs of African-American students at peer institutions. Programs examined are: The Committee for the Collegiate Education Of Blacks and Other Minority Students (CCEBMS) University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts; The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) University of California, Santa Barbara, Center for Academic Program (CAP) University of Connecticut, Storrs Connecticut, The African-American Student Partnership Program (AASP) and the Minority Student Access Network program (MSAN) University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado and the Academic Support and Assistant Program (ASAP) and the Promoting Academically Successful Students (PASS) University of South Carolina, Columbia South Carolina.

This study investigates factors affecting Black students' retention rates at predominantly White institutions. It examines Black undergraduate students' experiences and perceptions of their college environment and determines factors in that environment, which influence persistence and withdrawal behaviors. Data were obtained by conducting focus group interviews with Black undergraduate students of varying age, gender, and academic status at a predominantly White institution. The participants were randomly selected from the undergraduate student body at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The students reported having had average expectations before entering the University; however, their experiences fell far below their expectations. They experienced vast amounts of stereotyping and discrimination from White faculty and staff; they had limited social activities; they often felt unsafe at the University; they encountered continual negative interactions with University law enforcement officers; and they had feelings of not belonging. Consistent with other quantitative studies examining factors affecting Black students' retention rates at predominantly White institutions, this study identifies racial stereotyping and discrimination, feelings of not being safe, a lack of social integration and feelings of isolation to be important factors influencing a Black student's decision to withdraw. Students felt that the presence of and interaction with minority faculty and staff were crucial to their academic success at the University. Therefore, a lack of Black faculty presence is a factor encouraging the attrition of Black students at a predominantly White institution. The following suggestions are recommended to improve the climate for Black students at the University: institute diversity training and classes for White faculty, staff, students and the campus police; introduce the presence of committed mentors and role models of Black and White faculty; make efforts to combat racial harassment and discrimination at all levels of these institutions. Fighting discrimination will help to foster a better environment for Black students, an environment in which they will feel motivated to persist in their efforts towards obtaining their academic goals.

The purpose of this study was to examine the external barriers that limit or impede the occupational achievements of professional Black women working in predominately White organizations. The basic tenet of the study looked at the impact of the beliefs and attitudes of the larger society and how these beliefs manifest themselves in organizations and act as determinants in the equitable distribution of resources in terms of recruitment, selection and promotions for Black women. Two research questions were developed which provided the design of the study. A set of 15 interview questions was asked of 15 professional Black women working in five major work categories, i.e., education, health care, media, and public and private industries. Responses were examined within the concept of InGroup/OutGroup. The frequency of response to the interview questions concentrated themselves in ten areas. The findings revealed exclusionary treatment in the form of discriminatory practices in the workplace. Implications of these findings for future research are also discussed.

Black alumnae are a major resource for informed opinion about the experiences of Black students on predominantly white college campuses. Their wisdom, energy, knowledge and support have remained largely untapped. The literature regarding this resource is scanty and seldom deals with the perspective of Black alumnae, especially those who have been successful in negotiating the system. Knowledge of the past informs the direction of the future. Knowledge of and understanding about the past is available in the minds and from the experiences of Black graduates. They need to be recruited to share, in retrospect, their wisdom and insight about their college experiences and the effect it had on them as Black students. In addition, they needed to inspire, encourage and be a source of support to Black students of the present and in the future. Following a decade or more in which predominantly white colleges and universities actively recruited Black students as well as Black faculty and staff, the situation has been reversed dramatically. Black students who attend these colleges and universities in the eighties and nineties find themselves facing diminished numbers of both student and faculty; more stringent entrance requirements in the form of increased reliance on standardized test scores; financial aid more often in the form of loans than grants; and a distinct change in attitude about the support they can expect to find throughout the campus. Undergirding this change in attitude on the part of institutions of higher education is the increasingly conservative, sometimes even hostile, political and social situation in the country at large. The steady erosion of the idea that education is an entitlement and the insurance for all citizens against an uneducated citizenry who will, at the turn of the century, become our leaders, is the message of the eighties. The dissertation will seek to demonstrate the benefits to the college to be derived from the participation of Black alumnae of a predominantly white college or university. Historically these colleges have faced a major dilemma in their attempts to involve Black alumnae in the ongoing affairs of the college through the alumnae association. The methods used to encourage participation of the general body of the alumnae have failed to get significant participation or positive results from Black alumnae. An Entitlement Symposium held on the weekend of April 7, 8 and 9 at Simmons College can serve as a model of a way to involve these alumnae. The dissertation will present a journalistic report of the planning and the events. It will include the results of the discourse in the form of plans for future direction, activities and recommendations.

My dissertation considers the ways in which African/African Diasporan women creatively and politically address and respond to the public communal and societal narratives around being Black, as a result of how Blackness is received and often perceived in a very essential way, in American and European societies. This study notes and complicates how African and Black Diasporic women create and sustain a space that evokes a combative discourse, as they recreate and represent themselves in literary and visual texts. The framework of my dissertation articulates three core objectives: to redefine and re-envision "Black" as it applies to creative and theoretical writing about African and African descended women writers and visual artists; to define/discuss the concept of an African Diaspora and a "Black Diasporan " consciousness that adequately represents the complexities of Black women's identities in different geopolitical and cultural locations; and to situate the significance of the cultural and literary production of Black women writers and artists as combative discourse. This study situates and argues that being Black and being a woman are important sites of critical inquiry. These sites of inquiry must therefore be assessed and analyzed by considering the specific historical positionalities and truths that appear and live in the texts of Black women writers and artists. The idea of "uncovering" points to a specific interdisciplinary method of reading the symbolism and imagery of these women's texts that employs an intersectional analysis and considers diverse Black feminist, art historical, cultural studies, and African Diaspora epistemological standpoints. I argue that specific literary and visual texts posit a very particular and diverse Black woman's history and culture as well as presenting counter narrative(s) to the mainstream narrative(s) that negate Black women. This study addresses the specificities of Black women as creators and cultural producers, their texts, and their representative images by considering a multi-level analysis; therefore, no one narrative or text privileges another. My dissertation establishes an intellectual and creatively political kitchen space of sorts where the texts and images of Black women meet, impart wisdom, and hold court. I argue that this sacred intellectual and artistic space is where these texts not only address being Black and Blackness, but also proffers an important Africana body-politics and autonomy. This project begins with a discussion that considers writers Yvonne Truque America, Charmaine Gill, and artists Deborah Roberts and Lezley Saar (to name a few) and the ways in which their texts converge as combative discourse. My study then focuses on Sonia Sanchez and a selection of her texts as the creative and theoretical core of the combative discourse. Sanchez represents an important foundation and beginning of this discourse as she is a genre-crosser and cultural practitioner who illustrates a crucial allegiance to the identity and representative voices of Black women, the Black communal collective, and a global political aesthetic. Sanchez embodies activism as well as an important Africana aesthetic blending that further complicates the combative discourse. Further, Sanchez represents a legacy of Black women's texts and functions as a foremother to poets and performers such as Jill Scott and Ursula Rucker as indicated by a close reading of their texts. These writers further the poetic and dramatic spheres of the combative discourse and also provide a complexly layered political and cultural aesthetic. The combative discourse therefore illustrates the complexities and politics of context, text, subtext, voice, image, and representation, while situating the ways in which the particular cultural, historical, and socio-political lenses impact Black women's literary and visual texts.