The purpose of this study was to explore and document the factors that motivated African American public school administrators in a selected school system in East Tennessee to become school leaders. The study highlighted barriers and challenges, support mechanisms, and perceptions of training. If minority educators are to be actively recruited and retained, there must be an understanding of the factors that motivate them to progressively seek administrative leadership positions. The African American public school administrators' experiences were collected through 17 one-on-one personal interviews. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, coded, and used to answer the 4 research questions. The primary factors that motivate African American public school administrators to become school leaders are a desire to help the students and to make a broader impact on education. These public school administrators had to overcome the barriers and challenges of racial and/or gender discrimination while working in a system that was not supportive of these endeavors. As a result of this study, recommendations were made for the school system, the African American public school administrators, and for further research.

The objective of this study was to investigate the influences on the degree of involvement in organizations, agencies, and churches by Latino immigrants in Eastern Tennessee. An interview study was conducted to identify the most/least effective service delivery methods, whether language remains a barrier to obtaining services, and reveal any unmet needs relative to the Latino population. Also, Latino participants provided personal perspectives of the service delivery system. From analysis of the interviews, the following themes emerged: limited access to transportation, fair treatment when seeking assistance, need for bilingual staff available to more effectively determine needs, and Latino reactions to law enforcement and government agencies. With the results of this study, service providers will learn more effective methods of delivering services to the Latino population in Hamblen, Grainger, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties of East Tennessee. Conversely, appropriate and well-delivered services will assist Latino immigrants in achieving a better quality of life.

African-American male students are systematically forced to confine themselves to the social construct that European-American society has developed for them. Actions, behaviors, and words that communicate this message spread both interracially and intraracially within schools and affect African-American males tremendously in terms of their identity development and personal well-being. While many studies examine the overt forms of racism and more obvious microaggressions that African-American male students encounter in their schooling, few look at the deep-seated forms of racism that are less noticeable but that have a disastrous psychological impact on these students. This study shows the effects on the psyche and development of the three African-American male students involved as they retrospectively recount their secondary school experiences. Portraiture is used to capture each participant’s story accurately and clearly while critical race theory is interwoven throughout as theoretical framework for this research. Using both critical race theory and portraiture, a complete examination of how racism occurs within schools and its effects on African-American males is shown.

Since the publication of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), Berliner and Biddle (1995) have argued media have assisted leaders in creating a “manufactured crisis” (p. 4) about America’s public schools to scapegoat educators, push reforms, and minimize societal problems, such as systemic racism and declining economic growth, particularly in urban areas. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2001) functions as an important articulation of this crisis (Granger, 2008). Utilizing the theoretical lenses of master narrative theory (Lyotard, 1984), Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001), and social capital theory (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman 1988), this study employed critical discourse analysis (Reisigl & Wodak, 2009) to unmask the mainstream media’s master narrative, or dominant story, about Victory High School (VHS), which was reconstituted under the authority of the NCLB Act (2001). Findings revealed a master narrative that racialized economic competition, vilified community members, and exonerated neoliberal reforms. Drawing on the critical race methodology of counter-narratives (Yosso, 2006), individual and focus group interviews with 12 VHS teachers, alumni, and community elders illustrated how reforms fragmented this school community, destroying collective social capital, while protecting the interests of capitalism and neoliberalism. By revealing the interests protected by the media’s master narrative and beginning a counter-narrative voiced by members of the community, this study contributes to recasting the history of the VHS community, to understanding the intersections between race and class in working class communities of color, and to exposing the impact of neoliberal educational reforms on urban schools.

Due to the lack of research on White teacher racial identity development and White graduates of alternative teacher education programs teaching in urban under-resourced schools, this study aimed to: examine how White graduates of alternative teacher education programs perceive race and racism in their urban under-resourced schools, explore the impact of their alternative teacher education programs on their racial identities, and evaluate their abilities to deepen their racial identities in the context of their urban under-resourced schools. Critical examination and analysis of the experiences of White teachers, through the lenses of Critical Race Theory, Critical White Studies, and Howard’s Racial Identity Development Model, provided insights on how quickly expanding alternative teacher education programs across the nation are failing to adequately and critically address White teachers’ racial identity development. Well-intentioned participants recognized a noticeable racial mismatch, did not perceive race or racism in their urban under-resourced schools, lacked exposure to critical coursework, felt unprepared to work with racially dissimilar students, faced difficulties processing their experiences, and showed minimal evidence of having well developed racial identities. Alternative teacher education programs are recommended to prioritize race issues and racial identity development by providing opportunities for White educators to perceive race, adequately preparing and supporting White teachers, and implementing Howard’s (2006) Racial Identity Development Model.

Mistrust of the healthcare system is increased among the Black population compared to other race/ethnicity groups. Medical mistrust can lead to intensified health inequities and negative health outcomes among this population. Currently, there is limited research that explores ways to address medical mistrust, especially among the Black population. This study investigated medical mistrust to find ways to improve the quality of life amongst the Black population. Twenty-one participants in this study completed a Group Based Medical Mistrust Survey and five of those participants participated in a semi-structured interview. Descriptive and correlation analyses were conducted. The GBMMS was separated into three subscales: Factor 1) Suspicion, Factor 2) Group disparities in healthcare, and Factor 3) lack of support from healthcare providers. The mean score for the GBMMS was 3.41 (SD=0.74). Significant correlations were found between Factor 1 and income (r=-.459, p=.048). Results from the in-depth interview indicated, five primary themes were extracted from the interviews including 1) Historical references to racism in the healthcare system, 2) Racial discrimination common in a doctor's office, 3) Assumptions made about health issues amongst Black patients, 4) Not seeking medical attention when needed, and 5) Utilization of primarily Black doctors. Overall, this study found that medical mistrust in the Black population is multifactorial and offers insight on how to improve relationships between the Black population and the healthcare system.

Research indicates that African American women breastfeed at the lowest rates of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. Breastfeeding has shown to have numerous health benefits for both mother and baby, making the lower rates of breastfeeding among African Americans a public health concern. Racial disparities in healthcare may contribute to these discrepancies. This research will analyze the perceptions of information and social support for breastfeeding provided by healthcare providers among a sample of African American mothers who breastfed their babies. The study asks: Do participants regard their healthcare providers as supportive of breastfeeding? Data were collected through in-depth qualitative interviews with 22 African American mothers. Participants interpreted their providers’ opinions on breastfeeding and formula and discussed whether they felt supported to breastfeed. Findings reveal which healthcare providers were perceived to be the most supportive of breastfeeding and themes within the time-frame codes: pregnancy, labor and birth, immediately after birth, and postpartum. The majority of participants felt supported during the first three stages. However, during the postpartum period, there was a lack of assistance from healthcare providers, resulting in limited breastfeeding support. Participants that did receive postpartum support typically received verbal affirmation, rather than given useful information.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a pervasive issue that continues to affect women from a variety of backgrounds. Unfortunately, the narratives of women of color, especially black women are often marginalized even though data shows that they tend to be more susceptible to sexual assault. Using survey questions concerning traditional gender roles, and situations of sexual assault (while considering race and gender), this study will measure the attitudes of 300 college-aged individuals. Data will be analyzed using an ANOVA test to study the combined effects that race and gender may have on the respondents’ perception of victims. Historically, African American/black women have faced unique stereotypes about their sexuality that dehumanizes and normalizes sexual aggression towards them. This study aims to explore perceptions about sexual assault as it relates to college-age black women and expand the scope of research currently being done on victimization.

This thesis utilizes a reproductive justice framework to discuss the impact of anti-abortion legislation and the anti-abortion movement on women of color and low-income women, arguing that reduced access to abortion is oppressive to minority women. Chapter 1 outlines the theoretical framework of this thesis, focusing on feminist Marxism, Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and radical and third wave feminist perspectives. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the anti-abortion movement and the major state and federal laws and court cases that have defined women's access to abortion in the United States, including Roe v Wade, the Hyde Amendment, Planned Parenthood v Casey, and TRAP laws. Chapter 3 discusses the oppressive effects of these laws by connecting anti-abortion legislation and the anti-abortion movement to larger historical systems of oppression and examining the effect of reduced access to abortion on women's reproductive choices and socioeconomic status. This chapter argues that reduced access to abortion is oppressive because it encourages sterilization among minority women who may have chosen other birth control options given the choice, and funnels minority women into an oppressive and exploitative US welfare system. Chapter 4 discusses minority women's potential to overcome this oppression and examines some real-world examples of reproductive rights activism. This thesis expands the current discussion on abortion access by centering the discussion on minority women and arguing that reduced access to abortion is systematically oppressive rather than simply discriminatory.

Throughout the years the admission of Hispanic and or Latinx students to colleges and universities has risen dramatically. So much so that the relatively new concept of an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institute) was created; meaning that at least 25% of the student population of a university is Hispanic. This advancement for this Hispanic community is a huge advancement for the overall community, but how many of these Hispanic students are aware of the academic services that these universities offer. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the awareness of academic services and the participation and or engagement of those services amongst Hispanic, Latinx, and First-generation students. For this study 300, University of Central Florida students were asked to fill out a survey to further understand the awareness and participation of academic services at the University of Central Florida. This study was distributed through Qualtrics. Certain questions used a Likert scale and a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions to find out information on the engagement and or participation of services. I hypothesized that Hispanic and or Latinx students, once they are made to be aware of these academic services, the more likely they will participate and continue to engage in these services that are being offered to them. The expected findings for this study are that there as there is an increase in the awareness of services offered, the participation of those services will increase amongst the Hispanic student body. This information will be significant because it can help the university understand where they can improve to help their rapidly growing Hispanic population; this study can also be used to figure out what policies or other further implications that are needed to be created to help the Latinx population.