This paper focuses on exploring how housing discrimination and the war on drugs affect the way communities are shaped and viewed. The area of focus is Harlem, but the paper explores these tensions in a general way as well. The paper draws on popular academic theories about racialization.

This study aims to research the implications of Afro-Swedish women's relationship with their hair and how it pertains to their view of femininity and beauty. Four one-on-one semi-structured interviews with Afro-Swedish women were conducted to collect relevant material. During these interviews, the women shared their relationship with their hair, experiences relating to their hair in Sweden, and how and if it has affected their perception of their beauty and level of femininity. The findings of this study demonstrate that Afro-Swedish women relate femininity to hair that is associated with whiteness, which means hair that is smoother and straighter but also longer than the afro-textured hair associated with black people. The results showed how representations of black women in relation to beauty and femininity were seen as limited by the informants, as those were rarely there to begin with and/or only inclusive of lighter-skinned black women with wigs, weaves, straightened or relaxed hair. All the informants shared experiences of their hair being touched, with or without consent. Through comparison to earlier research, it was found that the experiences and opinions of these Afro-Swedishwomen were more similar than different to black women from the USA for example. To conclude, this study disproves the notion of Swedish exceptionalism in relation to the racialization and discrimination of afro-textured hair, as well as the not so colorblind representations of beauty and femininity. These results also show that there is a vast amount of information concerning the lived experiences of Afro-Swedish women, relating to hair and other themes, to be uncovered by researchers in gender studies.

Given the concentration of economic growth and power in science fields and the current levels of racial stratification in schooling, this study examined (1) the effects of race on students’ connectedness to science and career aspirations, (2) the extent to which these effects were moderated by school racial composition and racialized tracking, and (3) the differences in modeling effects using separate variables for race and gender (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, female) versus race/gender (e.g., White female, Black male, etc.). Using the lens of racial formation theory, this study situated access to science knowledge as a racial project, conferring and denying access to resources along racial lines. Reviews of the literature on science self-efficacy, identity, engagement, and career aspirations revealed an under-emphasis on school institutional factors, such as racial composition and racialized tracking (which are important in sociological literature), as shaping student outcomes. The study analyzed data from the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study that surveyed students in 2009 during their freshman year in high school and again in 2012 during most students’ junior year (n = 6,998). Affective ratings (in self-efficacy, identity, engagement) and career aspirations for students measured in 2012 were examined as dependent variables and a variable for racialized tracking was estimated given schools’ placement of students in advanced science coursework in 2012. Although school racial composition was not found to moderate race on outcome effects, primary analyses demonstrated that the presence of racialized tracking in the students’ schools did moderate these effects. Overall these results suggested that the student subgroups most often at a disadvantage compared to White students for the science outcomes studied were Hispanic males and females; Black students’ ratings and aspirations were largely on par or exceeded those of their White counterparts. In addition, results indicated that racialized tracking served to exacerbate gaps for Hispanic students and may also diminish career aspirations for Black students. Finally, while examining effects by race/gender did provide some additional insight and nuance in the interpretation of these results, there were clear instances where these more detailed analyses were not needed or may have obscured results that were clearer when aggregated by race. Given these results, implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed. / Urban Education

This thesis explores how racialized and gendered power dynamics are reflected in public discourse on digital replicas and the personal narratives of models. Using the lenses of digital capital and objectification theory, it examines how these power relations impact models' agency and ownership over their images and digital bodies. Employing a combination of critical discourse analysis and autoethnography, the research provides macro and micro perspectives on power relations in the fashion industry. The findings highlight how digital capital impacts who gets to shape the narrative on digital replicas and who reaps the benefits of these technologies. It sheds light on how racialized and gendered power relations intersect with objectification and digital capital, impacting who can benefit from digital replicas. The study highlights models' significant challenges in maintaining autonomy and control over their careers and public image. It suggests that new technologies, such as digital replicas, can further exacerbate existing inequalities. The findings also highlight how power dynamics on both a societal and interpersonal level shape the potential for digital replicas to enhance agents' control over models and intensify their experiences of commodification. By aligning with previous research on models' marginalization and research on how new technologies can intensify existing inequalities, this thesis contributes to the broader conversation on how existing power relations, labor, and technological developments shape one another.

In the contemporary landscape of fraternity and sorority life (SFL), where National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) organizations operate alongside Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council (IFC) groups, Black sorority and fraternity life professionals have become essential to the field. However, Black student affairs professionals in sorority and fraternity life encounter incidents of racism’s permanence, embedded into the foundations of the sorority and fraternity life system. Therein lies a struggle for Black SFL professionals who are regularly and systematically harmed by the institutions they are charged with sustaining. This study’s purpose was to examine Black student affairs professionals’ experiences and narratives with racialized incidents and how this informs their perceptions of sorority and fraternity life. The research question that guided this study was: How have Black student affairs professionals’ in sorority and fraternity life experiences and narratives with racialized incidents informed their perceptions of sorority and fraternity life? The literature review focuses on Black student affairs professionals' experiences with racialized incidents and the history of sorority and fraternity life. Critical Race Theory served as this study's theoretical framework, focusing on counter narrative as a theory. The use of a counter narrative amplified the voice of 12 participants to share their narratives of and experiences with racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life and their perceptions of the field. Four themes presented in this study made participants question a) the disillusionment of trust in a system built to harm; b) the white and racist legacy of sorority and fraternity life; c) the significance of #BlackLivesMatter and the Trump presidency on racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life; and d) recognition that Black students need Black SFL professionals, and their faith keeps them. Additional research is necessary to address racialized incidents in sorority and fraternity life and find ways to put procedures and policies in place in the aftermath of racialized incidents that harm Black SFL professionals. Black student affairs professionals in sorority and fraternity life did not create this broken system. They should not be the ones expected to fix it on their own.

This study examines the burden placed on racialized students to address race-related issues within social work education, highlighting that social work education is not meant for racialized students. Utilizing Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework, this research employs focus groups and interviews to understand the experiences of these students and to provide insights into what changes need to be made. Findings revealed that the responsibility for promoting racial justice often falls disproportionately on racialized students, while essential concepts to racial justice, such as solidarity, unity, and collectivization are largely absent from the curriculum. Furthermore, the findings highlighted that race pedagogy is shaped by whiteness. This study emphasizes the need for change in race pedagogy and social work education, one that is committed to deconstructing whiteness and the colonial agenda. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

In one of the most controversial and interesting election cycles in American history, Republican nominee, Donald Trump prevailed over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. To many, his victory was shocking, if not completely unexpected, yet the circumstances that catalyzed such a defeat lie in the characteristics of his supporters, made up of several classes, races, and identities. Among them are the multifaceted Asian American population – diverse ethnically and politically. This thesis aims to unravel the reasons for which many Asian Americans gave their vote to Trump on November 8, 2016 through distinctions between their ethnic groups and demographics. It also suggests that Asian Americans who supported Trump believe that they are different from other minorities – the “model minority,” and highlights the importance of nonprofit research that has disaggregated the Asian subgroups. With these observations and analysis in mind, the American public and politic can no longer reduce the voting behavior of Asian Americans to a monolithic entity.

In this thesis, I use feminist ethnography at a nonprofit organization to analyze the racialized gender in (re)integration of victim-survivors of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Critical race feminism and intersectionality are the theoretical frameworks to guide the analysis of community advocacy. The analysis considers two themes with various subsections that capture CSEC at the site. The first theme analyzes the definition, challenges, coordination and rhetoric of reintegration at the site. The second theme highlights the site’s racial identity, Black victimhood of victim-survivors of CSEC in the context of community, and racialized gender within reintegration. I discuss the strategic use of colorblindness within reintegration at the NGO and the child/adult dichotomy that shapes the organization’s understanding of CSEC.

Given the increased number of children from racialized groups requiring foster care and the decreasing number of foster parents from racialized groups, transcultural foster placements are on the rise. Addressing racial and cultural diversity within the context of transcultural foster care placements is one of the most pressing dilemmas of contemporary child protection practice, in Canada. In this qualitative exploratory study, the perspectives of regular non-kinship foster parents groups in Nova Scotia and British Columbia, Canada, who provide foster care to children and youth from racialized groups, were explored through open-ended structured interviews. Participants consisted of nine foster parents, between the ages of 30 and over 60 years old, who were asked to share their experiences regarding transcultural foster care placements. The results of this study indicated foster parents were culturally receptive and ‘fostering cultural development’ in their homes as well as their respective communities.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of four racialized, male, first-year, international students attending a university in southern Ontario and living in university residence. Through four one-on-one interviews, my qualitative study sought to uncover the challenges, needs, and opportunities of these students. In addition to cultural and academic adjustment, my study focused on how the participants preserved their masculine and cultural/religious identities in a Western university. A secondary purpose of my study was to examine how these four international students experienced living in university residences, what challenges they faced, and how their specific needs were met. Four themes emerged from the interviews. First, the participants outlined their difficulties adjusting to Canadian university culture. While some enjoyed the transition to Canada, others found adjusting their cultural identities challenging. Second, these participants struggled to adjust to the academic rigour and workload during their first year at university. Despite the demands of university academics, the participants generally welcomed the freedom and flexibility of university life, which allowed them to create their own work schedules and engage in their social lives. Third, the participants maintained their masculine and cultural identities, to more or lesser degrees, despite being immersed in the social and cultural norms of Canadian university life. While some felt isolated within Queen’s University because of their different cultural and masculine identities, overall, these participants valued their own identities and resolved to preserve them. Finally, the participants discussed the benefits and challenges of living in university residences. While residences tended to provide the participants with a sense of community and belonging, sometimes it was challenging living in a loud and hectic environment. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-19 17:28:16.91