<p> With the &ldquo;controlling images&rdquo; of the Jezebel, the Mammy, and the Sapphire constantly reiterated in movies, television shows, and popular culture, serving the interests of what bell hooks has identified as white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, a consumer has to wonder if there is any way for Black women performers to thrive and empower other Black women while working within these constricting institutions. Although pop culture is the predominant cultural space where these controlling images and stereotypes have been reproduced there are many Black female entertainers who attempt to challenge and undermine such representations.</p><p> Scholars such as hooks and Patricia Hill Collins introduce us to the diverse forms of black feminists and black feminism by showing how black women from all walks of life produce and engage black feminist practice. In common cultural discourse, however artists such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, Meshell Ndeogeocello are upheld as leading black feminist entertainers of our contemporary period while artists Nicki Minaj and Beyonc&eacute; are denounced as disempowering to black women and merely reproducing dominant racist, sexist, and hetero-normative stereotypes of black women.</p><p> Much Black Feminist scholarship has focused on Black women&rsquo;s resistance to the patriarchal, racist structures that continue to police and attempt to restrain Black women&rsquo;s bodies and freedom within material social and political realms, but less scholarship focuses on the ways in which Black female entertainers produce Black feminist knowledge and empowerment within the realms of pop culture.</p><p> The purpose of this study is not to show how Badu and Monae are the best examples of &ldquo;true&rdquo; Black feminism in the entertainment industry and how artists like Minaj and Knowles are tools of white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy. The purpose is to take the expansions of Black feminism that Collins, Davis, hooks, and several other Black feminist intellectuals, have articulated in order to reflect the broad ways in which Black feminism plays out in the popular music industry and to argue against the grain of critiques of popular culture to demonstrate how, despite its limitations, this realm of cultural representation and performance can be emancipatory for black women.</p>

<p> This qualitative interview study examines the challenges and successes early childhood teachers in Oakland Unified School District face when addressing issues of race and racism in their classrooms. Teachers' and District Administrator's stories of barriers and strategies were analyzed to inform my professional practice. Data were collected through qualitative interviews and a focus group. The main theoretical framework that supported analysis came from Critical Race Theory. The data were analyzed through descriptive coding and analytic memoing. Key findings include the impact of personal beliefs and experiences on teachers' barriers and strategies. Teachers' barriers include the age or English proficiency of their students, lack of discussion at their school site, and a lack of training and tools. They used a wide range of strategies, including literature, general conversations, specific questions, creating a strong link between home and school as well as relying on experiences regarding race and racism they had in their personal lives. Teachers and district administrators were both working on addressing racism, however, their strategies were very distinct; administrators were working on large-scale projects while teachers were very focused on their individual classrooms and students. This study makes an important contribution to the literature because the role and impact of race and racism in Early Childhood classrooms is often overlooked. There is a lack of professional literature addressing the obstacles that teachers committed to engaging in this work face and also an absence of reflection from early childhood teachers about what strategies they use to support them in their anti-racist work. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> anti-racist teaching, early childhood education, critical race theory, obstacles to anti-racist teaching, teacher strategies </p>

<p> <i>La mestiza</i> embodies a multiplicity of ancestral locations, ethnicities, and cultures. On the borders and in diaspora, she is often internally divided within a socially constructed white masculinist framework that would have her locate herself from one homeland and identify as either &ldquo;woman of color&rdquo; or &ldquo;white&rdquo; Interconnected with colonial and patriarchal epistemologies, this study explores how the dominant framework, more often invisibly, encourages racism within the mestiza&#129;fs psyche and women&#129;es spirituality communities.</p><p> This study seeks to heal traumas of racism by employing a transdisciplinary mestiza approach &mdash; bearing feminist and indigenous decolonial lenses &mdash; to engage with the nuances &mdash; in between binary racialized identities where the mestiza is situated. In mestiza situated space are stories of recovering indigeneity by recognizing, grieving, and deconstructing the dominant framework. This study focuses on, in particular, stories of mestizas nutured in colonial mentality as well as contextually read as white.</p>

<p> The current study sought to examine the role of traditional values in China and the United States as one of the important social psychological mechanisms through which romantic relationships affect mental health. The work is guided by the Social Structure and Personality framework, focusing on the meaning construction dictated by traditional values in the stress process, while also addressing the structural and cultural origins of meanings. Specifically, I used path models to examine how those internalized values moderate the impacts of romantic relationships on the mental health of Chinese and American college students and also compared the effects across gender and nations with Multi-group SEM method. The results show that traditional values work as a major social-psychological mechanism influencing Chinese students only by exacerbating the impacts of breakups on their depression. In terms of gender and national patterns, the most important finding is that the unconditional main effect of traditional values differs across gender and nations and Chinese women are mostly harmed by those values. The results partially support the theoretical construction and also add to both the meaning studies in the stress process and the substantive research of romantic relationships and mental health.</p>

<p> Within the field of school psychology there exists literature for school psychologists working with specific ethnic and linguistic groups (Frisby &amp; Reynolds, 2005; Tomes, 2011). The Arab American population is estimated to be 3.6 million (Arab American Institute, 2012). However, there is a paucity of school psychology research on Arab American students and families (Goforth, 2011; Haboush, 2007). As active members of the special education process, school psychologists will benefit from information regarding Arab American cultural and religious beliefs about special education and disabilities. Such information will assist them in providing culturally sensitive and appropriate services to students and families. </p><p> This study utilized a phenomenological qualitative approach to illuminate Arab Americans parents' experiences with their children's encounters with the special education process and perceptions of their children's disabilities. Phenomenological data analysis revealed four core themes. First, parents attached significance to specific steps within the special education process and to cultural stigmas around special education and disabilities. Next, parents reflected on special education services and key relationships. Additionally, parents discussed their children's abilities, their understandings of special education, and their advocacy work. Finally, parents reported that their goals for their children had not changed as a result of the special education process, although the goals were tailored to their children's identified disabilities. These findings have significant implications for professionals working with Arab American students and their parents. Recommendations are made for culturally sensitive school psychology practice with Arab Americans. Suggestions are provided for further research on this important yet under-researched topic. </p>

<p> This qualitative case study is an investigation of the role of race, school context, and personal and professional experiences in the formation of an early childhood teacher's professional identity. Data sources included interviews, observations, conversations, field notes, and school artifacts. Member checking, triangulation, and extended observation supported the trustworthiness of the results. The findings of the research indicate that major themes related to identity formation included family influence, teaching values and beliefs, and identity shift. Main themes related to the minority status of the participant were emotions and feeling of alienation. Finally, major themes related to school context and personal and professional experiences included relationships with children and parents, relationships with teachers and staff members at the school, early learning experiences, and images of a good teacher. The study concludes with suggestions for early childhood education programs and future researchers.</p>

<p>Colorblind racial attitudes are described as the denial or minimization of race and racism (Neville et al., 2000), which may silence accounts of racial discrimination and lead White Americans to ignore their racial privileges, ultimately supporting and reproducing racial inequality in the US (Bonilla-Silva, 2001). Alarmingly, colorblind attitudes are the dominant racial ideology among White Americans (Lewis, 2004), and inform the way White adults talk to their children about race (Schofeild, 2007). The current study explored the development and maintenance of Whites&rsquo; colorblind attitudes, using ideas from Stephan and Stephan&rsquo;s (1985) theory of intergroup anxiety, Helm&rsquo;s (1995) theory of White racial identity, and concepts underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes et al., 2006). Informed by these theories, the study examined the roles of interracial anxiety and psychological flexibility in Whites&rsquo; colorblind racial attitudes. </p><p> Participants were 323 White American adults, consisting mostly of females from the Midwest. The study hypothesized that Whites&rsquo; level of interracial anxiety with Blacks would predict their level of colorblind racial attitudes. The study also hypothesized that Whites&rsquo; level of psychological flexibility, or their ability to remain present with unpleasant experiences without defense, would moderate the relationship between interracial anxiety and colorblind racial attitudes. </p><p> Results indicated that Whites&rsquo; interracial anxiety with Blacks did not significantly predict their colorblind racial attitudes, and that psychological flexibility did not moderate the relationship between interracial anxiety and colorblind attitudes. Results did reveal that psychological flexibility was related to colorblind attitudes, indicating that Whites who reported lower levels of flexibility also reported higher levels of colorblind racial attitudes. </p><p> Results support the notion that psychological flexibility may play an important role in Whites&rsquo; racial attitudes. Specifically, White Americans with high levels of psychological flexibility may be less likely to engage in avoidance or denial when they experience unpleasant thoughts and feelings related to race, allowing them to actively process and integrate racial information, ultimately leading to increased racial awareness. Findings suggest that research and theory on racial attitudes should consider incorporating psychological flexibility in the future, and that diversity interventions focused on increasing psychological flexibility may be beneficial for promoting attitude change. </p>

<p> Alaska Native populations have undergone relatively rapid changes in nearly every aspect of life over the past half century. Overall lifestyles have shifted from subsistence-based to wage-based, from traditional to Western, and from self-sustainability to reliance on Outside sources. My research investigates the effects of these changes on health and well-being. The literature appears to lack concern for and documentation of Native peoples' perceptions of the changes in food systems and effects on their communities. Additionally, there is a lack of studies specific to Alaska Native individual perceptions of health and well-being. Therefore, my research aims to help identify social patterns regarding changes in the food that individuals and communities eat and possible effects the changes have on all aspects of health; it aims to help document how Alaska Native individuals and communities are adaptive and resilient; and it aims to honor, acknowledge, and highlight the personal perspectives and lived experiences of respondents and their views regarding food, health, and community well-being. </p><p> I conducted interviews with 20 Alaska Native participants in an effort to document their perspectives regarding these changes. Many themes emerged from the data related to subsistence, dependency, and adaptation. Alaska Natives have witnessed what Western researchers call a "nutritional transition." However, Alaska Native participants in my research describe this transition as akin to cultural genocide. Cut off from traditional hunting and fishing (both geographically and economically), Alaska Natives recognize the damage to individual and community health. Studies attribute rising rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and mental illness to the loss of culture attached to subsistence lifestyles and subsistence foods themselves. Alaska Natives report a decrease in cultural knowledge and traditional hunting skills being passed to the younger generations. Concern for the future of upcoming generations is a reoccurring theme, especially in regard to dependence on market foods. When asked what changes should be made, nearly all respondents emphasized education as the key to cultural sustainability and self-sufficiency. The changes sought include means and access to hunting and fishing. This is seen as the remedy for dependence on Outside resources. From a traditional Alaska Native perspective, food security cannot be satisfied with Western industrial products. </p><p> When considering Arctic community health and cultural sustainability, food security must be considered in both Western and Indigenous Ways. Control over local availability, accessibility, quality, and cultural appropriateness is imperative to Native well-being. Many participants point to differences in Western and Native definitions of what is acceptable nourishment. Imported processed products simply cannot fully meet the needs of Native people. Reasons cited for this claim include risky reliance on a corporate food system designed for profit with its inherent lack of culturally-appropriate, nutrient-dense, locally controlled options. Respondents are concerned that junk food offers dependable, affordable, available, and accessible calories, whereas traditional foods often are not as reliably accessible. Based on these findings, I named the concept of "nutritional colonialism." </p><p> Respondents expressed a desire to return to sustainable and self-sufficient subsistence diets with their cultural, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical benefits. Although they expressed concern regarding climate change and environmental pollutants, this did not diminish the significance of traditional foods for respondents.</p>

France has always refused to recognise the legal existence of minorities on its territory. It is a sociological fact that many groups of minorities live in France and the gap between this reality and French law seems to be at the source of growing tensions. This study proposes to analyses the degree which international law can contribute to the evolution of France's position with regards to its minority groups. Since the end of the cold war, there have been significant developments of the international instruments relating to the rights of minorities. This fact notwithstanding, these instruments do not appear to have a direct impact on the French situation. An approach consisting of the development of the cultural fights, with the broader system of human rights, could contribute to augmenting the respect and protection of inter-states identities without challenging the universalist tradition to which France is particularly attached.

This study examines the association between immigrant women's self-reported health and their employment status and occupation using data on 859 immigrant women aged 20--64 from the 1994--95 National Population Health Survey. Of this group, 502 were in paid employment, 107 assessed their global health as poor, and 158 reported one or more disability days in the previous two weeks. Distress scores ranged from 0--21 (mean 3.85). Logistic and multiple linear regression showed being employed (vs. not being in paid employment) was associated with better self-assessed global health when age, education, income, marital status, country of birth and time since immigration were controlled and women's care-giving role was accounted for. However, this protective association was weaker in women who also reported caring for their family as a main activity. Significant associations between work and disability days or mental distress did not occur. Among 476 immigrant women currently employed in their main occupation, manual workers had poorer self-reported health and higher mental distress scores than others.