This study, based on novels written originally in English by writers from English-speaking West Indian nations during the period 1949 to 1980, explores the authors' vision of the motives, nature and processes by which liberation from colonialism is sought and achieved. Extended discussion is given to the following: V.S. Reid's New Day (1949, George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin (1953), John Hearne’s Land of the Living (1961), Andrew Salkey's A Quality of Violence (1959), Paule Marshall's The Chosen Place, The Timeless People (1969), V. S. Naipaul's Guerrillas (1975), and Michael Thelwell's The Harder They Come (1980). Whereas New Day asserts the reality of a West Indian identity, In the Castle of My Skin stresses the need for a collective awareness of racial identity and its socio-political implications. A Quality of Violence and Land of the Living attest to the importance of establishing (in West Indian societies) spiritual values which are not Western and which are connected to the people's cultural history. Similarly, The Chosen Place, the Timeless People illustrates that a sense of history can greatly influence the struggle to achieve social change. Even though Guerrillas uses a chaotic situation on a specific West Indian island to suggest socio-political and cultural confusion in the West Indies generally, this novel nevertheless reveals the need for fundamental socio-political change. Unlike Guerrillas, The Harder They Come stresses the creative potential of the West Indian people as an agent for such change. Thus in conclusion it is argued that these novels confirm the West Indian nations' need to change their societies in ways which are more egalitarian and less colonial. But to bring about that change, the writers generally agree that psycho-cultural resistance requires a consciousness that no longer accepts the dictates of an oppressive culture but attempts to rediscover its own validity. This attempt at rediscovery of individual, communal, and racial identities indicates an increasing vitality in the struggle for change in these societies, whose past has been stolen, whose present is being directed, and whose future has been planned by external agencies.

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<p> The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory case study was to explore teachers&rsquo; perceptions toward culturally responsive teaching (CRT) of African American high school students in reading and language arts classrooms. Reading scores have increased for both African American and Caucasian students, but on average, African American students do not perform as well on reading tests as their Caucasian peers. Fifteen reading and language arts teachers from one high school in Florida were interviewed using a semistructured, open-ended interview format. Analysis of the data led to answers to the research questions for the study. The findings indicate that teachers are not prepared to teach in culturally responsive ways. The findings add to the current literature indicating that teachers support CRT but struggle to apply the strategies because of a lack of CRT training and culturally enriched reading material. Based on the findings, leaders are encouraged to engage teachers in conversations to become aware of their cultural biases, acquire knowledge of CRT, evaluate the CRT practices of teachers to determine what CRT strategies and support are needed for teachers, develop a CRT professional development plan and require all school personnel to participate in training, provide supplemental culturally enriched material for teachers to use in the classroom, and follow-up with teachers to evaluate additional needs.</p>

<p> The end of the Revolutionary War proved to be a significant moment in United States history. Not only did it signal the birth of a new nation, but it also affected the institution of slavery. Wartime rhetoric such as "All men are created equal," left the future of American slavery in doubt. Northern and mid-Atlantic states began to implement emancipation plans, and the question of what to do with free blacks became a pressing one. It soon became apparent that free blacks would not be given the same rights as white Americans, and the desire to have blacks removed from society began to increase. One proposed solution to this problem was the idea of sending free and manumitted slaves to Africa. A man by the name of John Brown Russwurm (1799&ndash;1851) would play a prominent role in the colonization movement, and his life and legacy reflect the controversy surrounding the idea of colonization.</p>

<p> This study examined the self-efficacy of African-American students in an Afrocentric education program with the purpose of determining if student self-efficacy is higher among African-American students in an Afrocentric school in comparison to African-American students within a mainstream school. This quantitative study examined the self-efficacy of students based on student responses on the Self-Efficacy for Learning Form (SELF) given to African-American students in an Afrocentric education program and African-American students in a mainstream school in the areas of reading, studying, test preparation, note-taking, and writing. Scores from the SELF survey were compared to determine which group of students demonstrated higher levels of self-efficacy based on their responses. A total of 446 students participated in the study: 242 from the Afrocentric program and 204 from the mainstream school. An ANOVA was utilized to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the self-efficacy of African American students in an Afrocentric program in comparison to African American students in a mainstream school in regard to reading, studying, test preparation, note-taking, and writing. The results of the analysis indicate that there were significant differences in the areas on reading self-efficacy, studying self-efficacy, test preparation self-efficacy, note-taking self-efficacy, and writing self-efficacy. This research is significant because it explores a pedagogy that could be used to address the achievement gap. Through this study, educators and researchers will be able to see if African-American students' self-efficacy increases when the culture of the student is considered fundamental to their education.</p>

<p>This dissertation, Loïs Mailou Jones, Diasporic Art Practice, and Africa in the 20th Century, investigates the evolving dialogue between twentieth-century African-American artists and Africa--its objects, peoples, diasporas, and topography. The four chapters follow the career of artist Loïs Mailou Jones (1905-1998) and focus on periods when ideas about blackness in an African-American context and its connection to Africa were at the forefront of artistic and cultural discourses. Chapter 1 traces African-American artists contact with African art during the first decades of the twentieth century. Chapter 2 examines Jones's use of Africa in her art produced at the start of her career (1920s -1940s) and repositions her in relation to the Harlem Renaissance and Négritude movements. Chapter 3 considers Jones's engagements with the African Diaspora via travels to France, the Caribbean, and Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, voyages that I argue result in the creation of a Black Diasporic art practice predicated upon the act of viewing. Chapter 4 critiques the signifying grasp of Africa in African American art. By looking at Jones's turn to pastiche as an aesthetic choice and cultural commentary, the chapter argues that that the possibility of a seamless reconciliation of Africa in African American art is impossible. Where the limited scholarly discourse on the subject has emphasized a heritage-based relationship between Black artists and Africa, this project's cross-cultural approach is one of the first to consider the relationship between Africa and Black artists that goes beyond looking for African retentions in African American culture. In doing so the project also suggests an alternative to the internationalization of American artists in African, rather than European terms. Moreover, though Jones is broadly cited within African American art history beyond monographic considerations her work has yet to be critically examined particularly in regards to larger debates concerning blackness and the African Diaspora.</p> / Dissertation

<p> The academic achievement of African American male students has been one of the most over- researched topics in the education community for the past decade. Most of these studies report findings of social issues as predictors for the underachievement of African American male students. Examples of such issues are poverty, culturally irrelevant curriculum, disengaged families, involuntary immigration due to the slave trade and sociopathological issues. These findings are being debated among prominent educators to determine whether or not they are valid. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach to hear the voices of African American parents in order to determine what other factors could contribute to the decline in academic success among this group of students. The conceptual framework was framed around the works of Pedro Noguera, Linda Darling- Hammond, John Ogbu, and Michael Gurian, social scientists, who have concluded that the achievement level of African American males requires additional research. In this qualitative study, narrated stories from parents, teachers, and students at a private secondary school in Savannah, Georgia were collected. The stories were identified and placed in categories of experiences and events narrated by the participants. In evaluating the responses, the study unfolded themes that provided insights into the perceptions of parents and the importance of their views in future discussions regarding school reforms for academic success of African American male students.</p>

<p> This study investigated the perspectives of four students and 6 parent participants of the Voluntary Student Transfer program, an inter-district desegregation program that involves transporting African American students from urban area schools to surrounding county schools. Due to limited and dated research related to the Voluntary Student Transfer (VST) program, the researcher employed a qualitative collective case study framework which included a semi-structured interview protocol and questionnaires to gather perceptual data of parent and student participants of the program. The collective case studies revealed that parent and student participants of the VST program were satisfied with the program overall had not considered discontinuing participation for any reason. Data analysis revealed common themes addressed by parents and students to support their perceptions about the VST program. These themes included quality of education, the importance of relationships, and parent activism. Busing and the distance from home was another combined theme that developed, presenting a drawback from program participation. Because the sample size of this study represents a small percentage of the participants in the VST program, further studies should be conducted to include more perspectives within the research district and other districts implementing the VST program. </p>

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Research focusing on the academic and social experiences of academically gifted, poor, African American male college students has been limited. Recent findings on college persistence stress the role of institutions of higher education in providing educational opportunities. However, research on academically gifted, poor, African American males indicates that this student population has had limited access to these opportunities. Academically gifted, poor, African American males in higher education encounter social and institutional factors that guide the directionality of their educational experience, particularly in engineering disciplines. This study explores perceptions of academically gifted, poor, African American male undergraduate students engineering as a major disciplines in order to identify factors that contribute to academic and social development. Based on participants' responses, seven categories emerge to identify aspects of the participants' experiences in college: (a) self-perceptions, (b) financial obstacles, (c) engineering as a major, (d) family influence and support, (e) peer relationships, (f) relationships with faculty, and (g) the students' perceptions of the institution. Based on the findings, it was concluded that institutions of higher education must understand the various factors (e.g., peer and faculty support, institutional congruence) that influence the academic and social integration of academically gifted, poor, African American male students. Specifically, these institutions must recognize the importance of family involvement, mentoring, and increased financial support for academically gifted, poor, African American male students.