abstract: In this study, I examined how African American students in a church youth group constructed ethnic and spiritual identities as they engaged with community literacy practices. Arizona's small, scattered population of African Americans is reflected within participants' multi-ethnic schools where they describe feelings of being almost invisible to school agents and peers. Listening to students, I came to deeply understand how they struggled with cultural isolation and racial discrimination. The growing tensions with state immigration reform only magnified those feelings as participants perceived the ban on ethnic studies to be another attempt to exclude them from school curriculums. By using utilizing four identity types, I gained greater insights into participants' negotiation of ethnicity and spirituality. Drawing from critical race theory, I utilized counter-storytelling to not only recapture participants' experiences with social injustice, but also to illustrate how the youth group empowers the students to become activists. Resisting the paralyzing effects of racial stereotypes, participants emerged as essayists, artists, orators, and spoken word poets. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

Unlike many Black-specific disciplines in the academy (Black psychology, Black history, etc), Black philosophy never completely forged a unique conceptual framework separate from American and Continental intellectual traditions. Instead the field has continued to define its validity by the extent that Black authors extend the thought of white philosophers towards race. This epistemic convergence, or the extent to which Black theory converges with established white philosophical traditions, and hence white racial sensibilities, continues to misguide many of the current philosophical systems of Africana thought. Because this practice is so dominate, it has made current scholarship in African American and Africana thought derelict, in the sense that all investigations into Blackness are normatively, hence ideologically driven, and not culturally relevant to the actual lives of Africana people. Because whites are able to connect their work in traditional philosophy to studies of race under the misnomer of "critical race theory," these white associations with Black philosophy have given the illusion that integration and multicultural exchanges in Africana philosophy contribute to the restructuring of the discipline of philosophy and psychical changes in whites. Unfortunately this is merely wishful thinking that fails to consider the empirical research that confirms the undeniable failure of integration. This inability by Blacks to accept and explore racism without the illusion of racial coexistence in America makes current approaches to Black philosophy irrelevant to the present day struggles that Blacks find themselves burdened by in the American context. This dissertation however argues that the acceptance of the racial realist perspective, which accepts the permanence of racism, allows Blacks to "conceptually disengage" the triumphalism of the integrationist myth and explore the world without the illusion of anthropological parity. This lacuna in the European narration of liberal democracy's vision of equality spurs the culturalogical turn in Critical Race Theory, and introduces the philosophical insights of Derrick Bell and Paul Robeson as guiding voices towards the silencing of the idealist trends in contemporary studies of racism.

This thesis examines the history of legal and illegal narcotics in the United States. This thesis explores the impact criminalizing drug use has on communities of color. The current criminal justice system seeks to correct behavior society and the law deems deviant but has not proven to be effective as shown by rates of recidivism. The present research uses a literature review to investigate how alternative dispute resolution practices and prison abolition meet the needs of the criminal justice system. The purpose of this thesis is to examine two proposed reforms: one that would abolish prison sentences except in cases where offenders pose a high risk to public safety, and another that would employ conflict resolution techniques to serve the retributive, and rehabilitative purposes of the criminal sanction. This thesis will suggest that these proposed reforms, if undertaken concurrently, will likely shrink the US prison population while advancing penal goals.

Recent decades have seen an increased interest among predominantly white, middle-class evangelicals in church planting and organizing ministries in urban centers, often in racially diverse neighborhoods undergoing the process of gentrification. This thesis will analyze the phenomenon of white urban ministry through the lens of critical whiteness studies and psychoanalytic theory, drawing on Shannon Sullivan's notion of whiteness as unconscious habit characterized by ontological expansiveness. I propose that sincere efforts on the part of white urban ministry practitioners to form and nurture diverse communities rooted in place are impeded by habitual modes of relationship to place formed in predominantly white contexts, which reproduce, however unintentionally, patterns of white supremacy and displacement of people of color. The thesis begins with a survey of print and online sources including accounts by white urban ministry practitioners and critiques of their models. I then address the theological and affective motives and rationales for these models, and examine their relationship to wider social patterns of gentrification. Next I will analyze these patterns in light of the work of critical theorists on whiteness, focusing on the nature of white relationship to place shaped by centuries of colonialism. Developmental psychology will then be employed to account for white habit formation, drawing upon Kohut's account of the development of grandiosity. I conclude by calling for a paradigmatic shift toward de-centering whiteness, drawing upon theological and psychological resources to transform white relationship to place into one of respect and deference to diverse ways of being.

In predominantly White schools, a common belief exists that anti-racist education is unnecessary, despite a rise in the number of people who admit to being racially prejudiced. A colour-blind approach, which silences issues of race, tends to dominate in schools, while, fear of ‘getting it wrong’ prevents meaningful dialogue. My thesis addresses the question, in what ways do arts programmes support anti-racist education in predominantly White areas? This includes two threads. Firstly, I take a critical race theory approach, drawing on Whiteness studies, to explore White teachers' and school students’ assumptions about racism and education. Secondly, using a critical pedagogy framework, I investigate learning through anti-racist arts projects. The fieldwork is ethnographically inspired, including interviews, focus groups and observations of participants’ engagement with arts programmes that visit primary and secondary schools in Devon. I found a gap between theoretical and common understandings of racism. Participants’ conceptualisations of racism shaped their beliefs about anti-racist education and their methods of engagement, which, in the contexts studied, tended towards promoting niceness rather than tackling deep-rooted racism. Furthermore, racism was found to have embodied and aesthetic components, which lead to racist thoughts, feelings and behaviours, either willingly or unwittingly. Teachers’ tendencies to force respect through classroom control appeared ineffective, by masking rather than addressing embodied racism. My research contributes to the literature on critical race theory and Whiteness studies by offering insight into the ways that White teachers and students construct anti-racist practice. My findings add to critical pedagogy by suggesting that when dialogue has been silenced, and fears surround the subject matter, critical art pedagogies that work at the emotional and cognitive levels can offer additional methods of engagement. However, working to uncover embedded racism can challenge the notion of safe classrooms and requires teachers and students to take risks by engaging with the embodied and sensual aspects of racism, which can be both disturbing and exciting. My research offers hope through presenting new ways of thinking about and engaging with, anti-racist school practice in predominantly White areas.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to answer the question, "What are the experiences of students who have completed the Achievement Academy program?" In collecting data to answer this question, a series of clarifying questions also emerged: "What are the cultural, academic, and personal costs and benefits associated with being a part of Achievement Academy?"; "How have students defined or redefined their cultural, social, academic, and personal identities because of Achievement Academy?"; and "In what ways have the students used their surroundings and experiences to overcome preconceived notions of either what they were capable of or general expectations of those around them?" While there have been studies undertaken to examine students' experiences in both public school and private school academic programs, there is currently no research on the unique academic program and partnership of Achievement Academy with both public and private schools. This study provides direct insight from a participant focus group and individual participant interviews of students that attended Achievement Academy. A phenomenology research methodology was used to collect the data and Critical Race Theory (CRT) was used as the lens through which the data from the focus group and interviews were analyzed. This analysis resulted in three distinct findings in the research data: peers, program environment, and the presence of a mentor or positive role model are the major influencing factors for their success both in Achievement Academy and afterwards. First, the Achievement Academy students' peers in the program had a strong positive influence on how they viewed and defined themselves. These interactions allowed some students an opportunity to re-evaluate and recreate their identities and allowed validation of identity for others. Second, the Achievement Academy program, and more specifically its stated mission and practices, also provided a strong positive influence on their success. Third, the presence of a mentor or role model was instrumental to their success. The program's emphasis on empowerment and enrichment also created opportunities for students to stretch themselves academically, socially, and culturally. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

x, 137 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This study explores the out-of-school time (OST) arts field through a critical race theory (CRT) lens. For the purpose of this research, OST arts programs include afterschool and summer learning programs focusing on visual arts, music, theater, dance, video production, and spoken word in Chicago, Illinois for youth ages 14-21. Four main tenets of CRT guide the main research question: How are OST arts programs time addressing racism, propagating social, historical, and liberal ideologies, promoting social justice, and giving voice to people of color? By conducting eight interviews with arts professionals as well as a comprehensive literature review and document analysis, themes of race, colorblindness, social justice, and identity development in OST youth arts programs are synthesized to reflect current practices in the field. This research suggests that current methods of critical pedagogy utilized in OST arts programs could promote successful education strategies for both in-school and out-of-school education for youth. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Lori Hager, Chair; Dr. John B. Fenn III; Dr. Jennifer Katz-Buonincontro

This dissertation examines the discursive and material terrain of urban Indigenous education in a public school district and Title VII/Indian Education program. Based in tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory and utilizing counterstorytelling techniques from Critical Race Theory informed by contemporary Indigenous philosophy and methodological theory, this research takes as its focus the often-unacknowledged ways settler colonial discourses continue to operate in public schools. Drawing on two years of fieldwork in a public school district, this dissertation documents and makes explicit racial and colonial dynamics that manifest in educational policy and practice through a series of counterstories. The counterstories survey a range of educational issues, including the implementation of Native-themed curriculum, teachers’ attempts to support Native students in their classrooms, challenges to an administrator’s “no adornment” policies for graduation, Native families’ negotiations of erasures embedded in practice and policy, and a Title VII program’s efforts to claim physical and cultural space in the district, among other issues. As a collective, these stories highlight the ways that colonization and settler society discourses continue to shape Native students’ experiences in schools. Further, by documenting the nuanced intelligence, courage, artfulness, and what Gerald Vizenor has termed the “survivance” of Native students, families, and educators as they attempt to access education, the research provides a corrective to deficit framings of Indigenous students. Beyond building empathy and compassion for Native students and communities, the purpose is to identify both the content and nature of the competencies teachers, administrators, and policy makers might need in order to provide educational services that promote Indigenous students’ success and well-being in school and foster educational self-determination. This research challenges educators to critically interrogate taken-for-granted assumptions about Native identity, culture, and education and invites educators to examine their own contexts for knowledge, insights, and resources to better support Native students in urban public schools and intervene into discourses that constrain their educational experiences.

abstract: Black male students experience a number of issues related to identity during the persistence process, which have potential to deter them from graduating. Some of these issues include feeling isolated and lack of access to resources due to their ethnic and/or racial identities. Recent statistics indicate that though there is an increase in college enrollment for Black students, the graduation rate is disproportionate to their enrollment. Using critical race theory, co-cultural theory, and communication theory of identity, this study investigated the role of identity in the persistence of Black male students’ graduation rates. Specifically, the central question was ‘What role, if any, do identity processes play in Black male students' decisions to continue or depart from a Predominantly White Institution?’ In order to answer this question, fifteen first-generation Black male college students were interviewed in order to understand the specific experiences that impacted them in relation to graduation. The study sample included a subset of Black male athletes who were found to have distinct differences in college experiences based solely on their athlete status. The overall results indicate that Black male students have expectations of the persistence process and that their personal identity also plays a significant role in the persistence process. In order to maintain their identities and continue with coursework, Black males enacted persistence strategies that were consistent with an overall goal of graduating. Research findings suggest that Black males must maintain a strong personal identity in order to maintain their personal commitment to graduation and college institutions can support them in this endeavor. Research outcomes also suggest that Black males should have a plan of persistence upon entering college, which is constantly reinforced as a graduation motivator. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2015

abstract: In the years following Lance Freeman’s seminal study, There Goes the ‘Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up (2006), the literature about how Black residents experience gentrification and its impacts on education, agency, and life has grown only slightly, and tends to explore gentrification as a class-based phenomenon. Yet, in America, race is inextricably linked to economics and geographical space. Therefore any discussion of urban blight and economic redevelopment must necessarily locate race as its nucleus to connect the vestiges of systemic racism to contemporary issues of social transformation. Using Critical Race Theory as a construct, this dissertation attempts to demonstrate the interconnectedness of racism and capitalism to extend the academic and practical discussions of gentrification. This ethnographically inspired study begins with a historical analysis of Olde Towne East (OTE), a gentrifying community in Columbus, Ohio and then moves to a contemporary analysis of relevant data to demonstrate the vast disparities across myriad measures between the neighborhood’s Black and White residents. The crux of the dissertation features interviews with Black residents (N=17) who shared their stories about life in OTE and reflected upon the dynamics they perceive and ascribe to be associated with the transformation of their community. Using grounded theory to analyze the values, attitudes, and beliefs contained in participant reflections, findings indicate that Black folks in this study are keenly aware of the systemic forces, including institutionalized racism, that have resulted in the gentrifying of their community. In addition to the systemic factors these participants ascribe to be associated with the transformation of OTE, they also contend that a lack of Black critical consciousness exacerbated the racially inequitable outcomes associated with gentrification. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2016