The purpose of this study was to investigate the fact that the Shrine of the Black Madonna creates an Afrocentric personality in its members. The essential questions of this study are the following: (1) How does the Shrine of the Black Madonna create Afrocentric personalities in its members? (2) How will members of the Shrine, using communal economics, self knowledge, and an African orientation, reflect the collective identity of the African saying, "I am because we are, because we are, therefore I Am."
This study is significant because the study is based on the premise that Afrocentric organizations will produce Afrocentric personalities that are capable of eradicating most of the problems facing African people in America. The liberation of African people is recorded as the most sacred objective of the Shrine. The Shrine is concerned with building a Black Nation. The study investigates the practical aspect of Afrocentric institutions which makes this exploration significant.
A mixed method methodology was used to analyze gathered data from the participant observer method, quantitative study, and qualitative study methods. This study is based on the premises that the Shrine of the Black Madonna produces Afrocentric personalities through the KUA (small) group method and the practice of the Nguzo Saba method.
There are programs and institutions the Shrine uses to create Africans that believe they are building a nation. As a participant in the activities of the Shrine, the researcher observed that the Shrine is an Afrocentric institution. The following institutions were observed (1) History Class, (2) Museum, (3) Worship Service, and (4) Beulah Land Farm.
The qualitative findings of the study found that the Shrine of Black Madonna has Afrocentric members using elite interviews. The quantitative study used the African selfconsciousness scale test in the measurement of the Shrine members; the researcher found that they have Afrocentric personalities.
The Shrine of the Black Madonna definitely produces members with an Afrocentric personality. The transformation of members occurs during the KUA group sessions. The use of Afrocentric symbols and activities reinforces the members' new worldview. The researcher recommends that other scholars study other organizations that create an African centered program such as the Nation of Islam, US Organization, and the Hebrew Israelite group.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:auctr.edu/oai:digitalcommons.auctr.edu:dissertations-2269 |
| Date | 01 July 2013 |
| Creators | Davis, Leon W. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center |
| Source Sets | Atlanta University Center |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | ETD Collection for Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center |
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