Showing papers in "Journal of Black Studies in 2014"
TL;DR: The Black Media Messages Questionnaire (BMMQ) as mentioned in this paper was designed to measure the influence of negative Black media images and youth rejection or endorsement of these images on Black youth well-being and identity is a new and understudied phenomenon.
Abstract: While consensus has grown about the prevalence of negative Black media images, measuring the influence of these images and youth rejection or endorsement of these images on Black youth well-being and identity is a new and understudied phenomenon. This study was designed to create a measure of Black media stereotypes for use with adolescents. Focus groups with Black youth ages 14 to 21 were conducted and the data were used to design the Black Media Messages Questionnaire (BMMQ). One hundred thirteen Black youth completed the BMMQ along with measures of racial socialization, racial identity, Black history knowledge, body image, and self-esteem. Confirmatory factor analysis of the BMMQ resulted in three scales with six factors. The factors were entered into correlation and ANOVA analyses. Age, gender, and TV viewing consistently correlated with BMMQ factors. ANOVA results demonstrated that few variables were significant for the positive stereotype BMMQ factors, but endorsement of negative Black stereotype me...
90 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the literature on retention of African American students at predominately white institutions (PWIs), focusing on current trends in Kentucky colleges and universities, and found that African American student retention at white institutions was low.
Abstract: This article reviews the literature on retention of African American students at predominately White institutions (PWIs). A focus on current trends in Kentucky colleges and universities outlines re...
47 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the alternative and more personalized restorative justice vision of "the other" and cultural differences and proposed an expansive conceptual model that is aligned with the integrative nature of Restorative justice for further pilots and research.
Abstract: Restorative justice was reborn in the 1970s with a promise to provide a better sense and experience of justice, especially for those who are let down the most by the criminal justice system. And yet, despite well-evidenced disproportionality and race inequality issues within criminal justice institutions, restorative justice research and practice within the context of race are almost nonexistent. This article aims to unravel this paradox while looking at the scant extant literature to explore the alternative and more personalized restorative justice vision of “the other” and cultural differences. An expansive conceptual model that is aligned with the integrative nature of restorative justice is then posited for further pilots and research. The article warns that if restorative justice continues to ignore the challenges raised within a race equality context, the power structures inherent within our current structural framework of criminal justice will lead to its demise.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the usage and attitude toward Facebook and text messaging among African American and Hispanic teenagers and examined the influence of personality and gender on the behavior of teenagers.
Abstract: The present study explores the usage and attitude toward Facebook and text messaging among African American and Hispanic teenagers. It also examines the influence of personality and gender on the n...
34 citations
TL;DR: In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, national media outlets instantaneously and simultaneously began covering the tragedy with “calls to action” explicitly voiced by public officials and members of the general citizenry as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In December 2012, 20 elementary school children fell victim to gun violence. Shortly after the killings occurred, national media outlets instantaneously and simultaneously began covering the tragedy with “calls to action” explicitly voiced by public officials and members of the general citizenry. Gun violence in African American communities has also left an indelible mark on the quality and quantity of life among the youngest members as well. Statistics released by federal law enforcement officials reveal that, collectively, more children of color die each year to gun violence. However, gun-related crimes involving low-income persons and racial and ethnic minorities are framed by the media as a convergence of cultural, environmental, and individual shortcomings and immorality. Consequently, structural and/or policy resolutions to address such crimes involving low-income persons and racial and ethnic minorities are overlooked or even omitted from the national and, more importantly, political discourse.
33 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the challenges of conceptualizing Black existence within the realm of what has been defined as civil society, rather than entering the Afropessimism versus Afro-optimism deba...
Abstract: This article examines the challenges of conceptualizing Black existence within the realm of what has been defined as civil society. Rather than entering the Afro-pessimism versus Afro-optimism deba...
32 citations
TL;DR: The evolution of hip-hop music and culture has impacted the visibility of Black men and the Black male body as discussed by the authors, and performances of Black masculinities have continued to become commercially viable.
Abstract: The evolution of hip-hop music and culture has impacted the visibility of Black men and the Black male body. As hip-hop continues to become commercially viable, performances of Black masculinities ...
32 citations
TL;DR: The authors used data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to examine responses on attitudinal questions about how Black and White Americans actually feel about their close relative marrying outside their own race.
Abstract: This study transcends general opinion reports and uses data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to examine responses on attitudinal questions about how Black and White Americans actually feel about their close relative marrying outside their own race. The results show that more than half (54%) of Black Americans are in favor of their close relative marrying a White person compared with nearly one-in-four (26%) White Americans who said they were in favor of their close relative marrying a Black person. Such results suggest that questions about how individuals feel when close relatives engage into Black-White marriage provide better measures of attitude toward racial exogamy. Logistic regression models are analyzed to determine how socio-demographic factors influence Black and White Americans’ views on interracial marriage of their close relatives.
28 citations
TL;DR: Despite significant changes in American society, Blacks still lag behind Whites on several important socioeconomic indicators as mentioned in this paper, attributing this gap to structural reasons (e.g., racial discriminatio...
Abstract: Despite significant changes in American society, Blacks still lag behind Whites on several important socioeconomic indicators. Attributing this gap to structural reasons (e.g., racial discriminatio...
24 citations
TL;DR: A qualitative study based on a phenomenological narrative design that specifically addresses the issues of recruitment and retention of African American women in the public school superinten... as discussed by the authors was conducted in the 1990s.
Abstract: This qualitative study was based on a phenomenological narrative design that specifically addresses the issues of recruitment and retention of African American women in the public school superinten...
23 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative content analysis of 44 songs was conducted to identify and contextualize emergent constructs in the lyrics of Nina Simone's lyrics, using a qualitative ethnographic content analysis.
Abstract: This study sought to move beyond superficial appreciation of Nina Simone’s lyrics to identify and contextualize emergent constructs. A qualitative ethnographic content analysis of 44 songs was cond...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors push the discursive envelope on what it means to speak of a particular space, location, and position of the "Black Scholar" in the Western academy and its colonial satellites.
Abstract: In this essay, I push the discursive envelope on what it means to speak of a particular space, location, and position of the “Black Scholar” in the (Western) academy and its colonial satellites glo...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend prior research by asking how the stress-support-distress process operates among Black women and find that formal support systems and internal resources (i.e., health education) can positively impact Black women mental health.
Abstract: Research on mental health inequalities typically focuses on variations in individuals’ stress exposure and coping strategies (i.e., perceptions of support adequacy). This study extends prior research by asking how the stress-support-distress process operates among Black w2omen. Data come from a 2003 survey by the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes at Louisiana State University (LSU). Our findings challenge the prototypic stress-health models that fail to acknowledge social group differences in the stress-support-distress process. More importantly, our research points to the need for health professionals to consider how formal support systems (i.e., health promotion programs) and internal resources (i.e., health education) can positively impact Black women’s mental health.
TL;DR: This article used genetic matching and the 1996 National Black Election Study to assess the causality of descriptive representation and changes in political attitudes, finding that higher levels of efficacy are a result of descriptive representations, rather than the cause of it.
Abstract: Previous studies of descriptive representation have not been able to overcome the classic endogeniety problem. For example, do Black elected officials cause Blacks to be more empowered? Or are Black politicians only elected in contexts where Blacks are already empowered? We address this shortcoming by utilizing genetic matching and the 1996 National Black Election Study. Genetic matching creates a pseudo-experimental environment where Blacks in districts with Black elected officials are matched with similarly situated Blacks in districts without Black representation. This research design allows us to better assess the causality of descriptive representation and changes in political attitudes. This study provides strong evidence that higher levels of efficacy are a result of descriptive representation, rather than the cause of it. Thus, our study demonstrates Black office-holding at the congressional level empowers the Black electorate.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a more complex picture of residential choice, the way in which the newly middle class born in low-income urban areas conceptualize community, and how and why some of those most choose to live elsewhere.
Abstract: For several decades, in response to the severe conditions found in lowincome urban areas, educational opportunity programs have offered highachieving students scholarships and placement in predominantly White college preparatory schools in affluent areas. Those who complete their studies most often go to elite colleges and universities, earn advanced degrees, and enjoy the privileged status of educated professionals. Much research has been done on the restricted residential mobility of low-income urban residents and the possibility, or relative lack thereof, of out-migration from neighborhoods with the fewest resources. And while scholars differ on whether out-migration has in fact been achieved by more advantaged residents, they agree that the desire and efforts to do so, particularly among the middle class, are evident. These studies suggest then that given the opportunity, those with the resources and opportunity will choose to live elsewhere. Data presented here offer a more complex picture of residential choice, the way in which the newly middle class born in low-income urban areas conceptualize community, and how and why some of those most
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between demographic variables, early religious involvement, current religious involvement with respect to empathy, perspective taking, and volunteer engagement among African American women residing in a large urban center (N = 211).
Abstract: Research has shown that urban-residing African American women engage in volunteer work at impressive rates. However, few studies have empirically assessed the factors that account for volunteerism within this population. This study explores the relationship between demographic variables, early religious involvement, current religious involvement, empathy, perspective taking, and volunteer engagement among African American women residing in a large urban center (N = 211). Findings from multivariate analyses revealed that current religious involvement positively predicted women’s volunteer engagement. Age was found to negatively predict volunteer engagement but positively predict the number of hours women spend volunteering per year. The implications of these findings are discussed and future lines of research considered.
TL;DR: Lee Hirsch's Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony as discussed by the authors examines the liberation songs that gained salience during the National Party's implementation of the New World Order.
Abstract: This article offers an examination of Lee Hirsch’s Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. Beginning with the liberation songs that gained salience during the National Party’s implementation o...
TL;DR: In this article, the original purpose of studying the seven liberal arts in the context of contemporary higher education is analyzed, and the purpose of higher education in the modern world is discussed.
Abstract: This article is an analysis of the original purpose of studying the seven liberal arts in the context of contemporary higher education. Nile Valley theorists in ancient Africa tied the purpose of s...
TL;DR: In Maryland, a majority of Black state legislators supported a measure legalizing same-sex marriage as the vast majority voted on the basis of their personal attitudes on the issue as discussed by the authors, which suggests Black legislators may serve as a buffer against Black social conservatism.
Abstract: In recent years, there have been a number of examples of African Americans mobilizing around morality politics issues. In Maryland, Black churches and church leaders mobilized against legalizing same-sex marriage. This entailed a more extensive mobilization than for any issue in recent memory. Despite this unprecedented mobilization, a majority of Black state legislators supported a measure legalizing same-sex marriage as the vast majority voted on the basis of their personal attitudes on the issue. This suggests Black legislators may serve as a buffer against Black social conservatism. Examination of this issue yields some important insights in terms of how Black churches mobilize in the contemporary context, perceptions of the political power of the Black church, how conceptions of “civil rights” intersects with this particular issue, and the inadequacy of labels like “progressive” or “conservative” to fully describe many Black political actors—especially when it comes to morality politics.
TL;DR: In this article, the experience of an up-coming African University lecturer engaged in teaching "emancipatory postcolonial knowledge" to young African minds for over 8 years is discussed.
Abstract: This article discusses the experience of an up-coming African University lecturer engaged in teaching “emancipatory postcolonial knowledge” to young African minds for over 8 years. The young Africa...
TL;DR: This article examined how Black men and women understand masculine performances in romantic relationships and to do so using Steve Harvey's book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, Act Like a Man.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how Black men and women understand masculine performances in romantic relationships and to do so using Steve Harvey’s book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man...
TL;DR: In this paper, a paucity of research regarding how the concept operates within the inter-media agenda setting has been surveyed, and the authors suggest that there is a need for more research in this area.
Abstract: Inter-media agenda setting has assumed growing relevance in the field of media and communication studies. However, there is still a paucity of research regarding how the concept operates within the...
TL;DR: The authors examines the literary representations of the nexus between migration and the post-2000 crisis in Zimbabwe from the prism of post-colonialism and economic migrancy, and examines Chikwava's and Gappah's depiction of the nature of the economic migrants' escape from the effects of a local crisis and entrance into migrant spaces defined by global economic trajectories, and considers the contradictory positions they find themselves in as well as the various identities constituted thereof.
Abstract: The article examines the literary representations of the nexus between migration and the post-2000 crisis in Zimbabwe from the prism of post-colonialism and economic migrancy. It discusses Chikwava’s Harare North and Gappah’s An Elegy for Easterly mapping of the link between the local and the global, especially the way characters who migrate to “Harare North”—London, construct their aspirations, perceptions, and identities as they imagine the crisis at home and encounter life experiences at home and in Western metropolitan spaces that are defined by global capitalism. The paper therefore, examines Chikwava’s and Gappah’s depiction of the nature of the economic migrants’ escape from the effects of a local crisis and entrance into migrant spaces defined by global economic trajectories, and considers the contradictory positions they find themselves in as well as the various identities constituted thereof.
TL;DR: Since Virginia's legislative resolution apologizing for slavery in 2007, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina as well as the U.S. House and Senate passed un...
Abstract: Since Virginia’s legislative resolution apologizing for slavery in 2007, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina as well as the U.S. House and Senate passed un...
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of model's race on attitude toward the ad employing stringent methodology to achieve a high degree of internal validity was investigated, in an attempt to test the possi...
Abstract: The current research investigated the effect of model’s race on attitude toward the ad employing stringent methodology to achieve a high degree of internal validity. In an attempt to test the possi...
TL;DR: The authors reconsiders the genesis and formation of Asian American literature by focusing less on the Chin-Kingston debate and more on the impact of Black radicalism and the genre of antiracist a...
Abstract: This article reconsiders the genesis and formation of Asian American literature by focusing less on the Chin-Kingston debate and more on the impact of Black radicalism and the genre of antiracist a...
TL;DR: Early Christians appropriated icons and stories from the Kemetic Spiritual System (KSS) to create a belief system centered on the martyr Jesus as mentioned in this paper, and reexamined the roles of the Kemet trinity of Asar, As...
Abstract: Early Christians appropriated icons and stories from the Kemetic Spiritual System to create a belief system centered on the martyr Jesus. When reexamining the roles of the Kemet trinity of Asar, As...
TL;DR: The authors explored the nuances of power and powerlessness in adult literacy, pedagogy in the civil rights movement of the 1950s, and drawing from interdisciplinary literature, this article places Bernic...
Abstract: This article explores nuances of power and powerlessness in adult literacy, pedagogy in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature, this article places Bernic...
TL;DR: The New Western and/or Post-Western of the 1960s distorted and parodied the patterns of characterization of the classic western aiming at reaching atypical and more revealing truths about the western experience as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The New Western and/or Post-Western of the 1960s distorted and parodied the patterns of characterization of the classic western aiming at reaching atypical and more revealing truths about the western experience. Likewise, Ishmael Reed’s Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down (1969) undertakes to serve a similar purpose and beyond. It breaths fresh air into the so-called “exhausted” genre by providing more intriguing western histories, on the one hand, and revitalizes novel writing at a time when the novel is pronounced “dead,” on the other hand. What’s more, written at the height of the “counter-culture revolution,” it both undertakes to question and uproot preconceived absolutes and media-based realities regarding race, religion, and indigenous cultures by reviving the resourcefulness of Afro-American heritage. As such, it highlights Voodoo turned Hoodoo aesthetics as the best embodiment of this age-old culture and undermines the preeminence of popular culture, thus paving the way toward more experimental represen...
TL;DR: In this article, Glissant proposed a project aiming at reshaping the way one does Relation in the world from the model elaborated by the epistemological work of the African, a party that is constantly disparaged.
Abstract: Glissant’s approach to creolisation does pose pivotal questions especially when considered from the perspective of the Martiniquan experience. Privileging a pragmatic posture, it evidently does not account for the climactic symbolic discrepancy and unavoidable moral pressure that powerfully define the conscious and unconscious outlook on the respective African and European identity constituents as they are related to culture and race, which in turn determine the ethics of the said creolisation. The latter is unbendingly advocated as a process in which all parts are proportionally and “categorially” analogous. Glissant proposed a project aiming at reshaping the way one does Relation in the world. He did so from the model elaborated by the epistemological work of the African, a party that is constantly disparaged. However, he does not do this party justice by making first and unembiguously explicit the particularizing nature of its work. The African critical philosophical contribution is not earnestly rende...