What has it meant to produce knowledge and to teach at the intersection of English literature and Black Studies? This dissertation asks after the history and function of Black literary studies as it emerged as an academic discipline in the late 20th century U.S. academy. I propose that Black literary studies' institutional knowledge project is…

This study explores obstacles to career advancement faced by black female staff in Higher education. Through interviews and surveys, key factors impacting this population are identified and a solution is proposed in the form of an action plan. Interviews exposed the issue of isolation, lack of support, and a need for early training for both…

Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this qualitative transcendental (descriptive) phenomenological study was to investigate and document the lived experiences of African American (AA) female graduate students utilizing Afrocentric mentoring paradigms at PWIs. I examined the challenges caused by institutional racism in PWIs and whether…

In our political and cultural climate, where America is recovering from a pandemic, affirmative action is no longer the law of the land, DEI programs are being cut, and African American history and heritage are being denied and eradicated; how do African Americans navigate white spaces? How do African American leaders obtain a seat at the table?…

Black faculty, staff, and students are experiencing anti-Blackness in higher education that is deeply rooted in the racialized legacy of the United States. The roots and effects of anti-Blackness, afro-pessimism, and Afrofuturism were investigated. Scholars argue Black existence is imagined and acted upon through the historic lens of the…

This qualitative interview study explores the beliefs, feelings, and opinions held by the staff, faculty, and administrators who operationalize the Umoja student support programs on campuses within a southern California Community College district. Schiele's Afrocentric organization theory is the framework for this study. The six tenets derived…

African American women have been silhouetted. They have been reduced to a one dimensional version of themselves and defined by societies White-male hegemonic background. Currently, limited research exists on the experiences of African American (AA) women graduate students from an Afrocentric perspective. Despite the increase enrollment of AA women…

American community colleges are facing the dual dilemma of replacing the increasing number of presidents who are retiring, and promoting more diversity among their successors. Mentoring is viewed as a way of helping minority faculty and administrators acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to advance successfully into senior leadership roles.…

Thomas Kuhn's 1962 groundbreaking work, "The Scientific Revolution," established the process for creating, and the components of, a disciplinary paradigm. This "scientific revolution" has evolved to become the standard for determining a field's claim to disciplinary status. In 2001 and 2003, Ama Mazama, used Kuhn's model to establish the…

For this study, the researcher sought to implement a visual arts-based Afrivisual to help inspire, motivate and empower African American students in gaining a culturally relevant education in Euro-American-centered schools. Using the Afrivisual in this work as an action-oriented tool the researcher sought to expose African American students to an…

This phenomenological study explores how African-American female administrators (individually and collectively) perceive the relationship between their identity and their leadership voice. The study focuses upon perceptions of 11 African-American female administrators who serve the 14 main campuses of the universities constituting the Pennsylvania…

This dissertation explores the applicability of a "stretched" Expanded Nigrescence theory (Cross and Vandiver 2001; NT-E) to the racial identities/attitudes of six First Generation U.S.-Born Africans (FGAs) at a predominantly White institution (PWI). This instrumental case study blended ethnographic techniques and surveys to tell the stories of…

The purpose of this study was to gather descriptive data on the experiences of Black female student athletes. A better understanding of the experiences of Black female student athletes as students, as athletes, and as developing young women may help student affairs practitioners better understand their collegiate experience; provide them with…