For centuries, Black people in the U.S. have had to navigate structural and institutional racism. This is especially true for the system of policing, which evolved from pre-emancipation slave patrols. Though law enforcement agencies have made strides in the past 160 years, Black people continue to be targeted and killed by police at a…

This qualitative research paper investigated the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year 2020 in sparking a phenomenon of hiring chief diversity officers (CDOs) in higher education. By exploring the interplay between the pandemic, racial justice movements, evolving higher education landscape, and institutional accountability, this study…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore how African American principals describe how they establish personal, interpersonal, communal, systemic, and ecological practices for social justice in schools in the southeastern region of the United States. Furman's social justice leadership as praxis model, centers on three…

This study was a qualitative participatory action research study that focused on the lived experiences of Black women who received prenatal care and gave birth in the state of North Carolina. The study was meant to investigate and address the racism and implicit biases these women experienced from the medical community they encountered, and the…

Community cultural wealth has value in the workforce. The individual's cultural capital and financial literacy values are not a separate experience to the organization culture. The dominant culture within the organization has a role of understanding and accepting the whole of Black American workers. This study will explore organizational culture…

African American women college presidential leadership is more than bureaucratic or technical leadership styles, or a set of skills or traits. African American women college president's leadership is pedagogical, meaning it is rooted in teaching and learning. The purpose of this research investigation is to amplify the role that African American…

Many district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we need further research…

This study seeks to explore the experiences of Black male protagonists in picture books. The following question guided this study: How do Black authors demonstrate a commitment to social justice? The theoretical framework that guides this study is Critical Race Theory (CRT), which aids in understanding how Black authors use experiential knowledge…

The unprecedented racial justice movements of 2020, intensified by George Floyd's tragic murder, catalyzed a global mobilization. This dissertation investigates the intersection of these movements with sociotechnical tools that shaped the movement, focusing on the youth deeply engaged with socioalgorithmic systems and their developmental…

This study aimed to explore African American male leaders' academic experiences, career paths, and suggestions for obtaining leadership opportunities in K-12 education. Additionally, its purpose was to uncover the perceived experiences of African American male leaders. The goal was also to investigate African American men's perceptions of…

In a world where decisions are increasingly scrutinized to ensure fairness across legally protected groups, it is critical to apply such scrutiny in a manner that is consistent with the law. This dissertation attempts to reconcile the legal definition and empirical measurement of disparate impact, one of two forms of discrimination recognized by…

This dissertation examines the lived experiences of Black men credentialed to be assistant principals and principals within a southeastern, urban public school district based upon the philosophies of equity and social justice. Through a qualitative constructivist approach, this research explores their experiences in and with education and how it…

Black student affairs professionals are not the primary group of focus in most empirical studies. Much of the literature about Black people at PWIs in higher education focuses on student and faculty experiences (Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015). The purpose of this narrative qualitative study was to explore experiences and strategies Black student…

Education is often positioned as a solution to incarceration while simultaneously using police (or commonly named School Resource Officers) to enforce discipline; or metal detectors and cameras for surveillance within school buildings as a measure of "safety" (Meiners, 2011). Sojoyner (2016) argues that both schools and prisons function…

African American males have been overrepresented in the prison system in the United States since the 1970s. This comprehensive survey examines the influence of the prison reentry program on the lives of African American males after they are released from jail and prison in the United States. Jail is a place of confinement for persons held in…