Journal of Black Studies recent issues

The Institutional Vision of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abelman, R., Dalessandro, A. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been subjected to harsh criticism within the higher education community. A common theme is that the shared and archaic mission of these institutions compromises academic standards and keeps individual schools from effective leadership and competing for financial resources and quality students. A content analysis of the mission and vision statements from HBCUs was performed, and key linguistic components found to constitute a well-conceived, viable, and easily diffused institutional vision were isolated. The prevalence of these components in comparison to other types of academic institutions is discussed, and ways in which this information can be used to address the current challenges facing HBCUs are presented.

The Power of Black Magic: The Magical Negro and White Salvation in Film

Glenn, C. L., Cunningham, L. J. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Movies featuring a "magical" or spiritually gifted Black lead character have been released for many years, and the trend continues to grow in popularity. These Black characters, often referred to as "magical Negroes," generally focus their abilities toward assisting their White lead counterparts. At first glance, casting the Black and White leads in this manner seems to provide examples of Black and White characters relating to each other in a constructive manner; however, a closer examination of these interactions suggests a reinvention of old Black stereotypes rather than authentic racial harmony. Using a textual analysis of eight selected films: the Matrix trilogy—The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2003)— The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), The Green Mile (1999), Bringing Down the House (2003), Nurse Betty (2000), and Bruce Almighty (2003), this study formalizes a definition of the magical Negro and determines how these characterizations reinvent traditional Black stereotypes of mammy, jezebel, and Uncle Tom. This study reflects on the complex nature of the portrayal and acceptance of Blacks in contemporary times because these roles may commingle limited progress with traditionally racist stereotypes.

Skin Bleachers' Representations of Skin Color in Jamaica

Charles, C. A. D. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

This article deals with skin bleachers’ representations of skin color and the reasons that inform their representations. A content analysis was done of the reasons the participants give for bleaching their skin. The participants bleach their skin to remove facial blemishes, to make their faces "cool," as a result of peer influence, to lighten their complexion, to appear beautiful and to attract a partner, to follow a popular fad, and to have the visual stimulus of the bleached skin because it makes them feel good. In Jamaican society, negative representations of dark skin indicate that dark skin is devalued, whereas light skin is valued. The hegemonic representation that elevates light skin over dark skin and guides the behavior of the skin bleachers has its roots in socializing institutions of the larger cultural milieu. The interaction of the government, the church, the education system, the media, formal culture, and popular culture from the colonial period to the present sends repeated messages that light skin is superior to dark skin.

Gods, Ancestors, and Hermeneutics of Liberation in Ayi Kwei Armah's Two Thousand Seasons

Mtshali, K. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

The objective of this article is to articulate the hermeneutics of liberation in Ayi Kwei Armah’s Two Thousand Seasons. Premised on an assertion that Two Thousand Seasons is divisible into three sections—the realm of the godhead, the realm of the ancestors, and the realm of the living—this article will argue that the protagonists of the novel use land, an abode of the ancestors, as a text through which they form themselves into a healing community. Reinterpreting African belief systems’ claim of connectedness of the ancestors to the gods and the godhead, this article will assert that when the protagonists have authentic relationship with each other and their world, they constitute gods or creative forces and consequently have a glimpse of the godhead. Commencing by articulating African belief systems’ concepts of godhead, gods, and ancestors, this article concludes by describing the hermeneutic project of the novel’s protagonists.

Being in and out of Africa: The Impact of Duality of Ethiopianism

Jalata, A. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

This article critically examines how the duality inherent in the concept of Ethiopianism shifts back and forth between claims of a "Semitic" identity when appealing to the White, Christian, ethnocentric, occidental hegemonic power center and claims of an African identity when cultivating the support of sub-Saharan Africans and the African diaspora while, at the same time, ruthlessly suppressing the history and culture of non-Semitic Africans of the various colonized peoples, such as Oromos. Successive Ethiopian state elites have used their Blackness to mobilize other Africans and the African diaspora for their political projects by confusing original Africa, Ethiopia, or the Black world with contemporary Ethiopia (former Abyssinia) and at the same time have allied with Euro-American powers and practiced racism, state terrorism, genocide, and continued subjugation on the indigenous Africans who are, today, struggling for self-determination and multinational democracy. Exposing the racist discourse of Ethiopianism and liberating the mentality of all Africans and the African diaspora from this "social cancer" must be one of the tasks of a critical paradigm of Afrocentricity. Developing Oromummaa (Oromo culture, identity, and nationalism), the Oromo national movement engages in such a liberation project.

The Effects of Black Identity on Candidate Evaluations: An Exploratory Study

Sullivan, J. M., Arbuthnot, K. N. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Although Barack Obama’s entrance into the 2008 presidential campaign has been warmly received by Whites, Blacks have been somewhat ambivalent. Some even have claimed that Obama is not "Black." The case of Barack Obama brings to the forefront the prospect of intragroup identity differences that exist among Blacks and the potential importance of a candidate’s racial background in elections. Consequently, the authors ask the following questions: (a) Does the racial background of a political candidate affect Black voters’ support and evaluation of a candidate’s personal attributes (i.e., trust, concern, strength, and qualification)? and (b) Focusing purely on the treatment groups separately (White, biracial, and Black candidates), does Black identity affect Blacks’ support and evaluation of a candidate’s personal attributes? The experimental results of this exploratory study find race does make a difference on candidate support, and Black identity influences the way in which Black respondents perceive White, biracial, and Black candidates. As a result, these findings suggest that differences in how Blacks feel about a candidate will depend on the candidate’s racial background, their own attitudes and beliefs about being Black, and where they fall on various demographic and political measures.

African American Student Athletes and Sports Media Consumption

Bun Lee, E., Browne, L. A. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

This study measures the use of media for sports information among African American student athletes. Television was indicated as the primary source of sports information by about one third of the target group, whereas newspapers were used much less as a source. About one fourth got their information from multiple sources. A somewhat unexpected finding was the limited use of sports radio as a source. Female respondents used media less frequently for sports information compared to male athletes.

Racial Homogenization and Stereotypes: Black American College Students' Stereotypes About Racial Groups

Nunnally, S. C. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Using data from an original survey with a localized convenience sample of Black college students, the 2004 Black American Socialization and Trust Survey (BASTS), this article examines whether Black American college students view other racial groups in stereotypic ways. Results of BASTS suggest that, despite some stereotypic views of racial groups, there is limited support for extreme subscription to either positive or negative stereotypes of racial groups. However, certain positive and negative stereotypes are more evident for specific racial groups. Respondents tend to think about Blacks, Asians, and Latinos in more positive ways than Whites and people in general.

Black Students and International Education: An Assessment

Penn, E. B., Tanner, J. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Black students participate in international education or study abroad experiences far less than other college students. The reasons, as stated in previous literature, include choice of major, attrition rates, lower levels of social economic affluence, and the lack of encouragement and support. These conclusions were tested with a sample of Black high school graduates enrolled in a residential, summer college-preparatory program. Results contradicted previous findings and led to the creation of a model to increase Black students’ participation in international education through a service learning pedagogy using short, intensive study abroad experiences.

When and Where I Enter: Anna Julia Cooper, Afrocentric Theory, and Africana Studies

Hubbard, L. C. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Anna Julia Cooper provides an important, though often overlooked, Africana intellectual history and philosophy in the field of Africana Studies generally and Black women’s history particularly. Many of the studies on Anna Julia Cooper’s life and philosophy have been done outside of the discipline of Africology, and as a result, her work has primarily been placed in the feminist and literary studies field. While it can be stated that her speeches and writings have greatly contributed to the growth of these philosophies, Cooper’s most fundamental and least recognized intellectual contribution is to the establishment and advancement of the Afrocentric discourse. There is an urgent need to recover and reclaim Anna Julia Cooper, her foremothers, and contemporaries who have not been thoroughly discussed within Africana studies as agents of cultural change in their communities and at large. In this article, Cooper’s intellectual thought is situated at the center and examined for its significance to the discourse and development of Africana studies.

Akhenaten to Origen: Characteristics of Philosophical Thought in Ancient Africa

Asante, M. K., Ismail, S. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

This article examines the context and content of two African philosophers, Akhenaten and Origen, living hundreds of years apart, to establish through reference to texts and records that the memories of the old system found their way into the era of Christian development. The authors contend that the religious ideas that originated in ancient Egypt did not vanish with the arrival of the Christian faith. Indeed, they suggest that there is a connective link, an intellectual chain, a continuity of form and substance that exists from Akhenaten to Origen. The authors argue that although there was a break in the ancient tradition when Christianity entered Africa, it was not an immediate or a clean break, as if one had snapped a twig.

Circles of Freedom and Maturation in Hannah Crafts' The Bondwoman's Narrative

Jua, R. M. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Posthumously published in 2002 and providentially so according to Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s account, Hannah Crafts’ The Bondwoman’s Narrative, written circa 1855, seems to possess more than one life. It simply refused to die in obscurity or, as Marcia Ann Gillespie has opined, to be "shrouded in silence." Does the narrative simply converge with other slave narratives of the 19th century as it depicts Hannah’s flight from slavery to freedom, or can Crafts’ novel be situated at the very beginnings of Black feminism? Further interrogation of the narrative discloses that Crafts weaves themes of growth and embraces symbols such as houses, sleep, and journeys in the typical 19th-century manner of mainstream writers like Samuel Richardson, Daniel Defoe, and Charles Dickens in England and Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman in America to situate her work within the American literary renaissance.

Afrocentricity and the Western Paradigm

Monteiro-Ferreira, A. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

This article explores the similarities between Afrocentricity and postmodernism with an eye toward defining their responses to hegemony. The author argues that these ideas share similar platforms, although they may have been derived from different experiences. Clearly, the assault on all forms of prejudice, bigotry, hierarchical arrangements, and class discriminations are at the base of both ideas. By examining the intellectual history and details of the postmodern movement the author seeks to provide its characteristics that relate to the Afrocentric idea.

Superior Self-Regulatory Skills in African American College Students: Evidence From Alcohol and Tobacco Use

Ernst, F. A., Hogan, B., Vallas, M. A., Cook, M., Fuller, D. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Excessive drinking is more common among Whites (W) than African Americans (AA) on college campuses, but the reasons for this are not clear. The authors investigated demographic and personality factors in a group of 369 W and 202 AA college students, finding that alcohol consumption was significantly less prevalent among AA students (69%) than W students (78%) (p = .02) and that binge drinking was significantly less frequent in AA drinkers (42% past month, 60% past year) than W drinkers (56%, 79%) (p < .00001). Cigarette smoking was also dramatically less frequent in AA students (5%) than W students (28%) (p < .00001). AA students also scored significantly higher on Overcontrolled Hostility (M = 18.2, SEM = 0.40) than did W students (M = 15.7, SEM = 0.19) (p < .00001). The authors conclude that AA college students are a more self-selected group of high achievers who reveal evidence of superior self-regulatory skills.

Something Wicked This Way Comes: A Historical Account of Black Gangsterism Offers Wisdom and Warning for African American Leadership

Cureton, S. R. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Black Americans who exist outside of the American Dream have historically had a direct relationship with street revolutionaries and ghetto superstars more than the appointed Black leadership. Hence, it continues to be an unfair criticism for any "integrated" Black leader to suggest that another Black leader is not authentic enough to have universal appeal, particularly when there is a noticeable social distance between the majority of Black leaders (past and present) who emerge from the middle class and the Black underclass. The gang has traditionally been a significant socialization agent in gangland areas; thus, Black leadership should access the wisdom of the gang when looking for answers to the tough life course conditions of the urban underclass resident. This article provides a brief history about Black gangs in an attempt to provide some insight relative to just how significant the Black gang has been to the Black experience in America.

Book Review: Baker, H. A., Jr. (2008). Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned the Ideals of the Civil Rights Era. New York: Columbia University Press

Shondell Miller, D. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:59:02 PDT

Editor's Note on the 40th Anniversary

Asante, M. K. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

Defining Ourselves: One Name, One Discipline?

Reid-Merritt, P. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

What Is in a Name?: Addressing the Issue of Program and Curriculum Clarification in Black Studies

Weber, S. N. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

The essay explains the origins of the discussion of naming in the discipline. The late Dr. William Little, former president of the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS), called upon the NCBS to lead the nation in confronting the controversy of standardizing what departments should be called based upon the curriculum being offered. This volume is dedicated in his memory.

Africology and the Puzzle of Nomenclature

Asante, M. K. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

This article seeks to survey a number of names offered for the discipline that originated as Black Studies. Taking the position that practice is not arbitrary, although naming could be quite arbitrary, the author examines the practice of the field to suggest that those who see the study as a discipline have participated in Afrocentric analysis or critiques of African phenomena. Thus, the name Africology is suggested as the referent for Afrocentric analyses and critiques.

Spelling Our Proper Name: Reconceptualizing the Order of Africana/Black Studies

Furusa, M. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

This article examines internal and external intellectual discourses that have developed around Africana Studies as an academic discipline within the United States from its inception to the present. It explores intellectual constructs and discursive contexts that have shaped the variations, complexities, and contradictions in the conceptualization, scope, and philosophical direction of Africana Studies as a discipline. It argues that the name or names of the discipline should reflect the nature and scope, curriculum content and structure, declared goals and expected outcomes of Africana Studies.

Names and Notions of Black Studies: Issues of Roots, Range, and Relevance

Karenga, M. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

The principle purpose of this article is to bring under critical reflection some of the central issues surrounding and informing current and continuing notions of Black Studies and the ongoing concerns about its appropriate naming. It is a fundamental assumption of this article that the various notions and names of Black Studies are anchored in and reflective of differing concepts of the roots, range, and relevance of the discipline. The issue of roots has to do with the conception of the primary rootedness of the discipline in the African American initiative and experience and the Black Freedom Movement and its emancipatory thrust. The issue of range involves varied positions on the reach and inclusiveness of the discipline in terms of African peoples and its self-conception as a pan-African project. Finally, the issue of relevance raises questions of the intellectual value and viability of the African American initiative and experience as a self-standing discipline in the academy, as distinct from a dependent program or one area of emphasis within a regional study of African peoples—that is, Diasporan or Atlantic Studies—and its marketability as an area of competence.

Naming and Defining: A Critical Link

Mazama, A. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

Although it came into existence 40 years ago, Black Studies is still referred to by many names today. This proliferation of labels attests that, indeed, the question of naming remains a sensitive one for Black Studies. However, and this is one of the main contentions of the present article, this unfinished naming process reflects a deeper and equally unsettled issue: that of self-definition. Most specifically, it is argued here that as long as Black Studies is primarily defined by subject matter, as it is the dominant practice, rather than by perspective, the naming of the discipline will remain a contentious and tricky affair.

Defining Ourselves: Name Calling in Black Studies

Reid-Merritt, P. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

What's in a name? For the discipline that has become familiar to so many of us as Black Studies , much can be made of this question. While the study of Black people from multiple approaches and perspectives reflective of African worldviews and orientations is at the very core of the discipline, properly naming the field with a single, unifying designation has remained an elusive goal. In the past 40 years, the multidisciplinary nature of the field has contributed to the ongoing development of new programs and academic units with specialized foci and creative titles to match. This article examines the historical emergence and expansion of the field of Black Studies and the challenges that remain in appropriately naming the discipline and correctly identifying those who portend to be its practitioners.

Book Review: Okafor, V. O. (2006). Towards an Understanding of Africology (2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt

Walton, D. M. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:24:34 PDT

Responsibility Without Community Resources: Informal Kinship Care Among Low-Income, African American Grandmother Caregivers

Simpson, G. M., Lawrence-Webb, C. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Given the importance of community resources in the lives of African American grandmother caregivers, it is imperative to examine and gain a deeper understanding of how grandmothers perceive the availability and accessibility of community resources to meet their caregiving needs. A study using qualitative research methods resulted in three themes: (a) status of traditional helping resources, (b) inappropriate and unresponsiveness of human service agencies, and (c) limited options and alternatives to grandmother caregivers. Each of these themes provides some evidence of what is needed to shape programs and services targeted toward urban grandmother caregivers.

"I Whitened My Face, That They Might Not Know Me": Race and Identity in Olaudah Equiano's Slave Narrative

Paul, R. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

The aim of this essay is to explore the process of racial adaptation to the image of the Other—of the "White Mask" that is adopted by the Black man—as it is revealed in one of the most famous early slave autobiographies: Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. Over the years, critics have reiterated the historic, documentary significance of Equiano's work. The author instead looks more critically at the contradictions in racial consciousness—alienation and identification—that Equiano's self-portrayal tries to resolve. He also argues that Equiano's condition of psychological dualism corresponds to what Frantz Fanon, in his seminal work Black Skin, White Masks, sees as a denial of the Black self and adoption of the false racial identity of the White Other.

"Sowing the Seeds of Discontent": Tougaloo College's Social Science Forums as a Prefigurative Movement Free Space, 1952-1964

Lowe, M. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Based on archival research and in-depth interviews conducted from 1999 through 2007, this article examines the role of Tougaloo College's Social Science Forums as a prefigurative collective free space in Mississippi's civil rights struggles. These Forums offered White and Black integrationists a unique opportunity to come together to hear lectures and discuss provocative ideas, some of which informed and inspired challenges to the state's system of White supremacy. By providing a location where integrationist networks and ideas were established and developed, the Forums helped to sow the seeds of discontent for challenges off campus and offered an interracial microcosm of the world that the Southern civil rights movement was trying to achieve. The article sheds light on specific ways an on-campus free space at a private Black Southern college fostered and mobilized oppositional ideas, interracial networks, and practices prior to and during the development of the Mississippi civil rights movement.

An Exploration of African Americans' Interests and Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Traditional and Nontraditional Careers

McCurtis Witherspoon, K., Speight, S. L. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Research on African Americans' career interests suggests that despite gains in education, African Americans have a tendency to major in and choose from a narrow range of occupations, namely, education and the social sciences. This study investigates several variables based on existing literature to identify the best predictors for interest in traditional occupations for 129 African American college students. Analyses show that gender and self-efficacy are the best predictors of interest in traditional occupations. African self-consciousness and perceptions of racist events are related to each other but not to interest in occupations. Results offer replication of prior research findings in self-efficacy theory that can be extended to an African American population.

Homeschooling and Racism

Levy, T. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

This article examines the diffusion of homeschooling legislation throughout the 50 states. Event history analysis is used to assess why certain states adopted homeschooling legislation and why some states adopted such legislation earlier than others. Results show that several state-level characteristics are associated with higher odds of enacting homeschooling legislation of which the most noted is state school segregation levels. The data suggest a correlation between racism and the geotemporal diffusion of homeschooling legislation.

Mixing It Up: Early African American Settlements in Northwestern Ohio

Rowe, J. E. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Prior to the 19th century, African American settlers founded a number of productive communities in northwestern Ohio. During this time period, there were a number of intermarriages and couplings between indigenous people, European explorers, ethnically diverse shipmates, and free and enslaved Africans in this section of the country. Descendents of these unions were dubbed Melungeon, mulatto, or colored, depending on the discretion of oft-illiterate census takers. Though much is written about the hostilities free people of color faced in the South, descriptive documentation of their experiences in northwestern Ohio is scarce. An examination of primary and secondary sources offers evidence of their agency as they struggled with structural barriers that led to disenfranchisement and descent into the racially identifiable category of African American. White resistance to these diverse settlements and settlers challenges America's collective memory of a racially tolerant North.

Construction and Initial Validation of the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS)

Obasi, E. M., Flores, L. Y., James-Myers, L. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

This study describes the development of the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS), an instrument designed to assess the way in which people perceive, think, feel, and experience the world. Four studies were conducted to describe the scale development of the WAS and to assess its psychometric properties. Eight hundred sixteen African, African American, European, European American, and multiethnic participants served as the validation sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for seven subscales: materialistic universe, spiritual immortality, communalism, indigenous values, tangible realism, knowledge of self, and spiritualism. MANOVA analyses found evidence for cultural differences in worldview at the ethnic level of analysis. Results indicated favorable reliability, validity, and factor structure indices for the WAS. Applications of the WAS in culturally competent research, training, and psychotherapy are discussed.

African Americans and Welfare Time Limits: Comparative Analysis of State Time Limit Policies Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act of 1996

Brock, N. R. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

This study examines state lifetime limit policies for the receipt of cash assistance under the 1996 welfare reform law. It performs cross-tabulation and correlational analysis to determine whether a relationship exists between the racial composition of African Americans in a state and lifetime limit policies under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act. Findings indicate a relationship and show that a majority of the states with a large population of African Americans have adopted some of the harshest lifetime limit policies for receipt of cash assistance.

Ghana's Construction Industry and Global Competition: A Research Note

Assibey-Mensah, G. O. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Doing business in Ghana could not have come at a better time. In the name of globalization, the government of President Kufuor has liberalized trade so that foreign construction companies easily compete with Ghana's own construction firms for big-ticket contracts. A major consequence of the bidding policy, however, is that globalization has negatively affected the nation's indigenous construction contractors in competing with large, international, private corporations for public contracts in Ghana. The situation has rendered indigenous entrepreneurs not only virtually helpless but also continually lacking vital resources. This article examines the current predicament of Ghana's indigenous construction businesses in terms of their inability to effectively compete with foreign construction firms. The author proposes meaningful ways in which the government should formulate a much-needed framework for developing, nurturing, and sustaining their operational infrastructure with the view to preparing them to compete effectively with foreign businesses, particularly for lucrative public-construction contracts in Ghana.

Book Review: Rojas, Fabio. (2007). From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press

Small, M. L. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:12:28 PDT

Decalage: A Thematic Interpretation of Cultural Differences in the African Diaspora

Storr, J. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

Human behaviors are often categorized in studies on intercultural communication based on observations of values, beliefs, norms, worldviews, language, nation, race, ethnicity, gender, and how these variables influence relationships among different cultures. Communication practices of interethnic Africans living in the United States provide rich data to examine the intercultural relationships among these diverse ethnic groups. This study investigates the meanings interethnic Africans attribute to their differences. The research question guiding this inquiry was do individuals use themes to make sense of differences with other Africans, and if so, what are those themes? This research seeks to illuminate through dialogue Africans' own interpretations of differences they recognized in their relationships.

A Study in African American Candidates for High-Profile Statewide Office

Frederick, K. A., Jeffries, J. L. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

Using qualitative and quantitative methods this article examines the campaigns of two African American candidates in an effort to ascertain what African American office seekers need to do to win high-profile statewide offices; that is, the offices of governor and U.S. Senate. In the process we determine to what degree race played a role in both candidate's defeat.

Black Solidarity and Racial Context: An Exploration of the Role of Black Solidarity in U.S. Cities

Hoston, W. T. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

This article explores the concept of solidarity among Blacks in a majority Black and White context. Although past studies have shown the influence of Black solidarity, recent studies have concluded that the effects of Black solidarity are diminishing. Despite their findings, these studies have failed to identify why the role of solidarity has reduced. This study explores the contextual effects of Black solidarity. Specifically, this study asks the question: Does racial context influence Black solidarity; that is, is there more Black solidarity in a majority White context than in a majority Black context? Ordinary least squares regression results identify several important findings: (a) Blacks who lived in a majority White context displayed greater levels of Black solidarity and (b) linked fate is positively associated with Black solidarity. Further results and implications are discussed.

Black Messages, White Messages: The Differential Use of Racial Appeals by Black and White Candidates

McIlwain, C. D., Caliendo, S. M. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

This article seeks to ascertain how implicit and explicit racial messages are constructed in televised political campaign advertisements. Utilizing a content analysis of 328 spots run in election contests between 1990 and 2000 where at least one candidate was African American, the authors provide results and analyses that demonstrate that both White and Black candidates are prone to utilizing racial messages. However, the authors show that a stark distinction exists between racial messages constructed by Whites and those by Black candidates.

Shedj-her-kek em Maa-aku-neferu: "Illuminating Shadows of the African Creative Ideal" of W.E.B. DuBois

Wilson, K. A. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

This article examines the findings of a shedj-her-kek analysis of select text in the corpus of DuBois's writings on creative matters. It defines shedj-her-kek — a heuristic concept derived and developed from kemetic lexicon and Dogon episteme—"as a multileveled reading and afrocentric analysis that illuminates and clarifies latent ideas and assumptions within both verbal text and nonverbal forms." Using new Africological (Africana) terminology, this article situates DuBois as one of several major African creative—intellectuals (to borrow a term from Harold Cruse) to write on "the truly beautiful and morally effective" in the Africana intellectual tradition. It concludes that DuBois has made significant statements on creative matters that fall under several themes comprising his particular creative ideal and developing portrait of the creative—intellectual thought. Moreover, it finds that DuBois's creative ideal has practical implications and value as a point of theoretical departure and analysis of contemporary Africana creative production.

Representations of the Black Body in Mexican Visual Art: Evidence of an African Historical Presence or a Cultural Myth?

Phillips, W. E. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

Although Africans have been present in Mexico since the time of the Afro-Atlantic slave trade, the larger Mexican culture seems to have forgotten this aspect of its history. Although the descendents of these original Africans continue to live in the communities of coastal Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Veracruz states, many Mexicans seem to be unaware of their existence. This article reviews works of visual art made from the 1700s through the present that represent images of Mexicans of African descent and provide evidence of a historical Afromestizo presence in Mexico. The works are also considered as possible sources of evidence about prevailing attitudes about Mexicans of African descent and anxieties about race mixing. This article provides a brief overview of Mexico's historical relationship with Africa as a participant in the Afro-Atlantic slave trade and considers the work of muralists, painters, and photographers who have created works of art in various regions of the country.

A "Man's Woman"?: Contradictory Messages in the Songs of Female Rappers, 1992-2000

Oware, M. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

Employing content analysis of 44 songs taken from the Billboard charts between 1992 and 2000, the authors find that all female rap artists in the sample included the cornerstones of rap in their songs: braggadocio, consumption of alcohol and drugs, and "dissin" of female and male rap competitors. More important, the majority of the artists had themes of female agency and empowerment present in their music. However, the artists also had songs that were antithetical to Patricia Hill Collins' Black feminism. Indeed, a majority of the songs examined had women who self-objectified, self-exploited, and used derogatory lyrics when referring to other women. The author finds that these contradictory messages, sometimes by the same artists, nullify the empowering messages that are conveyed and only reproduce and uphold male hegemonic notions of femininity.

The Crude Intentions: The Pursuit of African Fuel Minerals and the Need for an Afrocentric Foreign Policy

McDougal, S. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

America's technological, military, and economic security is growing increasingly vulnerable because of a lack of energy security. As a result, America's need to locate, exploit, and control fuel resources has intensified its engagement of the African continent. The nature of America's relationship with the African continent is being progressively guided by U.S. energy policy. Moreover, this relationship must be analyzed in light of the continuing legacy of European colonialism on the African continent. There is a need to ensure that the majority of African people benefit from activity in Africa's energy sector on a just and sustained basis. Fulfilling this need will require the adoption of a foreign policy that is reflective of Africa's unifying cultural beliefs and values, holds foreign countries and companies who would do business with Africa to a set of standards that disallows Africa's exploitation, and is aligned with African development on African terms.

Book Review: Lacy, K. R. (2007). Blue-Chip Black: Race, Class, and Status in the New Black Middle Class. Berkeley: University of California Press

Turner, R. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT

Book Review: Howard, W. T. (Ed.). (2008). Black Communists Speak on Scottsboro: A Documentary History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press

Conteh, A. — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:18 PDT