2024 NCBS Annual Report

The Discipline and the African World 2024 Report:

An Annual Report on the State of Affairs for Africana Communities

Report Preparation Team

Editor

Dr. Serie McDougal III, California State University, Los Angeles

Associate Editor

Dr. Michael Tillotson, State University of New York, Cortland

Editorial Board

Dr. Valerie Grim, Indiana University

Dr. Maulana Karenga, California State University, Long Beach

Dr. James Stewart, Professor Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University

Production and Communications

Ms. Venus Kent

General Disclaimer: The analyses, opinions, and recommendations in this report do not represent the official positions of the National Council of Black Studies.

Statement from the National Council for Black Studies President

By Valerie Grim, Ph.D. Academic Excellence | Social Responsibility | Cultural Grounding

For African diaspora peoples who have spent centuries creating strategies and practices to make progress and improvements for people in their communities, NCBS hopes that this 2024 Annual Report encourages imagination and creativity in teaching, research, and community engagement. As I wrote in the spring 2023 annual report, as the world moves forward, there is a great sense in many people, especially African Americans, that human beings and human life are not worth much, not valued in such a way that people living in various marginalized spaces are important to the well being and progress of society. From the perspective of some people, much is still to be desired in the way of fairness, equal access and opportunity, peace and justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and unconditional love for every human being. Because of the experiences and realities associated with the above thoughts, the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) continues to position itself to offer different points of view and paths toward

different but not deficient intellectual and self-empowering spaces. NCBS stands for justice for all and engages continuously in struggles, not only for its own right to intellectual justice and freedom, expression, and articulation, but for those who speak out for the social inclusion of all human beings.

Historical records show that since 1975, NCBS has been a vanguard for ideas and practices that encourage rights and opportunities for Blacks in the United States, continental Africa, and throughout the world. This organization, whose motto is academic excellence and social responsibility, has been action oriented and has supported its members in their research, creative activities, pedagogy, and practices. Therefore, in our annual reports we address questions from disciplinary, scholarly, pedagogical, and community-practitioner perspectives. Ways of being and knowing that have evolved over the years from practices that have sustained Africana/Black Studies are illuminated in this 2024 annual report. Among our many objectives is that its contents will help African-descended peoples better understand how to work together to build and broaden self-agency as communities labor to establish their own interconnected internal security.

This year’s report is rich and inspiring. It includes valuable information on science, historiography, and identity; educational power and pedagogy; community support and identitybased kinships; race and political agency; and the state of Africana studies. Readers will learn about the histories of African folkways, including encounters with languages and cultures, and genetic ancestry and the ways genetics can help us understand who we are and how to build stronger African-descended communities across geography, space, and time. In this issue, scholars raise critical questions ABOUT civic education, educational policies such as affirmative action, and the roles of historically Black colleges and universities and how they are still an

educational and social mainstay for many African American and international students and faculty members to teach and learn.

The big-tent approach of this report means that it also includes voices from people who often have felt marginalized within African American and African diaspora communities. For this and other reasons, NCBS is dedicated to including more dialogues on Africana women, African diaspora queer communities, communities struggling against skin color discrimination, and the destructive encounters some African Americans and African-descended people continue to experience because we possess “black hair,” locks and curls like no others in the world. Our hair is indeed our crown.

This report includes perspectives that offer new approaches to reframing questions, philosophies, theories, and discourses regarding the culture and work of women of African descent. For example, Africana womanism is a theoretical concept that encourages empowerment of Black women through a different understanding as to what “melanated” means in analyzing ways to rearticulate African-descended women’s experiences and encounters. Likewise, this report engages with ideas about queer identity and how it has been lived on the ground, both in queer cultures and the larger Black community. Much is to be learned from the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, and about how we can envision interconnected forward movement by internalizing the broad conceptual idea of home. What does it mean for Africana-descended peoples to be at home, especially with the various and diverse ways we live “Blackness”? Similarly, by understanding how difference, not deficiency, has informed Black life in and outside of the Black community, the big-tent approach of this report provides an opportunity for readers to learn about the legacies of oppression and the continuous derivations of racism through an analysis of how different skin colors and Black hair are repeatedly seen as

negative. Recognizing that the Black body is often perceived as a necessary site of interrogation is critical for African Americans, especially since many are voicing concerns about how their own lives are devalued throughout daily existence.

NCBS’s 2024 annual report is designed to encourage thinking and action, with Black people placed at the center of the discussion. Many conversations are geared toward understanding residual colonization and how it has lingered in Black communities and spaces worldwide. Africana studies is dedicated to the ongoing deconstruction of ideas, concepts, and actions that maintain the status quo of hegemonic thinking, White privilege, and erroneous notions of post-racialism, post-modernism, colorblindness, and essentialism. As two of the articles on policing and protest reveal, Africana studies must remain diligent about establishing appropriate frameworks and practices for policing our own spaces and encouraging African Americans and African-descended people around the world to stand together for universal justice, human rights, and humanity.

This report is a call for Africana scholars, researchers, teachers, practitioners, and students to reimagine community engagement. This is a time when we must redefine sisterhood, brotherhood, motherhood, fatherhood, boyhood, girlhood, and childhood. We can use concepts offered in this report to strengthen families and peoples in our communities. This report calls us to action to re-imagine cultural and grounded practices in which African-descended peoples create, practice, and own, simultaneously, everything in which we are engaged. The outcome of such foundational thinking and practice can lead us to live from victory, not for victory, and be we are lifted out of every impoverished box and launched into every form of health, prosperity, and well being in our spiritual, mental, emotional, financial, and communal lives.

As indicated in previous reports, our hope is to offer insights and ways to think about

how to train and strengthen future generations of Africana/Black studies communities. We are pleased in this iteration to provide dialogues on the state of the discipline, achieving social responsibility through community engagement, and how new frameworks can change the lives of African American and African diasporic families. In our effort to train and build, our annual reports will continue to engage the thoughts of youths, scholars, activists, creative artists, and community practitioners. We are all in the struggle for complete and total liberation together. The space provided by this report is an opportunity for us all to work together.

With each NCBS annual reports, we hope to leave readers with a quiet question that resonates large in their thoughts and realities: Where are we now, and where do we go from here? The content of these reports is aimed at addressing this question by offering ideas and suggestions informed by facts and realities from disciplinary, scholarly, pedagogical, and community-practitioner perspectives. Whatever diverse answers we and our readers, collectively and individually, devise to the question above, the reality is that we must TRAVEL FORWARD AND MOVE TOGETHER TO SAVE AND BETTER OUR COMMUNITIES.

Dr. Valerie Grim, President

National Council for Black Studies

Preface

As 2024 settles in and many parts of America return to its original spirit, we see that 2023 was a clarion call for a renewed and energized pronouncement of the egalitarian ideal for people of African ancestry in America. No matter where one lives, the coal mining towns of West Virginia, the Mississippi delta, the swamp lands of Louisiana, Appalachia, the skyscrapers of Chicago, or the urban core of Baltimore and Philadelphia, the situation is clear. The anti-egalitarians are on the march and moving with intention, robustness, and vigor that is congealing in a myriad of ways that will affect quality of life and social indicators of Africana people in the United States. Everyday regular folks are in jeopardy in terms of jobs, income, housing, healthcare, life expectancy, prenatal care, and the enduring disparities in education and overall welfare, in ways not so vivid since the beginning of the 1980s.

The end of affirmative action and the attack on women’s autonomy over their bodies are problematic in ways not appreciated by everyone. The enduring use of deadly and excessive force by bad actors in law enforcement calls for attention on a regular basis. The misuse of predictive and policing AI tools, the abandonment of stated commitments by corporate interests to human justice after the murder of George Floyd, and the shuttering of DEI offices on college campuses and the corporate sector are front and center. The onslaught of book banning, which disproportionately affects authors of African descent, and the watering down, re-direction, and restriction of the teaching of Black history are major, almost unimaginable, blows to future generations of Americans, who may never know the authentic historical realities of the Black experience. The gerrymandering and racialized re-districting of voting communities, along with the renewed performative rhetorical efforts to distract low-income, rural Americans from the realities they share with the urban poor, are central to the balkanization, tribalism, and

polarization that are increasingly pervasive as America returns to in many quarters the worst version of itself.

During his lifetime, Dr. John Henrik Clarke would admonish people of African ancestry with the words, “You have no friends.” His prognostication is clearly evident in the current moment. The perfunctory honeymoon is over, and the anti-egalitarian theaters of public performance are now full of appreciative patrons who call themselves patriots. On display from Maine to Mississippi and for Kentucky to Texas are anti-democratic machinations of the entitled class, and their intentions are no longer hidden or dressed up as idle chit-chat in the dark recesses on both sides of the Mason–Dixon line. Due in large measure to the strident, self-serving ideological nature of a certain segment of the political class, American democratic institutions are being compromised, destabilized, and eroded in ways that must be seen as a slow walk backward to a time when the lives of Black Americans held no currency. It’s important to remember that it was American institutions that fostered African enslavement in 1619 and the Dred Scott decision in 1857. Those same institutions allowed Jim Crow, and its legislative cousin Plessy v Ferguson in 1896. These are the realities that disallowed Black Americans from full participation in democracy. This was primarily due to the lack of meaningful enforcement of the Reconstruction amendments. Consequently, America was an apartheid nation for almost a hundred years following the end of the Civil War in 1865.

At this point in time, however, it is also of the highest importance to acknowledge that the maintenance of these flawed institutions offers Black America a tool, though far from perfect, to fight the anti-egalitarian spirit of an increasingly tone-deaf America. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood the need to pressure American institutions to live up to their promise. If institutional erosion continues through 2024, regular Black folks will once again be forced to the margins.

The push toward destabilization of American institutions is not something that can be hoped, wished, or prayed away. Institutional stability will require a herculean effort of like-minded Americans to maintain in this moment. Without egalitarian institutions, the realities many Americans take for granted would not be possible. The brilliant Charles Hamilton Huston and his student Thurgood Marshall would have had no audience if not for the Supreme Court in 1954. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would not have existed without the partnership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his legions of sacrificers (some whose names we will never know) and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The agentive voices of the 1960s would not changed the legislative course of the country if not for imperfect American institutions.

If there was ever a time for Black Americans to fight for democracy and the stabilization and maintenance of its institutions, it is now. The Black world must re-awaken the power of possibility through civic participation. The state of Louisiana is a current example of the results of dormancy of the Black vote, which has allowed state leadership that has signaled it will turn a blind eye to the unique needs of its Black citizens. The Black world can ill afford civic hibernation for any reason. Though the institutions of America and those who lead them are far from perfect, they are what is available in 2024. The Black world must hold egalitarian-minded elected officials responsible for their lack of attention to Black communities. Long gone must be the days of allowing politicians who look like Black Americans to abandon this population after the softness of racialized pride subsides. Black Americans must pursue leadership that places duty before self and abandon Black faces in high places as the mantra of Black advancement, because it is simply not working. The elected Black political class must demonstrate that it will fight in creative and strategic ways to ensure that Black Americans have viable, responsive civic institutions at their disposal for generations to come.

It is high time once again that Black Americans and their allies (who come to us as friends, not saviors) evangelize the frightening power of the collective. The current political moment must remind Black America that collective efficacy is something it can control, and which in concert with civic participation can advance Black interests in these turbulent times. In the tradition of the African sage, Dr. Maulana Karenga maintains that the spirit of Kwanzaa is not to be practiced only during its seven days of celebration. Karenga maintains, These principles and practices were introduced to offer a culturally and morally grounded guidance for the way we live our lives, do our work and wage our struggle. They serve as fundamental sources for grounding ourselves, orienting ourselves and directing our lives toward good and expansive ends. They offer liberating alternatives to vulgar individualism, mindless consumerism, degrading imitation of others, disconcern for others and alienation from the earth. (Karenga, 2021, p. C1)

The seven principles are just as meaningful in March as they are in August. Interesting realities are afloat in this moment. Everyday observations reveal people of African ancestry who admire the communal orientations of other groups, but when asked about employing precolonial African traditions only reply, “I don’t want no part of that African mess.” That mindset exists in a barber shop on 63rd and Cottage Grove in Chicago as well as in a beauty salon in Atlanta. The patron might have just finished passionately extolling the virtues of other groups whose philosophies of human practice mirror the communal traditions of African antiquity. It’s puzzling, the alienation that exists between many Black Americans and the traditions of their antiquity, but this complexity is real life. It’s the result of a decades-long onslaught of deculturation of the psychological infrastructure of Black Americans.

It is time to question and challenge the schizophrenic relationship some Africana people

have with the teachings and traditions of precolonial Africa. In Souls of Black Folks, written in 1903, W. E .B. Du Bois opined, “They look at us with amused contempt and pity.” It could be argued that now, they look at Black America with only amused contempt alone, and there is no more pity in the American spirit for Black America. We live in a world full of uninterested millionaires of African descent, some of whom who cannot even conjugate a verb, some of whom have trained an entire generation of Black young people to see materialistic depression, therapeutic consumerism, and instant gratification as virtuous, and going to the penitentiary as a rite of passage. Having been distracted by an alien worldview, many young people would understand the words on this page as the musings of OG dreamers of a bygone era, yet this is contemporary reality, and the pioneers of African-centered psychology warned us of this many years ago. Amos Wilson, Wade Nobles, the late Kobi Kambon, Naim Akbar, Jerome Taylor, Daudi Azibo, Marcia Sutherland, Joseph White, Jules Harrell, and many other African-centered psychologists examined this possibility, which is now being reinforced by reality shows and all non-conscious forms of art. So much for the transformative possibilities of hip-hop and the promises made by its purveyors many decades ago.

However, consensus building in the Black experience has never been easy, even when the entitled wore white silks and prayed to a bright burning cross. Agency, the ability to actualize oneself in the world, must again be seen as worthy of collective pursuit. It’s not the 1960s again, that’s understood, but if one examines the spirit of the anti-egalitarian political class, the backward thrust of anti-equity ideologies, and the brazen dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, if one examines the autocratic attempts to erode and destabilize American institutions, it’s hard not to see a desperate need for rebuilding of the collective spirit in Black America. We must reanalyze the 1972 Black political convention in Gary, Indiana, not as just a historical artifact,

but as a reminder of how Black America can make meaning in the world. Let’s not compartmentalize the Gary convention as nostalgia, but employ its spirit for the purposes of today. As the living giant Dr. Molefi Asante has said a million times, the Black world must advance, advance, advance

Asante’s call to action is vital as the anti-egalitarian political class broadcasts to Africana people that we are on our own, as they create a social and political climate in which race is no longer considered an appropriate subject of policy analysis. In response, the Black community must cherish and hold close the idea of linked fate: that what happens to the group also affects the individual. The words here will fall on deaf ears in a large segment of the Black world they always have, which is why Harriet Tubman carried a shotgun for those who wanted to turn back and around. But linked fate must be evangelized by the Black church, it must be reenergized by the public intellectuals, it must rearticulated by Black media and repurposed not just by the socalled Black political class, but by everyday regular folk.

Africana people, particularly those who call themselves intellectuals, must be ever conscious of the ideologies that took African people from the pyramids to the plantation to the projects and to prison. Black America must remember the lessons of the failed promises of colorblindness, race-neutral discourse, post-modernism, and the twisting and contorting of Dr. King’s I Have Dream speech. Those who promote themselves as public intellectuals must return to purpose and make sure that the work that they offer is of service and value to Black America as Carter G. Woodson understood it. There must be a more pronounced corpus of research coming out of applied Africana studies. Africana Studies must re-insinuate its good works into the imaginations of Africana people all around the world. Emerging Africana scholars must never forget those who came before you, help and support those who come with you, and when your

day comes, reach back and help those who come after you. Africana scholars, in research, please remember the honor of the classroom and what Dr. Alphonso Simpson of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh likes to say: “Teaching is my superpower, what’s yours?” This is how the discipline remains strong, vibrant, and robust.

On the economic front, Black wealth is everywhere, but it will not save Black America because a large percentage of the wealth holders subscribe to the alien worldview of individualism. They hold their money in self-absorption like bloated hogs, and their appreciation of the collective Black spirit is quiet and fearful, like an emaciated rescue dog in a corner of a steel cage. It’s time to accept that the Black wealthy class in all categories will not save Black America. At the basic, organic level of everyday life, Black Americans must remind each other to say hello to a brother, open the door for a sister, tip your hat to an elder, sit a child on your knee, check on your neighbor when it’s arctic cold or burning hot, as climate change puts us all at risk, especially those whose resources are limited. Black America must once again reawaken the sleeping giant, call to question the uninterested, and bring to light the miracle, and its name is Ujima.

References

Karenga, M. (2021, December 9). Conceiving and creating Kwanzaa in struggle: Remembering and reaffirming its liberating origins. Los Angeles Sentinel, p. C1.

SCIENCE, HISTORIOGRAPHY, AND IDENTITY

Folklore & the Origins of the Swahili:

Discourse and Developments in the Study of Swahili Ancestry

by

Tarik A. Richardson, Ph.D.

Department of African American and Diaspora Studies

Xavier University of Louisiana

In March of 2023, Chapurukha M. Kusimba led a team of more than forty researchers, including geneticists, evolutionary biologists, archeologists, and anthropologists from North American, European, and East African universities, to publish the results of a survey on late-medieval and early-modern DNA from Swahili burial sites in East Africa. Their study, “Entwined African and Asian Genetic Roots of Medieval Peoples of the Swahili Coast,” published in the weekly international journal Nature, was the largest of its kind and analyzed the centuries-old remains of eighty Swahili people (Brielle et. al., 2023). For the scholars, many of whom dedicated years to this endeavor, the publication of their research was a momentous accomplishment. Their research was widely celebrated and distributed, being featured in several major media outlets including the New York Times.

Their findings, which include a significant presence of Asiatic DNA originating from

Persian men, weren’t too surprising to students of East African history and complement many current theories on the social realities of the Swahili economic elite during this relatively early period of coastal society. What was surprising was how journalists chose to frame the significance of this research.

I initially intended to analyzing the data published by the research team from an Africological perspective. After poring over their work and commentary, I found their analysis largely well grounded and sound. What deserves closer attention, though, is the sensationalist headlines used by many media outlets reporting this research, who introduced a perspective that would alienate the peoples of the eastern African coast from the larger understanding of Africanity. Specifically, the New York Times said

Over the past 40 years, archaeologists, linguists, and historians have come to see Swahili society as predominantly homegrown with outside elements adopted over time that had only a marginal impact. That African-centric version of Swahili roots never sat well with the Swahili people themselves, though. (Dolgin, 2023)

To be clear, the researchers did not dispute the current consensus on the origin of the Swahili people and culture. Journalists’ eagerness to discredit this so-called “African-centric” version of Swahili roots exposes a contempt for Afrocentric scholarship, which seeks to explore and highlight indigenous ingenuity on the African continent, and an adherence to colonial-era perspectives on the possibilities of African agency. What’s worse, these media outlets hidden their Afrophobic and reductionist sentiments behind a veil of support for the often-maligned oral traditions of African people.

The oral traditions of the Swahili people, like those of all peoples, reflect their worldview

and their cultural location. No single story represents the entirety of these Bantu-speaking people of the coast. The research team’s paper illuminated the complexity of race relations in medieval East Africa, discourses on African identity, and the pervasive implicit bias against African ingenuity and agency.

Swahili Historical Background

The Swahili are a Bantu people who have come to inhabit much of the eastern coastline of the African continent from southern Somalia southward to Mozambique. They are a people with a rich history and culture, often celebrated for developing maritime city-states, and who played an important role in international trade across the Indian Ocean throughout the medieval period and into the early modern period. The Swahili are also a diverse people even categorizing Swahili speakers as “a people” could be considered inaccurate. Though they are supposedly unified in language and culture, the Swahili language varies between regions along the coast. The Swahili are not a singular people. Swahili peoples are also not unified through common ancestry, with many groups considered Swahili having their own histories of how they came to occupy their coastal regions. On the island of Zanzibar, one of the supposed places of origin of the Swahili language, there are at least three separate sub-ethnicities: the Wahadimu, the Watumbatu, and the Shirazi. These identities are often politized and influence the perspectives these groups have on their cultural history.

The Swahili language is a lingua franca that developed out of an older Bantu language through the incorporation of terms and concepts from Arabic, and to a lesser extent Persian, and later German and English. The history of the Swahili as a maritime people, and their eventual conversation to the Islamic religion, is what led to their close interactions with Asiatic peoples from the Middle East. Jeremy Prestholdt, a historian from the University of California San

Diego, introduced a concept of similitude into the discussion of Swahili history and culture.

Similitude, here, is cultural performance, or conscientious acculturation. Prestholdt, in Domesticating the World: African Consumerism and the Genealogies of Globalizations, describes this activity as a means to “achieve commercial ends, attracting customers by evidencing cultural similarity” (2008, p. 28). This relationship between Middle Eastern cultures and the mercantile elites of the Swahili coast came to dictate Swahili politics and perceptions of culture in East Africa. Evidence of foreign interaction in East Africa has been documented as far back as the pre-Islamic era, in the first century of the common era. The debate has always been centered around the question of just how influential these visitors to the African continent were in the development of Swahili culture and society.

Highlighting Kusimba

Chapurukha M. Kusimba, an anthropology professor at the University of South Florida who has worked in the Department of Archeology of the National Museum of Kenya and the Institute of African Studies at the University of Nairobi was one of the leading supervisors of this project, together with Harvard geneticist David Reich. According to Rice University’s News and Media Relations, Kusimba was the scholar who initiated this research into medieval Swahili DNA (McCaig, 2023). Before this publication, Kusimba had published widely on archeology and anthropology in East Africa. His book The Rise and Fall of Swahili States, published in 1999, offers a detailed overview Swahili history that engages with oral traditions as well as the archeological record. Regarding his most recent achievement, Kusimba said, This research has been my life’s work this journey to recover the past of the Swahili and restore them to rightful citizenship. These findings bring out the African contributions, and indeed, the Africanness of the Swahili, without

marginalizing the Persian and Indian connection. (Delamarter, 2023)

Kusimba’s contribution to our evolving understanding of Swahili history deserves to be celebrated. Furthermore, Kusimba’s seasoned insights into the complexities of East African societies clarifies many misconceptions that have been regurgitated by the media.

Recent Study on Swahili DNA

As noted above, this research initiative examined eighty skeletal remains from medieval and early-modern Swahili peoples. These remains were collected respectfully, with permission and collaboration from local leaders, from the burial sites of six coastal towns in Tanzania and Kenya dating to 1250–1800 CE, and from one site further from the coast in Kenya that dates to sometime after 1650. The research team estimated that the introduction of Persian DNA into the Swahili population probably began in the 11th century.

This finding aligns closely with the historical consensus on when interaction between Persian merchants and Swahili traders began. It also aligns closely with the oral traditions of the Swahili people of Kilwa and of the Shirazi of the Zanzibar archipelago and Comoros. What was surprising, as noted by Rice University archaeologist Jeffrey Fleisher, who assisted in the excavation of the Tanzanian sites, was that the Persian genetic signature traced through the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, was so “strong” (Dolgin, 2023). However, when mitochondrial gene sequences, which are passed from mothers to their children, were analyzed, the results were overwhelmingly African. This result, which is based on remains from all over the Swahili coast over several centuries, seems to indicate that it was in fact not a singular romantic event tying the Swahili elite of the East African coast to the noble families of Persia, but instead a sustained effort at miscegenation to promote blood ties to the Middle East.

Kusimba noted that more remains must be studied for an accurate understanding of

Swahili society. He commented, “Nearly all the bones and teeth came from ornamental tombs that were located near grand mosques, sites where only the upper class would have been laid to rest” (Dolgin, 2023). These remains, and thus the findings of the study, are not representative of the general population of the Swahili corridor, but provide only a glimpse into the genetic makeup of the Islamic economic elites who came to control the political landscape of the coast.

What Story Are They Alluding To? Swahili Oral History

Several major media outlets ran stories on the publication of the genetic study. Many gravitated toward sensationalist headlines, such as these:

• DNA Shows “Persian Princes” Helped Found Medieval African Trading Culture (Curry, 2023)

• Largest Ever Analysis of Ancient African DNA Reveals Origin Myth Was True All Along (Spalding, 2023)

• DNA Confirms Oral History of Swahili People (Dolgin, 2023)

These headlines play into romanticized Asia-centric notions that, intentionally or unintentionally, alienate the indigenous people and culture of the coast from the development of coastal society.

It is worth noting that Kusimba commented that the team’s findings don’t support the notion that Swahili civilization was developed by foreign intervention, as by the tenth century, when the earliest Persian DNA was introduced to the coastal communities, those communities had already existed for some time (Delamarter, 2023).

The folkloric tradition that seems to have enamored the media can be found in the Kitāb al-Sulwa, also known as the Kilwa Chronicle. The Kilwa Chronicle represents the folk history of a particular Swahili city-state. There exists several chronicles of this type, which often outline the origin of their respective cities and ruling dynasties. Swahili history for the past several

centuries has been preserved in both the oral tradition and the written ajami tradition. In the Swahili ajami tradition, oral traditions are often recorded and preserved in Arabic script by Islamic scholars. Several important sources of Swahili history exist in this literature, including the semi-legendary Kitāb al-Zunūj and the Kitāb al-Sulwa

According to the Kilwa Chronicle, the city of Kilwa was established in the late tenth century as a major commercial port and eventual center of the Kilwa sultanate by a Persian prince known as Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi. Al-Hassan was one of seven sons of a Persian ruler of Shiraz. His mother is said to have been an enslaved Ethiopian woman from Abyssinia. Upon his father’s death, he and his sons and followers were banished from Persia. They were turned away from the Somali–Swahili city of Mogadishu before eventually arriving at the island that would become Kilwa, off the coast of Tanzania. Here, Al-Hassan struck an agreement with the indigenous Bantu king Almuli. As part of it, Almuli’s daughters were married to al-Hassan’s sons in exchange for a large quantity of fine fabric. Almuli feared al-Hassan’s influence and ambition and attempted to reclaim Kilwa, but al-Hassan and his sons destroyed the land bridge connecting Kilwa to the mainland, turning their territory into an island.

Swahili Ancestry Explored through Folklore

There are many versions of this story, several of which are preserved in the traditions of the Shirazi of Zanzibar, who see themselves as the progeny of al-Hassan and his people. In one, the Bantu king is named Mrimba. In this tradition, Sultan Ali al-Hassan has a son with Mrimba’s daughter. This son, Sultan Mohamed, is a central figure in this version of the story and is responsible for wresting power away from traditional African sources. As summarized by Thomas Spears and Derek Nurse (1985), Sultan Ali had a child by Mrimba’s daughter, a son, who was called Sultan

Mohamed bin Sultan Ali. He lived at home [at Kisiwani] until he reached manhood, and then set off and went to the Ruvumba 1 to see his grandfather, the elder Mrimba. When he arrived, his grandfather handed over his power to him, his grandson. So Sultan Mahomed ruled. (p. 71)

In this way, the Persian dynasty became the dominating power not by conquest of armies but by manipulation of the African family unit. After gaining access to Mrimba’s power and resources, Sultan Mohamed used them to extend his influence into the mainland. After Sultan Ali al-Hassan died, Sultan Mohamed consolidated the power he inherited from his African and Persian parents for the benefit of non-African political powers. The grandson of Mrimba, despite his African heritage, did not present himself as an African king mfalme, but instead as a sultan like the foreign powers of Arabia and Persia.

Reflection on the Kilwa Chronicle and the results of this recent study presents a new set of questions removed from the abstractions of romanticized histories. Kusimba further comments,

Despite their intermarrying, the descendants spoke an African language, not an Asian one. This led researchers to conclude that African women had great influence on the formation of the culture. So much so, the villages were established prior to the colonialism from Asia, making women the primary holders of economic and social power. (Delamarter, 2023).

This power, like mitochondrial DNA, was passed to their offspring. Therefore, rather than debating who were the progenitors of power on the eastern coast, we should be concerned with

1 Ruvumba is the area inhabited by the Vumba people, speakers of the Kivumba dialect of Kiswahili. This is the same area associated with the land and coast of Mrima. This gives credence to the idea that the term mrima is associated with the historical king of the area Mrimba.

the question of how power was transmitted and accessed. But we are then confronted by an impasse of cultural paradigms. The African matrilineal inheritance, in both the folkloric tradition and the historical record, gave these Africans of mixed heritage an indigenous claim to the land and culture, while the Arab and the Shirazi claims simultaneously provided access to their Asiatic patrilineal identity for political purposes, reinforcing their ontological proximity to the Middle East, the political-cultural-economic center of the Islamic world. These stories tell us as much about a people’s history as about what a people think of themselves.

This recent study reinvigorated the discussion of power, identity, and inheritance on the African continent. Kusimba and his colleagues have done tremendous work that deserves to be analyzed properly. What Kusimba has planned for his future endeavors, the analysis of noncoastal-elite burial sites, is a promising step to uncovering more of this subject.

References

Brielle, E. S., Fleisher, J., Wynne-Jones, S. et al. (2023). Entwined African and Asian genetic roots of medieval peoples of the Swahili coast. Nature, 615, 866–73.

Curry, A. (n.d.). DNA shows “Persian Princes” helped found medieval African trading culture Science.

https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-shows-persian-princes-helpedfound-medieval-african-trading-culture

Delamarter, C., & Innovation, R. (2023, March 29). USF researcher’s life work uncovers the first ancient DNA from the Swahili civilization. University of South Florida.

https://www.usf.edu/news/2023/usf-researchers-life-work-uncovers-the-first-ancient-dnafrom-the-swahili-civilization.aspx

Dolgin, E. (2023, March 29). DNA confirms oral history of Swahili people. New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/science/ancient-swahili-dna.html

IFLScience. (2023, March 31). Largest ever analysis of ancient African DNA reveals origin myth was true all along.

https://www.iflscience.com/largest-ever-analysis-of-ancient-africandna-reveals-origin-myth-was-true-all-along-68246

IFLScience. (2023, March 30). Persian princes fleeing to Africa may have helped found ancient trading empire

https://www.iflscience.com/persian-princes-fleeing-to-africa-may-havehelped-found-ancient-trading-empire-68237

Rice News. (2023). Ancient DNA reveals entwined African and Asian ancestry along the Swahili Coast of eastern Africa. News and Media Relations, Rice University.

https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/ancient-dna-reveals-entwined-african-and-asianancestry-along-swahili-coast-eastern.

Spears, T., & Nurse, D. (1985). The Swahili: Reconstructing the history and language of an

African society, 800–1500. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Further Reading

Allen, J. (1993). Swahili origins: Swahili culture & the Shungwaya phenomenon. Ohio University Press.

Horton, M. (2004). Islam, archeology, and Swahili identity. In Donald Whitcomb (ed.), Changing Social Identity with the Spread of Islam: Archaeological Perspectives, vol 1. Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Mazrui, A., & Shariff, I. N. (1994). The Swahili: Idiom and identity of an African people. World Press.

Mugane, J. M. (2015). The story of Swahili. Ohio University Press.

Nurse, D. (1983). History from linguistics: The case of the Tana river. In History in Africa, vol. 10.

Spears, T., & Nurse, D. (1985). The Swahili: Reconstructing the history and language of an African society, 800–1500. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Spears, T. (1984). The Shirazi in Swahili traditions, culture, and history. In History in Africa. African Studies Association.

Genetic Ancestry Testing: Uncovering the Black Experience

by John O. Marshal, Department of Sociology Virginia Tech

The contemporary fascination with genetic ancestry testing (GAT) marks a second wave in the genealogy movement spurred by the 1970s TV mini-series Roots (Nelson, 2016). This dramatization of a novel of the same name traced the family origins of an enslaved African in America to the Mandinka peoples of Gambia in West Africa. By capturing the disruptive effects of North American slavery on Black families, Roots inspired a generation to mend familial links through genealogy research (Nelson, 2016).

As the 21st century unfolded, the breakthroughs of the Human Genome Project offered millions an additional tool for tracing their ancestry: personal DNA sequencing. Much like the empathy with the Black quest that Roots fostered among other Americans in the 1970s, the modern genealogy movement should celebrate the fact that more than 40 million American descendants of enslaved Africans can now experience their own “Roots” moment.

Underrepresentation of Black Experiences in Ancestry Testing Studies

Unfortunately, although genetic ancestry testing has been available for more than two decades and more than 26 million households have ordered DNA test kits (Regalado, 2019), fewer than ten empirical studies have been done on Black experiences with these tests. Most research into GAT users reports overall trends that not differentiated much by race or ethnicity. The problem with this approach is that it obscures the powerful stories of many Black users of ancestry tests.

I suggest two reasons for the weak representation of Black users in GAT studies. First, because the great majority of GAT users are white, recruitment efforts for research studies bring in more White than non-White participants. As a result, the trends reported in these studies skew toward the White experience. Second, there is a difference in the quality of reports for European versus African ancestry, with popular testing companies focused on European locations.

Quality Disparities in Ancestry Reports

One notable challenge in the landscape of genetic ancestry is the disparity in quality between reports on European and African ancestry. The top four genetic testing companies AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritageDNA, and FamilyTreeDNA allow for a significant bias by maintaining more expansive DNA reference databases for European locations than for other regions (Khan & Mittelman, 2018). This bias is glaring with AncestryDNA, recognizes genetic variation for Europe in terms of 1501 regions, while Africa is tracked in only 114 regions i yet Africa has more than six times the ethnic diversity of Europe.

Such discrepancies have big implications for the quality of ancestry reports received by Black users. For instance, customers of 23andMe with European heritage can expect matches to specific towns and counties and detailed narratives of their ancestry. By contrast, the same

company matches only to the regional level (e.g., Central Africa) or a combination of countries (e.g., Ghana/Liberia/Sierra Leone) for customers with African ancestry. This stark contrast in the fine-grainedness of results may explain why Black individuals in most GAT studies do not react enthusiastically to their test results.

The crux of the matter is that the Eurocentric focus of major testing companies inadvertently diminishes the quality of results for non-European ancestry. Addressing these disparities is crucial for enabling non-White users to uncover their roots in the same depth and detail as their counterparts of European descent, which should foster genuine engagement and excitement among Black users.

African Ancestry Company: Unveiling the Rich Tapestry of Black Heritage

In the realm of genetic ancestry testing, one standout player, African Ancestry, has been a beacon for those seeking to unravel the intricacies of their African roots. Established in 2003 by geneticist Rick Kittles and entrepreneur Gina Paige, this Black-owned company offers a service that goes beyond the industry norm. The company claims superiority over its competitors, including industry giant 23andMe, for having the largest genetic database for African populations, which allows it to match customers to specific African ethnic or linguistic groups such as Yoruba, Fang, Bamileke, and Mandinka. ii This contrasts starkly with the broad regional categorizations provided by other testing companies for African heritage.

African Ancestry stands out for fostering clear enthusiasm among Black users of heritage testing services. In ancestry-reveal videos on social media, the most powerful reactions often come from Black customers of African Ancestry. Their testimonials echo excitement, pride, and a profound sense of coming home to a heritage that was once obscured.

I am so hyped right now; nothing can bring me down… This is an exciting time for us, especially African Americans. This is an exciting time for us to know our roots. (

Anointed To Live n.d.)

This is amazing. . . .It’s almost like coming home, coming home to who you are. (Prophet Voyager, n.d.)

I feel like my ancestors are happy that now that I know. . . . I feel warm inside. (Jaleesa Peeples, n.d.)

I’m thankful that I know who I am not saying I didn’t know who I was before, but I just have another piece of the puzzle . . . and, you know, this has truly helped me become even more fulfilled. (Dudley Edouard, n.d.)

These enthusiastic reactions underscore a pivotal narrative in the modern genealogy movement: the most profound impact of ancestry testing occurs in the Black community. Through the African Ancestry company, thousands of Black people have discovered previously unknowable aspects of their heritage, contributing to a more inclusive and authentic understanding of ancestry testing in the context of diverse cultural narratives.

Importance of Ancestry Testing to Black Studies

The modern phenomenon of ancestry testing has profound relevance for Black Studies, offering insights into the specific language and ethnic-group origins of Blacks in the diaspora. This aligns seamlessly with the original mandate of Black studies, to restore an accurate history of Black peoples. Advances in genetics research have extended the exploration of family histories beyond the Middle Passage, providing a vital link to pre-diasporic roots.

Moreover, the knowledge of specific ethnic heritage that is made possible by ancestry testing simplifies the embrace of Africanness a call that resonated during the Black Power movement of the 1970s. This movement was instrumental in establishing Black studies within academia and encouraged love and celebration of African heritage. Thus ancestry testing has become a catalyst enabling Black individuals to affiliate themselves with more specific heritages on the mother continent. Ancestry reports also enhance the collaboration between the diaspora

and the African continent, as more nations recognize ancestry reports and offer special status to members of their diasporas who wish to connect with their ancestral roots.

A Call to Action: Fostering Inclusivity in Genetic Ancestry Testing

The unique Black experience with genetic ancestry tests calls for a concerted effort toward equity and inclusivity in the evolving landscape of genetic testing. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the impact of heritage tests on Black Americans, researchers must differentiate their findings by race and ethnicity. A critical step in this direction is increased reliance on data from African Ancestry users, to provide a more nuanced and accurate portrayal of the diverse experiences of the Black community.

African Ancestry, as a pioneering Black-owned company, deserves commendation for leading the way in genetic testing for African roots. Kittles and Paige exhibit a genuine commitment to supporting the restoration project for the Black diaspora. However, there remains a call for African Ancestry to address affordability concerns. At $299 for either the PatriClan or MatriClan test, their services are among the most expensive. While the company cites less funding than its larger competitors, there are creative strategies for generating capital. Given the potential societal impact of their mission to restore Black heritage, African Ancestry could attract funding from government sources, foundations, and the business world, akin to the support witnessed during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Looking beyond African Ancestry, a broader call is made to the larger genetic ancestry testing (GAT) industry. Greater investment in the genetic mapping of peoples outside Europe is imperative for addressing the current disparities. Until databases for non-European regions are equally robust, GAT companies might consider differential pricing for different ancestral regions. This approach would not only acknowledge the variation in data quality but foster fairer

pricing for individuals seeking to uncover non-European roots.

Furthermore, given the profound impact of ancestry reports on many people in the Black community, it is imperative for the government to ensure the accuracy of claims made by GAT companies. Regulation and oversight are essential to maintaining the integrity of genetic testing results, instilling confidence in users and advancing the field ethically.

Conclusion

Genetic ancestry testing presents a unique opportunity for individuals, especially those of African descent, to connect with their heritage. By addressing disparities in data quality, supporting companies like African Ancestry, and advocating for responsible industry practices, we can better understand the promise of ancestry testing for Black Americans and indeed for all individuals, irrespective of cultural or ethnic background.

References

African Ancestry. (2021). Our story: 18 years and counting.

https://africanancestry.com/pages/our-story

Anointed To Live. (n.d.) African AncestryDNA results are iiiinnn!!!! YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDZ823TinyE

Dudley Edouard. (n.d.). Haitian man takes African Ancestry test & get's unbelievable results!

YouTube.

https://youtu.be/fKIZm_X1UuI

Haley, A. (1976). Roots: The saga of an American family. Doubleday Books: New York.

Heyward, D. A. (2022). The wake at the root: Understanding racial identity refinement through genetic ancestry testing and theater performance Societies, 12(3), 79.

https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12030079

Jaleesa Peeples. (n.d.). Journey to discovery! African Ancestry results revealed. YouTube.

https://www.youtu.be/fYspIBcQkIA

Khan, R., & Mittelman, D. (2018). Consumer genomics will change your life, whether you get tested or not. Genome Biology, 19, 120.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-018-1506-1

Kittles, R., & Maat, O. A. (2020). Dr. Rick Kittles of African Ancestry & Dr. Ma'at: How DNA can reconnect diasporan Africans to Africa. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eaOgb6eHBTo

Nelson, A. (2016). The social life of DNA: Race, reparations, and reconciliation after the genome. Boston: Beacon Press.

Paige, G. et al. (2019). African Ancestry founder reveals the unexpected non-African ancestry of one of the husbands! YouTube.

https://youtu.be/kBgl-dD6pTY

Prophet Voyager Shamayim. (n.d.). My African Ancestry results are in!!! YouTube.

https://youtu.be/S8rcnY90ejc

Regalado, A. (2019). More than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test. MIT Technology Review.

i Statistics retrieved from company’s website in 2021

ii See the reference list for both Kittles & Maat, 2020 and Paige et. al., 2019

EDUCATIONAL POWER AND PEDAGOGY

Who’s Paying the Bill: An Examination of the Civic Education Debt in America

Averill Kelley Ph.D.

State University of New York, Brockport School of Education and Health and Human Services

Acacia Dorsey M.Ed.

University of Nevada, LV College of Education

Dashad Greene

University of Nevada, LV College of Education

Classrooms across the U.S. have become more diverse in race, culture, ethnicity, and language. In 2014, the number of students in public schools changed from a predominantly White population to predominantly students of color (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). In 2022, the ratio of White to non-White students in American public schools was approximately 46% to 54%. By 2043, the proportion of Black students in American classrooms will be even greater. This essay describes the relationship between multicultural education and civic education and the relationship between Ladson-Billings’s (2006) education debt and the civic empowerment gap (Levinson, 2012), from which a framework for civic debt emerges (Lo, 2019).

Connection Between Multicultural Education and Civic Education

As multicultural education is conceived of like a civic mission of schools, there is a close

relationship between the two educational ideas. Multicultural education calls for the participation of all people in education, and civic education calls for full participation in the narrower discipline of civics. Participation in both civics and education is necessary to maintaining democracy and preserving a connection between Banks’s dimensions of multicultural education and civic education.

The civic mission of schools requires that all students learn how to participate in American democracy. Levinson (2010) showed that not all students have the opportunity to participate or engage civically, a problem that is only exacerbated when they receive ineffective curriculums and miss the opportunity to learn civic engagement. Therefore, the only way to ensure that students learn to participate is to include multicultural education in the civics curriculum. Scholars have noted that the civic mission of schools is to ensure that all students receive an equitable, high-quality, and fair civic education, and that multicultural education and diversity education are often at odds with each other even though their goals and purposes are the same (Navarro & Howard, 2017).

In the relationship between multicultural education and civics education, schools model the skills needed to sustain and live in a diverse and inclusive democracy and promote active participation in democratic processes (Navarro & Howard, 2017). Multicultural education and civic education prepare students to be engaged and productive participants in society, fight inequalities, protect equality, liberty, justice, and democracy, and create an inclusive world for all people. Civics and multicultural education provide students with knowledge, skills, behaviors, and dispositions that are essential to learning about one another. Students also learn to stand up, speak up, develop a sense of agency, and actively participate in their communities. Multicultural education fights for educational equity while civics education teaches students how to fight for

their rights.

Samuels et al. (2019) examined how race and racism affect teaching and learning and how civics education could address racial inequities inside and outside the classroom. They found that although teachers believed it was important for students to discuss race, racism, and the inequities in society, these topics were either downplayed or avoided because teachers lacked the skills and comfort levels to discuss controversial topics.

When civics education embraces the ideas of multicultural education, teachers can teach the ideas, histories, narratives, knowledge, achievements, and contributions of Black people. The newly released Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Roadmap (2021) and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Inquiry Arc Framework are curricular examples and frameworks for how teachers can integrate diverse contents into civics teaching. The EAD and the C3 promote equity, inclusion, and multiple interpretations of history and civics instruction by asking critical questions. This is a pedagogical model that teachers use in civics that goes beyond the traditional approach (Swan et al., 2018).

The relationship between civics and multicultural education is related to the construction of knowledge. The experiences of Black people and their history of civic engagement continue to be ignored or silenced in the civics education curriculum. This curriculum disproportionately muffles the voices of Black people and amplifies those of wealthy White U.S. citizens (Levinson, 2010). By addressing civic knowledge and the information that is missing from the curriculum, teachers and students can address many absent narratives, such as race and gender.

Cohen (2010) proposed four approaches to civics education to describe how a teacher’s epistemological and ontological perspectives influence the teaching and learning of civics: liberal civics education, diversity civics education, critical civics education, and republican civics

education. A teacher’s pedagogical approach can significantly influence students’ civics experience, knowledge, and interest. If educators want students to value the American ideals of justice, equality, and freedom, then a civics education must begin by asking what knowledge is involved and what instructional approach is the most culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining.

Civics education must help to meet the needs of all students. Epstein et al. (2011) studied a teacher who taught U.S. history by addressing racial diversity, racism, and individual and collective agency among low-income urban Black and Latinx students. Their study showed that it is possible to either transform one’s teaching or to identify inequities in the standard curriculum to ensure that all students’ histories and experiences are included and represented in the history curriculum. Research has shown that adolescents have biases and that students come to school with biases against different groups (Banks, 2020). Civics classes can combat negative racial attitudes by encouraging students to discuss and collaborate with others who are ideologically, racially, politically, socially, and economically different. Civics classes should focus on the lived experiences of students and their communities. Equitable civic education can reduce prejudice, bias, and stereotypes about people with different racial identities. Explicitly addressing attitudes about race, racism, class, gender, sexism, and other controversial issues of systemic inequity will help students reduce their own biases and prejudices. Students are empowered in this way to listen to the experiences of their peers, ask questions, seek new understanding, and challenge assumptions and beliefs. They learn how to engage respectfully with people who hold different and conflicting views.

When civics education is part of the school structure, teachers must be encouraged to use a variety of pedagogical strategies to ensure that all students learn. Civics education can help

schools create empowering school cultures and fulfill their neglected civics mission by providing an equitable, fair, and democratic education to all students. Schools can also teach students to respect individuality while also teaching them how to protect and promote the common good and make positive changes in society. Researchers have made recommendations to address the challenges and problems in civics education (Levinson, 2012). However, few scholars have offered practical recommendations for diverse, equitable teaching resources and materials that teachers can use in the classroom to ensure that civic education addresses diversity.

The Education Debt and the Civic Empowerment Gap

For years, the American school system has ignored and underinvested in the education of low-income students and Black students, especially when those demographics overlapped. Ladson-Billings (2006) argued that an education debt exists and has accumulated over time which disproportionately targets low-income and Black students. The debt includes the four components of historical debt, economic debt, sociopolitical debt, and moral debt. The study focused on sociopolitical debt and the implications for students’ learning and civic participation.

Sociopolitical debt explains the extent to which Black communities have been excluded from the democratic civic and political process, engagement, and participation in the United States (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Black people have experienced systemic hindrance to equitable participating in civic and political life in the United States. But despite being historically excluded from civic processes, many Black communities have prepared their own communities for civic engagement, such as the Citizenship Schools in the South in the 1960s, which taught Black people about the Constitution and voting rights (Ladson-Billings, 2006).

Ladson-Billings’s (2006) education debt and Levinson’s (2010) civic empowerment gap provide historical and theoretical frameworks for current inequities in opportunities for civics

learning and engagement. Schools can address the civics empowerment gap by encouraging actively civic participation by teachers and students. Teachers can provide more civic engagement and educate students from a perspective that is more diverse, inclusive, relevant, and responsive to close the empowerment gap. Students should learn essential knowledge and skills and appropriate grammar and language to discuss race and racism both in schools and in their communities, as this affects future civic participation (Duncan, 2019). As schools work to close the civic empowerment gap, they can gradually ameliorate the educational debt.

Sociopolitical debt must be addressed by a diverse group of elected officials who represent the interests of all Americans, not just a faction. Greater diversity in elected leaders and government officials also means that the issues facing Black communities are more likely to be addressed. By working together, schools can address the civic empowerment gap, develop a racial grammar to discuss race and other inequities in society, and see students’ strengths and cultural capital as less problematic and challenging. Failure to address the civic empowerment gap and the education debt leads to what Banks (2020) called failed citizenship because it continues to exclude many students from the civic and political process.

The Debt in Civics Education

Bonilla-Silva (2012) used the term “racial grammar” to explain how language can shape and distort the way we see ourselves and each other. He described language composition as a sliver of what racial grammar shapes in everyday life. The racial grammar of civics education unnecessarily excludes the experiences of Black students and ignores issues such as race, class, and gender, which are crucial aspects of the philosophical foundations of the American republic. Bonilla-Silva encouraged a movement of racial liberation that resists the dominant grammar that continues to oppress certain groups. By addressing these issues, America can be multicultural

and democratic while expressing the views, interests, and feelings of all its residents.

Lo (2019) used this concept to situate the civic education debt in context. Schools are not fully responsible for the sociopolitical debt, because it is the government’s responsibility to address and remedy it. However, schools play an active role in deepening the debt (Lo, 2019). Scholars have pointed out that the civics education curriculum is White, with middle-class values and civic ideas (Levinson, 2012). The civic debt framework acknowledges the problem of race and racism in civics education and assumes that civics teachers do not have the language or preparation to address complex and complicated topics in this area. The idea of race is rooted in our everyday experiences, however, and is not limited to overt racism but includes subtle moments of institutional inequity and racial microaggressions. Teachers need training on discussing race in the classroom to ensure they are comfortable doing so and to create an environment where all students know that such discussions are acceptable. Kaplowitz et al. (2019) provided teachers with skills and materials to facilitate conversations about race and racism in the classroom, a framework civics teachers could use to address the challenges of racial grammar and civic debt.

Lo (2019) argued that focusing on the civic opportunity and empowerment gaps is insufficient because outcomes and effectiveness require different ideas about addressing civic engagement and empowerment. As research in the field of civic education has shown, teachers can address gaps in civic opportunity and empowerment gaps in their own pedagogy. The research has highlighted the best practices and examples of professional development, but has failed to address how race and racism are reflected in civics curriculums. The lack of an effective racial grammar for civics teaching leads to problems in addressing controversial and complex topics. Lo noted that the socio-political education debt is created by lack of civic opportunities

and empowerment and devolves into a larger civic debt created by a lack of racial grammar in civics and teacher preparation.

Black Civic Engagement

Although addressing the civics education debt in schools is a priority, Black people have historically been community oriented and have engaged through collective action (Levinson, 2010). Despite the systemic obstacles discouraging and disenfranchising Black civic and political engagement, Black communities have navigated to increase their political presence and activism. The 1960s saw citizenship schools and Black-centered organizations like the Black Panther Party (Ladson-Billings, 2006), and current efforts to increase Black involvement in civics and politics include campaigns like Rock the Vote and organizations like the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP). NCBCP is dedicated to increasing civic engagement and economic empowerment among Black people (Nabatdni et al., 2012). They use technology, education programs, and civic leadership programs to encourage Black communities to make things like voting and civic participation cultural responsibilities and traditions (Nabatdni et al., 2012).

Conclusion

Civics education must address the education debt, the civic empowerment gap, and the civic debt for all students. The education debt changes the focus of deficit thinking about how students cannot achieve, and how educational institutions have continually failed, marginalized, and discriminated against students, especially Black students. The education debt has hurt students by creating civic empowerment gaps in civics knowledge, skills, behavior, and participation, which produces a civic debt.

To address these debts, schools must change the way they prepare students for civic engagement. When teachers provide students with relevant and reflective curriculums, the debts

and gaps can be addressed with young people, and the next generation of Black community civic engagement leaders can continue the fight to reduce the debt and increase civic and political equity.

References

Banks, J. A. (2020) Diversity, transformative knowledge, and civic education: Selected essays. Routledge.

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2012). The invisible weight of whiteness: The racial grammar of everyday life in contemporary America. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35(2), 173–94.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.613997

Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. (2020). 2020 election.

https://circle.tufts.edu/

Cohen, A. (2010). A theoretical model of four conceptions of civic education. Canadian Social Studies, 44(1), 17–28.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ916619.pdf

Duncan, K. (2019). “What better tool do I have?”: A critical race approach to teaching civics. High School Journal, 103(3), 176–89. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2020.0011

Epstein, T., Moyorga, E., & Nelson, J. (2011). Teaching about race in an urban history class: The effects of culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Social Studies Research, 35(1), 2–21.

Kaplowitz, D., Griffin, S., & Seyka, S. (2019). Race dialogues: A facilitator’s guide to tackling the elephant in the classroom. Teachers College Press.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3–12.

https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x035007003

Levinson, M. (2010). The civic empowerment gap: Defining the problem and locating solutions. In L. Sherrod, J. Torney-Purta, & C. A. Flanagan (Eds.), Handbook of research on civic engagement (pp. 331–361). Wiley.

Levinson, M. (2012). Diversity and civic education. In D. Campbell, M. Levinson, & Hess, F. M.

(Eds.), Making civics count: Citizenship education for a new generation (pp. 183–228). Harvard Education Press.

Lo, J. (2019). The role of civic debt in democratic education. Multicultural Perspectives, 21(2), 112–18.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2019.1606633

Nabatdni, T., Gastil, J., Weiksner, G. M., & Leighninger, M. (2012). Democracy in motion: Evaluating the practice and impact of deliberative civic engagement. Oxford University Press.

Navarro, O., & Howard, T. (2017). A critical race theory analysis of social studies research, theory and practice. In M. M. Manfra & C. M. Bolick (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of social studies research (pp. 209–26).

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118768747.ch9

Samuel, A., Samuels, G., & Self, C. (2019). Champions of equity: Fostering civic education to challenge silence, racial inequity, and injustice. Multicultural Perspectives, 21(2), 77–84.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2019.1605805

Swan, K., Lee, J., & Grant, S. G. (2018). Inquiry design model: Building inquiries in social studies. National Council for the Social Studies and C3 Teachers. United States Department of Education. (2019). Nevada “Fast Facts.” Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.

HBCUs and the Affirmative Action Decision: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens”

by

Rodney T. Cunningham & Alexis Riddick

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Visiting Scholar, Center for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Rutgers University –Graduate School of Education

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Psychology, Fielding Graduate University

The Supreme Court rendered a decision on June 29, 2023, abolishing affirmative action in higher education admissions based on the race of students. This ruling, initiated against the admissions policies of the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, achieved some of American society’s goals of opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in collegiate admissions. The ruling has the potential to significantly affect the numbers of Black and minority students admitted to Predominately White Colleges and Universities (PWCUs) for many years to come.

In the face of these challenges, Black and Brown students must now begin to take a more serious look at their options for higher education. The guarantee of admission to selective

PWCUs may not be as available as in years past. A 3.8 GPA in high school and magna cum laude neck stole may not guarantee admission to a PWCU anymore.

Despite this situation, we feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. PWCUs may be more difficult to enter due to the affirmative action decision, however, the door is not locked on their educational opportunities. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are still open. In this paper, we address the distinct importance of HBCUs in higher education given this recent decision. We also address HBCUs cultural and educational commitment to Black and Brown students. And finally, we address the unique qualities and conceptual and research perspectives embodied within the HBCU experience – many of which are particular to HBCUs providing safe spaces for teaching and learning, and for cultivating positive adulthood developmental experiences for HBCU students

HBCUs: Are We the “Balm in Gilead” for Black Students?

The Supreme Court decision sends a powerful and almost incontrovertible message to Black and minority students. It sends a message that you are not wanted or valued on our campuses (particularly AAU campuses). Unfortunately, these kinds of messages have existed for many years (Thornhill, 2019; Guthrie, 2003). For example, when affirmative action was for Whites, Black soldiers (many aspiring students) experienced difficulties after World War II and were excluded from the benefits of the GI Bill (Drumer & Hamilton, 2023). In that situation, the Black community leaned on HBCUs for education and support When the GI Bill provided new homes, grants for new businesses, and extensive opportunities for White veterans to attend college after the war, the Black community had to lean on HBCUs to enhance their life opportunities and support for their families. Indeed, HBCUs (Black Colleges at that time) had to endure this challenge even though they were severely underfunded. But despite the duress’ of

this time, HBCUs provided an upsurge in the placement of nurses, attorneys, doctors, teachers, and skilled laborers back into the Black community (Temin, 2020), and in several mainstream American circles as well (Smith, 2021). Moreover, they provided psychological, educational, and practical healing for Black and Brown communities.

Today, we are in a similar situation. HBCUs may have the opportunity to heal many Black and Brown students from feelings of inferiority and depression about school rejections and a lack of opportunities in mainstream American colleges. This could affect their overall feelings about the future and their professional trajectories. In this world of growing racial and cultural discord, we believe it is essential that Black and Brown students (and all students per se) experience the feelings of family, love, peace, and an appreciation for their culture and history

At HBCUs, students are exposed to these types of experiences and can emotionally feel and personally live out some of these invaluable human currencies. The recent Supreme Court decision provides another opportunity for HBCUs to showcase their value in higher education. HBCUs could become a “Balm in Gilead” for current and aspiring students. Given the affirmative action decision, we encourage students to explore HBCUs more seriously when considering their college choices. They are not only wanted at HBCUs, but they will be nurtured into their best selves. In Cunningham’s (2023) revised book, An Experience of a Lifetime the Academic Journey from “Student” to “Professor” at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, he highlights his amazing student matriculation and HBCU education from undergraduate to the Ph.D. degree and entry into the professoriate. Among his experiences, he noted at least three areas of cultural ambiance at HBCUs that are widely available to students. He feels that they provide both academic and culturally relevant homes for students. He further

argues that these experiences are typically different in quality and quantity from those encountered by Black and Brown students at PWCUs.

In the next section, we discuss these experiences through what Cunningham refers to as the “triple conquest” theory, and its relevance to the culturally rich and dynamic HBCU student experience. We will also discuss pathways to success at HBCUs. Further, we argue that following this Supreme Court decision, a potential new population of Black and Brown students should consider HBCUs. Moreover, we believe that HBCUs can provide a safe and healing function for Black and Brown students, particularly as they negotiate the current vicissitudes of the new PWCU admission policies.

The “Triple Conquest” and HBCU Student Success: The Balm in Action

When students go to college, each of them usually has a goal to complete their academic degree. However, to complete your degree you must have a blueprint to negotiate the college environment. At HBCUs, a unique environment has been planted and cultivated over 187 years (Gasman & Esters, 2024; Guthrie, 2003). It was birthed at Cheyney University in 1837 as a response to systemic racism and oppression in the education of Black and Brown people. As a result, more HBCUs were created, largely through the influence of churches and other religious institutions. Indeed, HBCUs provided opportunities for education and heightened cultural awareness to a people unfairly denied the right to education in the United States (Favors, 2019). On these campuses, however, many culturally informed experiences and behavioral patterns of people of color, often rooted in West African descent emerged often unabated by Western cultural influences. This is one of the most enduring values of HBCUs today. To provide context to the development and cultural significance of HBCUs and their sustenance of the Black experience, Boykin (1983, 1986) theorized that Black people were exposed to three realms of experience as

citizens of the United States. They are the mainstream, minority, and Afro cultural experiences.

The mainstream experience involves the negotiation of the challenges and dictates of American society, such as capitalism, individualism, competition, and bureaucracy. The minority experience involves negotiation of Black people’s status as a minority in the United States, including the challenges of racism, oppression, marginalization, and lack of opportunities.

Finally, the Afro Cultural experience includes the fundamental cultural experiences of Black people related to their West African heritage. It has to do with people of African descent identifying and being receptive to their existing and learned behavioral patterns (i.e., Boykin’s nine dimensions of communalism, movement expression, harmony, orality, social time, spirituality, affect, verve, and expressive individualism) that stem from a cultural legacy and ethos from West Africa that is more than 5,000 years old. Boykin referred to the negotiation of these realms of experiences for Blacks in the United States as “the triple quandary.”

This theoretical framework is particularly important to the understanding and cultural ambiance of the HBCU experience. In one line of reasoning, most HBCU campuses are still predominantly Black. This provides a different environment from PWCUs. The minority experience is significantly reduced at HBCUs, sometimes almost non-existent. Although there are still factions of discrimination on HBCU campuses (i.e., phobic behaviors of certain groups), they are typically small, and student activism normally takes aim at those forces in earnest. For students, the lack of a “toxic” minority experience is important to their solvency and productivity in college.

In another line of reasoning, HBCUs can provide a rich understanding of both the mainstream experience and the Afro Cultural experience. Just as doctors provide patients with prescriptions to heal them or actively advise them on health issues, HBCUs try to provide

students with healthy dosages of ways to negotiate mainstream societal values, while learning about their own cultural history too. HBCUs seek to provide knowledge about the struggle of people of African descent in America, their potential and expected contributions to the legacy of the Afro Cultural ethos, their own Black personhood and identity, and their contributory worth to the world at large.

The great W.E.B. Dubois (1903) argued about the notion of “double consciousness” in American culture for Blacks. However, the warring of these two systems is much less contentious at HBCUs than in mainstream American society. Students are taught to appropriate both cultural systems in a way that maximizes elements of those systems so that they lead to high academic and social functioning. Although the Afro Cultural experience tends to dominate the culture for most students, even tacitly, the tenets and belief systems of mainstream society are still widely available in the HBCU experience. However, their potentially threatening components to the Black identity are generally tempered. As such, HBCUs qualify and advocate for the legitimacy of certain mainstream cultural values to the human and student experience in particular, for those experiences that promote student and professional successes in a multicultural, diverse American and global world (Cunningham, 2021).

To further illuminate the HBCU experience, Cunningham (2023), a three-time HBCU alum, argued that through the interplay of mainstream and Afro cultural experiences, students are exposed to three distinct but interrelated cultural and developmental experiences at HBCUs. They are Afro Cultural communalism and personality development, academic learning and engagement development, and spiritual development. He referred to these domains as the “triple conquest” and argued that their availability on HBCU campuses is noteworthy and pronounced. He felt that these domains can significantly improve a student’s trajectory toward a high-quality

collegiate experience. Accordingly, he argued that access to these domains and experiences at an HBCU can enhance the quality and quantity of experiences enroute to achieving a degree. We will now turn to a description of these domains and cultural experiences at HBCUs.

Afro Cultural Communalism and Personality Development

Afro Cultural communalism implies a commitment to the fundamental interdependence of people and to the importance of social bonds, relationships, and transcendence of the group (Boykin, 1986). The great John Mbiti (1969) declared, “I am because we are, and because we are, therefore I am.” It is within this spirit the notion of communalism lives among people of African descent throughout the diaspora. It represents the ongoing legacy and triumph of an African ethos in which each person was everyone’s concern – where every individual had an interest in their neighbor, regardless of family links, tribe, or ethnic group (Nsengiyumva et al., 2019). The social interconnection and communalism of people is at the heart and soul of what HBCU campuses provide for their students and staff. Indeed, it has been documented that communalism and this type of human and cultural interaction is a substantive form of educational and social currency on HBCU campuses (Jagers, 1988; Gasman & Commodore, 2014; Hicks, 2022; Smith, 2022).

In this domain of the triple conquest theory, Cunningham argued that three cyclical processes develop in the behavior of students at HBCUs These processes include one’s development of communal commitment, communal solidarity and civility, and communal empowerment. Under the Afro Cultural communal domain, communal commitment involves the collective dedication of students to the HBCU experience and its historical origins and missions. Students are provided with this spirit through campus stories, images, conversations, and the like. For instance, they highlight buildings, libraries, cafeterias, alumni, staff, and faculty

contributions to the HBCU. They provide overt data about the values of Black struggle in education, the overcoming that has occurred on each campus, and the direct and tacit inclinations toward the sustenance and betterment of the HBCU in America. This is where emotional pride and gratitude are shared among students for their own HBCU, and for its growth and development.

Communal solidarity represents students’ engagement in culturally informed brotherhood and sisterhood activities, such as in clubs, honor societies, and Greek organizations. In the solidarity process, communal and collective movements are typically on one accord and focused. They are geared, for instance, toward addressing the injustices that affect people of color overall, on the campus, and in the Black community. These activities also cultivate solidarity (for fun things too, like a cookout for graduating seniors) and expressions of civility that is, dignity and respect toward members of the HBCU campus and community, and society in general.

Finally, the communal empowerment experience involves how commitment, solidarity, and civility advance students’ developing and deepening Black identity. This means developing a love of and understanding of who one is, particularly in relation to the collective process of attending an HBCU, and its legacy of cultural and racial uplift for people of African descent. The empowerment experience strengthens students to take their seats or make their mark on the world for the betterment of Black people and the world they are a part of. Moreover, the experience informs and assesses how you as a developing HBCU student and future alumnus will empower succeeding generations of Black and Brown students in America and help them empower others around the globe.

Taken together, we believe that the growth brought by these areas of Afro Cultural communalism provides evidence of the collective experience at HBCUs, and also cultivates personality traits and characteristics informed by these communal experiences. These personality characteristics include behaviors such as altruism, empathy, sharing, and dependability in students’ everyday lives. Although some believe these characteristics are more pronounced for HBCU students who reside on campus (Cook, 2022; Pinkard, 2022), others believe that offcampus and online students can experience them as well (Koenig, 2023).

To further highlight the communalism phenomena at HBCUs, we advocate for more research highlighting these factors of Afro Cultural communalism and their manifestation on HBCU campuses. In a recent master’s thesis at North Carolina Central University, Hicks (2022) investigated the relationships between family-based and school-based communalism among HBCU students. Fifty students (both upper- and underclass) completed two surveys. The survey on family-based communalism measured the extent to which students are involved in socially interconnected and communal behavioral patterns in their family systems (brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, etc.) and immediate community (neighborhood, organizations, churches). The survey on school-based communalism measured students’ participation in communal behaviors and activities in their HBCU academic exchanges and in various HBCU campus settings. Hicks predicted that a statistically significant relationship would emerge between the two types of communalism, and that the upper-class students would have statistically higher and different correlations than the underclass students.

Her predictions were partially confirmed. The results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between family-based communalism and HBCU school-based communalism. It also showed this statistically significant pattern among upper-class HBCU

students (second-semester juniors and seniors). However, the pattern was not found among underclass students. Hicks argued that the underclass relationship might not have emerged because the data was collected at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic This is when most of the underclass (sophomore) students had been on campus for just over a year before having to go home. By contrast, the upper-class students had been on campus for several years. She believes more data and studies in this area must be designed to examine post pandemic communal relationships with HBCU students, and with the inclusion of other variables examining the systematic development of communalism on HBCU campuses.

In consideration of Hicks’ work, Cunningham, and his students in the department of psychology at North Carolina Central University are currently exploring new studies investigating the relationships and developmental patterns of family-based and school-based communalism. They are investigating types of communalism, student classifications, and their connections to (1) perceived academic success (Highsmith, 2024), (2) community engagement and perceived academic success (Coleman, 2024), and (3) cultural group Black, White, Hispanic, Latina and perceived academic success (Johnson, 2024). We believe that the communalism phenomenon is important and prevalent at HBCUs, and that these studies can contribute to an ongoing systematic research program, and hopefully, to an accumulated knowledge base to inform subsequent studies of developmental patterns and practices of Afro Cultural communalism at HBCUs.

Academic Learning and Engagement Development

In this section, we turn to the second domain of the triple conquest theory, academic learning and engagement development. This domain focuses on the extent to which students matriculate through classes, course work, and academic achievement, and how they are

supported by faculty, staff, and the community (Cunningham, 2023). The HBCU academic experience is aimed at energizing students to learn, and to learn what they identify with. HBCUs have small and student-friendly classrooms suited to their unique and facilitating learning environments. Moreover, HBCUs have been described as promoting academic confidence in students and helping them to gain self-belief through close-quartered, personal learning experiences that promote them as powerful shapers of their own destinies. As in the Afro Cultural communal domain, Cunningham argued that there is a cyclical development through four distinct but overlapping areas of academic learning and engagement development. They are learning identity development, learning capital development, reciprocal learning and engagement development, and academic achievement and performance development. In developing a learning identity, students discover their interests and seriously commit themselves to those areas. Selection of a major or concentration provides the learning identity and direction toward one’s area of interest. The learning identity grows and matures throughout the student matriculation (undergrad, master’s, doctorate) and beyond. Through this, the student connects their passion for a subject matter to their academic learning and engagement.

Next, the learning capital domain highlights the assets and talents that students bring to the college. This capital can enhance their engagement and development in the classroom. Students can also develop and build upon newly discovered talents within the overall learning and campus environment. Indeed, whatever they are, HBCUs seek to cultivate and reinforce those talents and assets that are a part of a student’s everyday expression.

This area also emphasizes professors and teachers getting to know their students academically and personally. This involves identifying and developing the students’ assets and strengths expressed during classroom instruction. This is also heightened by reinforcing learned

academic content and classroom activities – by building student-professor relationships, and by promoting student “buy in” or endorsement of the professor and course. By building “academic trust” with students, professors can discover what students do well and what they don’t do well. Reciprocal learning experiences and trust building also make the learning environment less threatening to the student. Students learn from their professors and professors learn from their students, and because of these exchanges students don’t feel ashamed to be wrong in the classroom environment. This cultivates a respectful, uninhibited environment where almost everybody can learn and grow.

Lastly, there is the academic and achievement development area. In this area, students discover their “cognitive niches” and “academic gifts ” Through relevant cognitive development, students’ critical thinking, test performance, and grades are enhanced. Other areas of academic achievement and performance are also tapped, including internships, research experiences, and standardized testing practices, and these are often used by students and professors in a more personalized cognitive capital analysis for personal and professional growth.

In addition, we believe learning and engagement can also be affected by four mediating variables that can strengthen the relationship between, for example, commitment to learning identity and academic performance. These are academic belonging (Strayhorn, 2018), academic self-concept (Cokley, 2002), academic perseverance and grit (McCall, 2015), and academic motivation (Freeman et al., 2021). We believe these are integral to improving learning and engagement, improved outcome measures of performance and engagement, and successes in other areas (retention, honors classifications, graduate school acceptance, job placements, independent scholarship, etc.).

Spiritual Development

The final domain of the triple conquest theory is spiritual development. We believe that this domain can also impact and correlate with the other triple conquest domains. Indeed, we believe that higher spiritual development can enhance the HBCU experience in many areas of student success as well.

Spirituality is an approach to life that is connected to unobservable, non-mechanistic forces. It embodies a conviction that such forces influence one’s everyday life (Boykin, 1986; Richards, 1994). Spiritual development in many students is strengthened throughout their HBCU experience (Cunningham, 2021). Spirituality has been found to assist students at HBCUs in several ways. It has been positively connected to academic success in African American students (Square, 2015), better mental health and well-being (Colon, et al., 2021), and increased character development and moral growth (The Hundred Seven, 2018). As with the previous domains, Cunningham argues that at HBCUs, there is a cyclical pattern of spiritual development and growth that is signified in four areas. Those are typically represented in students’ need for worship (i.e., due to one’s spiritual or church-based experiences before college, or to spiritual attitudes developed during college), type of worship (i.e., liturgical, non-liturgical, informal, private; and the frequency of this), expressions used in worship (i.e., singing, dancing, kneeling, bowing, speech), and commitment to spiritual tenants or practices (i.e., The Ten Commandments, Five Pillars of Islam). Cunningham argued that spirituality and spiritual development are readily available through the cultural experiences at an HBCU, and often through one’s spiritual roots before coming to an HBCU. He argued that the four areas of spiritual development are important to a student’s growth as the victories, challenges, and “downpours” of life evolve and the student matriculates and experiences personal growth. In addition, in this model, Cunningham offered a rationale for the role of mediating variables such as forgiveness, optimism, humility, and love as

potential influences on the strength of relationships among the four areas of spiritual development.

In another recent master’s thesis at North Carolina Central University, Riddick (2022) sought to assess the relationships between spirituality, self-esteem, and perceived academic success in HBCU students. There were four surveys given to ninety-one HBCU students. They measured spiritual preferences related to success in academic tasks, endorsement of spiritual beliefs and practices, self-esteem, and perceptions of their current academic success as an HBCU student. She found a positive correlation between students’ endorsement of spiritual beliefs and their spiritual preferences regarding success in academic tasks. In one measure, students were assessed on their endorsement of spiritual beliefs and practices overall, and on their preferences for attributing academic success to their spiritual growth Riddick found that this correlation was statistically significant overall, r = .643 (n = 89), p < .0001. She found this pattern to hold for both underclass and upper-class students too. The statistical trends suggest developmental growth. A Fisher’s r to Z transformation analysis revealed that the correlations for family-based and school-based communalism by student classification were statistically significant and statistically different from one another. The underclassmen had a correlation of r = .518 (n = 37), p < .001, and the upperclassman of r = .710 (n = 52), p < .0001. That is, the more that HBCU students endorsed their spiritual beliefs and practices, the more they preferred to attribute their academic success to spirituality. These findings seem to reveal increases in strength over student classification and to corroborate the triple conquest theory regarding developmental growth patterns in the spiritual development of HBCU students. Riddick also found that endorsement of spiritual beliefs and practices was positively correlated with students’ self-esteem. This was found to be statistically significant overall, r = .552 (n = 89), p < .0001; in underclassman, r =

.581 (n = 37), p < .001, and in upperclassman r = .535 (n = 52), p < .0001. That is, the more that HBCU students endorsed their spiritual beliefs, the better they felt about themselves. Although much more research needs to be done on spiritual development and the Afro Cultural communal development domains at HBCUs, we believe that these findings are encouraging and show the importance of these cultural experiences at HBCUs. See Figure 1 for a full depiction of the triple conquest theory and the variables associated with a pathway model of student success and character development at HBCUs.

Figure 1

Implications for the “Triple Conquest” and the Affirmative Action Decision

We hope that this discussion of HBCU culture and the triple conquest theory encourages students on the unique ambience of the HBCU experience. Given the recent Supreme Court affirmative action decision, we also hope that this paper will usher in a new wave of opportunity for Black and Brown students, for which HBCUs become a wonderful option for them. Not only are they wanted there – they are needed. They can help to provide nutrition to these campuses to keep them healthy and soaring. We also hope that HBCUs will continue providing pathways to success and leadership and highlight the importance of Black and Brown students to the survival of Black higher education and Black and Brown people across the diaspora.

The recent Supreme Court decision also provides another opportunity for HBCUs to pick up the gauntlet of active, culturally relevant higher education for Black and Brown students. The triple conquest model provides a way to conceptualize and research important facets of the HBCU experience. It also, hopefully, provides students with an idea of the cultural experiences that are sewn into the fabric of HBCUs. HBCUs invest in young people by giving them an environment where they can become their best and brightest selves. They do this by providing wrap-around family support (academic and personal) to help students achieve meaningful maturation and professional development. With the college market for Black and Brown students seemingly decreasing (National Student Clearing House, 2022), we hope that HBCUs will become more attractive to these students throughout the country.

Consequently, we believe that many Black and Brown students may need the HBCU option in the coming years. But we also believe that HBCUs must step up their educational games too. They must more aggressively blend traditional HBCU ways of educating students (teaching articulation, thinking, civility, etiquette, morality) with better integration and campus

buy-in of new technological advances. We also believe that HBCUs must become more public about the processes that make them so special. For instance, one of the authors of this paper, Dr. Rodney Cunningham, has been a professor at three HBCUs for more than twenty-six years. He believes that if there are twenty students and seats in an HBCU classroom, there are really forty seats in the classroom. Typically, each student seat is matched with the professor’s hypothetical seat right beside them. In this way, the professor walks with the student through their class, gets to know them, and helps them become their best self. This relationship between student and professor is pervasive and can last throughout the student’s entire education and beyond. This teaching “treasure” and approach must be conveyed to the world because in times like this, such care and support can be an invaluable benefit to all students.

In regard to research and the triple conquest, we have highlighted the power and fertility of the HBCU experience for the systematic accumulation of knowledge, the development of better practices and policies for higher education, and issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We have also sought to pursue a trajectory for growth and development in building new approaches and potentially hybrid forms of behavioral sciences and of Africana studies, potentially leading to more inclusive, culturally relevant, and innovative scholarly experiences and efforts. This could fuel new avenues of research in Black psychology and Black studies. Further, we feel that the multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches of Africana studies can find potential unions in such fields as psychology (e.g., psycho-Africana studies), theology (theo–Africana studies), education (edu–Africana studies), sociology (socio–Africana studies), and others that can be developed to investigate, for instance, facets of the triple conquest theory toward HBCU student success and character development (see Figure 1 again).

Through all of this, we believe the world will be able to see more clearly what HBCUs

offer to the arts and to the behavioral and diversity sciences. Further, we believe the students of HBCUs will continue to be a substantial force in our world. The many highly achieving students who will be denied admission to PWCUs should not be discouraged. Despite the challenges and heartaches, HBCUs, like other MSIs, will continue their missions of cultivating excellence. As such, we believe students in 2024 should seriously consider HBCUs not only as an option, but as a great option.

Final Remarks: An HBCU Revelation

In a graduate seminar on the recent affirmative action decision and student development and admissions at HBCUs, Cunningham (2023a) proposed the response of adding more honors colleges and programs at HBCUs across the country. This idea was critically discussed and researched with his students to explore scholarly activities that could fuel more pursuits for HBCU students. Much of this conceptualization was informed by individual and integrated ideas and the pursuits of successful honors programs across the country. The programs researched included the McNair Scholars Programs and Honors Colleges, the Meyerhoff Program at the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC), the HBCU fellows of Columbia University, and the White House HBCU Scholars Recognition Program. These considerations and others could significantly increase the attraction of students to HBCUs, given the potential repercussions of the affirmative action decision. They could provide a heightened classification for HBCUs too, such as new Carnegie classifications that distinguish a new pedigree of student elite (Rivera, 2015), and a new “brand” of HBCU student created with holistic, unique, and distinctive 21st-century attributes.

W.E.B. Dubois offered this idea in his classic essay “The Talented Tenth” (Dubois, 1903a):

“Education must not simply teach work it must teach Life. The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. ”

We believe an “HBCU ELITE” student can continue to be trained and contribute to higher numbers than even Dubois envisioned (maybe a Talented Twentieth one day). An HBCU ELITE student should be pitched as one with distinctive attributes of success such as Excellence, Loyalty, Integrity, Talent, and Empowerment (ELITE) in everything they do and everywhere they go (see Figure 2). Moreover, they should represent HBCU men and women of this distinction and character Men and women who through their HBCU educations will “Live In Freedom Everyday” (LIFE). They will be individuals who operate in life with the freedom to choose, think, own, create, nurture, and lead, and help others do so as well. For these reasons, we will be vigorously exploring and advocating these possibilities in our future scholastic endeavors.

In conclusion, we sincerely want students to know that the doors at HBCUs are unlocked and waiting for their entry. In the words of Hellen Keller (2018), “When one door of happiness closes, another door opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” As prospective students and families make their decisions about higher education, they should also remember, while you are an HBCU student and when you leave as an alumnus, you’ll have your own story to tell – but most importantly, you’ll have a lifetime experience of never walking alone.

Figure

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screen Black prospective students. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 5(4).

https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649218792579

The Pedagogic Problem: A Situational

Analysis

by

Anitra Butler-Ngugi Teacher Education Department Prince George's Community College

For centuries, Westernized instruction, inculturation, and indoctrination have been carried out using a pedagogical model of teaching rooted in intellectual tyranny and European hegemony. Bernstein’s theory of the pedagogic device provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex relationships between society, education, and the individual. It highlights the role of power and control in the development and transmission of knowledge, and it calls for a critical approach to curriculum development that challenges existing structures and assumptions. Bernstein’s pedagogic device theory eloquently elucidates the mechanisms through which pedagogy reinforces Western educational frameworks, providing a crucial explanation for the limited benefits that Western education has yielded for African communities globally. Therefore, it is imperative for Black studies programs and teacher education programs to transition from Western-centric methods of knowledge transmission to approaches more closely aligned with African perspectives and practices, as a means to re-Africanize our mindset and

educational paradigms. Ubuntugogy is the vehicle for that transition.

Ubuntugogy

In 2005, Bangura conducted the first serious discussion of ubuntugogy and how this African educational paradigm transcends pedagogy, andragogy, ergonagy, and heutagogy. Bangura (2005) defined pedagogy as the art and science of teaching. He defined andragogy as the art and science of helping adults learn. The art and science of helping people learn to work was defined as ergonagy, while the study of self-determined learning was defined as heutagogy (Bangura, 2005). Andragogy, ergonagy, and heutagogy are all models of teaching and learning, while pedagogy concerns itself specifically with teaching. This distinction is important because the art and science of teaching is concerned with knowledge transmission and knowledge acquisition. For this query, I used situational analysis, which offers a nuanced understanding of ubuntugogy and its impact on African people.

Background

Knowledge can be defined as ways in which a culture codifies and organizes information. Hence the pedagogic device orders and disorders principles and rules for passing on knowledge. Information codified by Western culture has been recontextualized for teachers’ transmission and students’ acquisition by way of the pedagogic device. In the case of the African struggle for liberation, colonization has caused indigenous African knowledge to be marginalized and African-centered epistemes subjugated. As a result, Westernized education is a pivotal cultural instrument used in the Western empire to maintain its power structures: Unfortunately, given the global hierarchy that is a hallmark of modernity, learning is unidirectional: Africans must learn from Europeans and Americans (including their pathologies); Africans, on the other hand, are not perceived to have anything of value that

they could teach the West. (Oywm, 2015, p. 6).

In short, Europeans and Euro-Americans have “deprived Africans of legitimacy and recognition in the global cultural order dominated by European patterns (Quijano, 2007, p. 170). Nonetheless, Carruthers reminded us that “when we understand the mind of the oppressors then we can develop a successful plan” (1999, p. 33). The pedagogic device is a tool used by oppressors that “pulls Africans away from their roots, away from their own knowledge, and away from their own knowledge holders, into a chasm of dependency on others whose values and understandings have been shaped in very different cultures, histories, and environments” (Nsamenang, 2006, p. 296).

Theoretical Framework

Bangura (2019) defined ubuntugogy as “an indigenous African educational and knowledge system comprising the art and science of learning and teaching that is undergirded by humanity towards others” (p. 133). Ubuntugogy is rooted in the Bantu African worldview and lifestyle known as ubuntu, a term derived from the Nguni languages of Southern Africa (Ndebele, Swati/Swazi, Xhosa, and Zulu), which translates to a sense of compassion, humanity, or benevolence. Bangura argued that “ubuntugogy transcends pedagogy, andragogy, ergonagy and heutagogy” because ubuntugogy acknowledges the interrelatedness, interdependence, and interconnectedness of planetary elements and the biodiversity of species (2005, p. 31). Ubuntugogy offers a more inclusive and humane educational approach that leads Africans to cognitive justice and epistemic freedom because ubuntuogogy allows us view ourselves and our environment through an Afro-centric lens.

In his writings, Asante frequently emphasized the need for a new educational paradigm tailored specifically to African teachers and learners, a concept highlighted by Bangura (2019).

This novel paradigm, ubuntugogy, aligns with Asante’s vision, as it provides a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the distinctive educational thought processes inherent to Africans and those in the diaspora. This endeavor requires a comprehensive understanding of the African personality, which entails outlining African philosophical perspectives and a unique African worldview that integrates both tangible and intangible elements. It also necessitates a deeper appreciation of the intrinsic thought processes and attitudes that shape the African experience, encompassing both the physical and metaphysical realms of existence.

Ubuntugogy, a term rich in cultural significance, is founded on three key tenets: religiosity, consensus building, and dialogue. These principles serve as essential approaches to Africanizing educational curriculum, a concept referred to as sebayit. As defined by Obenga (2004), sebayit encompasses written teaching, instruction, wisdom, and pedagogy (2004, p. 34). Sebayit represents the transition of pupils from darkness into intellectual and spiritual enlightenment. Ubuntugogy thus embodies the spirit of learning and of nation building for individuals of African descent, drawing upon the collective wisdom and communicative strength of African spiritualism, consensus building, and dialogue.

Research Methodology

Under the purview of the research methodology, I scrutinize the impact of the pedagogic device on African epistemologies. This device has been instrumental in the marginalization of indigenous African ways of knowing, knowledge production, and perspective development. My aim is to reveal the persistence of this device in maintaining power dynamics and societal norms that originated in the colonial era. In this way, I hope to understand the mechanisms through which the pedagogic device reinforces these longstanding structures.

To develop a theory of the pedagogic device’s impact on contemporary education, I

categorized narrative data from a literature review on the sociology of pedagogy into one social world/arena map. I also used secondary data from the World Inequality Database on Education, which uses data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the 2018 results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA); and the 2022 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted in the United States. These results were captured and added to the social world/arena map. The pedagogic device lies at the center of the map.

According to Bangura (2011), a situational analysis is “a variation of grounded theory that seeks to extend Anselm Strauss’s ecological social worlds/arenas/discourses framework” (p. 19). One strength of situational analysis “as a mode of qualitative inquiry lies in Anselm Strauss’s analytic framework of social worlds/arenas theory, which he developed in tandem with but separate from grounded theory” (Clarke et al., 2018, p. 149). Clarke (2005) argued that Strauss’s negotiated, processual ordering framework can be considered for laying out the major elements of situations. Strauss identified these elements as spatial, temporal, technological, work, sentimental, moral, and aesthetic orders. Because situational analysis uses cartographic approaches to understand phenomena, a social worlds area map was constructed to “lay out the major collective actors (social worlds, organizations, institutions, etc.) and the arena(s) of commitment and discourse with which they are engaged in ongoing negotiations in the situation of inquiry” (Clarke et al., 2018, p. xxiv). The strengths of this approach include its critical socialjustice edge to qualitative inquiry, as Clarke (2018) suggested that situational analysis “offers distinctive concepts and maps to help analytically grapple with power in both its more solid and fluid forms. It also works to encourage collaborative research strategies that can support more inclusive participatory, decolonizing, and (post)colonial projects” (p. xxv).

Due to the intricacy of this type of analysis, the adaptability and transparency of the method could pose difficulties for deriving definitive insights from the data. In addition, the use of diverse cartographic techniques coupled with a focus on comprehending the intricacies and disparities requires great proficiency in the researcher. The methodology’s ability to encompass an extensive range of research endeavors while simultaneously valuing diversity and complexity could also result in an abundance of data and viewpoints that could be daunting to sift through and interpret. I address the limitations of situational analysis by following standardized procedures and guidelines to mitigate the difficulties created by the adaptability and transparency of the method. This helped ensure consistency in the analysis, making it easier to draw clear and reliable conclusions. I also maintained clear and comprehensive documentation of the analysis and decision criteria to enhance transparency and accountability. The results presented here stem from Strauss’s negotiated and processual ordering framework, which was used to systematically arrange the various situations within the major elements.

Spatial Elements

Pedagogic practices can be either explicit or implicit in their hierarchies, affecting the spatial dynamics between the transmitter (teacher) and the acquirer (student). The spatial organization of knowledge and its boundaries upholds existing power structures by determining what knowledge is considered legitimate and who has access to it (Sadovnik, 1991). The classification rules of the device define the boundaries between different categories, such as subjects or disciplines. A strong classification results in well-defined boundaries, whereas a weak classification leads to more integrated content. The actors setting the spatial rules are Western institutions of higher learning and for-profit industries.

Temporal Elements

The sequencing rules within the pedagogic practices of the device establish a temporal order of learning, with explicit rules making the learner aware of their developmental trajectory. The temporal organization of pedagogy upholds societal norms by establishing a standardized progression of learning, potentially disadvantaging students who do not conform to the expected pace or sequence of learning (Sadovnik, 1991). The sequencing and pacing rules of the pedagogic device determine the order in which content is taught (sequencing) and the rate at which students are expected to learn (pacing). The actors setting the temporal rules include faculty in primary, secondary, and tertiary schooling institutions.

Work Elements

Pedagogic practices involve work in terms of the effort required by both transmitters and acquirers to fulfill their roles. The criteria rules of the device uphold power structures by establishing standards and expectations that reflect the values and norms of the dominant culture (Sadovnik, 1991). The criteria rules define what counts as legitimate knowledge and what is valued in the educational process. The actors setting the criteria rules include agents of state educational agencies and trainers, curriculum authorities, decision makers, and teacher education institutions.

Sentimental Elements

The pedagogic practices embedded in the relationships between transmitters and acquirers carry an emotional undercurrent that can subtly shape the learning experience, either by supporting or concealing the sentimental elements involved. This implies that the pedagogic relationship extends beyond mere instruction to encompass an emotional and psychological dimension that is integral to the educational process. Consequently, the nature of these pedagogic

interactions plays a pivotal role in influencing how societal norms and values are transmitted, with the potential to either challenge or reinforce existing power structures.

Moral Elements

Education is fundamentally a moral endeavor, expressing the prevailing ideologies of those in power. This moral aspect is intricately woven into the rules of the pedagogic device that defines the pedagogic practices, dictating the expected conduct, character, and decorum in the educational environment.

Aesthetic Elements

The aesthetic elements inherent in the pedagogical practices of the device include not only the content and delivery of knowledge but also the way the environment nurtures learning. These aesthetic considerations are manifested through the training content, the structure of course curriculums, and the methodologies employed in teaching. Collectively, they play a pivotal role in upholding and perpetuating societal power structures, subtly influencing both the educational experience and the broader social context in which learning occurs.

In sum, each of the elements used for this situational analysis highlights how the rules of Bernstein’s pedagogic device reflect and reproduce social class and power relations within Western cultures. As such, Bangura’s ubuntugogy is a “sine qua non for educating Africans” and Africans in the diaspora (2019, p. 153).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Hilliard (1998) said, “We cannot wait for a more humane pedagogy to evolve” (p. 122). This situation analysis extrapolates the ways that pedagogy reinforces subjugation and inequities. Wilson (1998) claimed, We cannot advance or appropriately defend our interests and lives as an Afrikan people if

we place the fate of our community in the hands of the educational establishments of our oppressors and enemies. . . . Afrikan peoples and Afrikan leaders should be the recipients of an Afrikan-centered education. (p. 206)

Hence, something very different must be done to liberate the production of knowledge, reflection, and communication from the pitfalls of European rationality and modernity.

Bangura’s ubuntugogy might just be the salvation for Africans worldwide. Bangura argued that “after almost three centuries of employing Western educational approaches, many African societies are still characterized by low Western literacy rates, civil conflicts and underdevelopment” (2005). In sum, “to liberate the production of knowledge, reflection, and communication from the pitfalls of European rationality/modernity” (Quijano, 2007, p. 177), we must employ Afrocentric instructional design models, resources, and materials using an Afrocentric paradigm. A massive reeducation process is also necessary and should occur in an African “communi-versity” (Wright, 1984). Like Bangura, I advocate the adoption of ubuntugogy by African professors, African teachers, and African teacher educators.

References

Bangura, A. K. (2019). Branches of Asanteism. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books

Bangura, A. K. (2011). African-centered research methodologies: From ancient times to the present. Cognella.

Bangura, A. K. (2005). Ubuntugogy: An African educational paradigm that transcends pedagogy, andragogy, ergonagy and heutagogy.

Carruthers, J. H. (1999). Intellectual warfare. Third World Press.

Clarke, A. E. (2005). Doing situational maps and analysis. SAGE Publications.

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412985833

Clarke, A. E., Friese, C., & Washburn, R. (2018). Situational analysis: Grounded theory after the interpretive turn (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Hilliard, A. G. (1998). SBA: The reawakening of the African mind (revised ed.) Makare Publishers.

Mignolo, W. (2011). The darker side of Western modernity: Global futures decolonial options. Duke University Press.

Nsamenang, A. B. (2006). Human ontogenesis: An indigenous African view on development and intelligence. International Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 293–97.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590544000077

Obenga, T. (2004). Egypt: Ancient history of African philosophy. In K. Wiredu (Ed.), A companion to African philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Oyum, O. (2015). What gender is motherhood? Changing Yoruba ideals of power, procreation, and identity in the age of modernity. Palgrave Macmillan.

Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 168–78.

Sadovnik, A. R. (1991). Basil Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic practice: A structuralist approach. Sociology of Education, 64(1), 48–63.

Wilson, A. (1998). Blueprint for Black power: A moral political and economic imperative for the twenty-first century. Afrikan World InfoSystems.

Wright, B. E. (1984). The psychopathic racial personality and other essays (2nd ed.). Chicago: Third World Press.

CULTURALLY GROUNDED AND DECOLONIAL AGENCY, IDENTITY, AND SUPPORT

Tilted Crown: Examining the Implications and Impact of the C.R.O.W.N. Act

Marcedes Butler, Ed.D. University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Education

Acacia Dorsey M.Ed. University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Education

Airies Davis, Ed.D., M.B.A. Dominican University Brennan School of Business and Applied Social Justice

The consequences of fostering inclusive workplace cultures are profound and have the potential to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Various legislative measures have emerged to rectify discriminatory workplace practices, particularly those disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Discriminatory practices encompass a wide range, from personal appearance, including hair and clothing, to language use, including dialects and cultural nuances (Byrd & Tharps, 2001). The introduction of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (C.R.O.W.N.) Act in 2019 marked a significant step in addressing racial discrimination targeted at Black hair in workplaces and schools (Pitts, 2021). Historically, natural Black hair has been subject to biased perceptions and discriminatory practices (Byrd & Tharps, 2001). The absence of explicit federal laws protecting people against such discrimination highlights the need for legislation that recognizes and safeguards the cultural significance of Black hair.

The C.R.O.W.N. Act was aimed at rectifying the Civil Rights Act of 1964 oversight by explicitly including protections for Black hair. The interpretation of the 1964 act has allowed for a narrow definition of race, resulting in the permissibility of discriminatory practices against natural Black hair and protective styles. Texture discrimination has created an environment where Black women and girls are often measured and penalized for wearing their hair naturally or in protective hairstyles, requiring them to adhere to grooming policies influenced by Eurocentric beauty standards (Sims et al., 2020; Samuels, 2021). Currently, no federal law explicitly protects against the discrimination of Black hair (Pitts, 2021).

In addition, the denigration of Black hair textures has been prominent in media, books, and art, shaping the social construction of how Black people should appear in education and workplace settings (Ngandu-Kalenga Greensword, 2022). The next section of this chapter delves into the implications of the C.R.O.W.N. Act for workforce development and educational settings,

emphasizing the discrimination Black individuals face based on their hair and the importance of legislative measures for addressing these issues.

Implications in Workforce Development and Education

The implications of the C.R.O.W.N. Act in workforce development and education are profound. In America, professionalism has been defined as proximity to Whiteness, which leads to Black people having to code switch their language use and appearance (Thompson, 2009). Black hair is a racial marker, and the historical exclusion and discrimination of Black hair affects people of the African diaspora in many ways. At schools, places of business, and workplaces, dress codes and appearance policies have been ways to police Black people into assimilation of Whiteness (Sims et al., 2020; Torres & Davis, 2020). The stigma of Black bodies being less valuable and less beautiful is something that Black Americans still grapple with postemancipation (Essien & Wood, 2020).

The C.R.O.W.N. Act is crucial to rectifying this disparity. The act is a legal safeguard and a tool for educational instruction, guiding discourse on cultural diversity, identity acceptance, and societal inclusivity in educational and professional settings. The law is aimed at explicitly protecting against discrimination based on Black hair in professional and workplace settings. It emphasizes safeguarding the right to seek and retain employment without race-based discrimination (Thompson, 2009). By protecting “protective hairstyles” natural hairstyles, afros, bantu knots, curls, braids, locs, and twists hair texture, and race, it can safeguard the welfare, prosperity, and peace of all individuals, irrespective of race, color, age, or gender identity.

The C.R.O.W.N. Act serves as both a legal and workplace safeguard and an educational instrument, drawing on insights from scholars like Opie and Phillips (2015) and Ngandu-

Kalenga Greensword (2022) to guide discourse on cultural diversity, identity acceptance, and societal inclusivity. Recent trends in major corporations, exemplified by setbacks involving layoffs, downsizings, and budget cuts, underscore the urgent need for such legislative measures. The C.R.O.W.N. Act urges society to move beyond rhetoric and take tangible steps to foster a truly inclusive and just environment for all (Bracey et al., 2018; Torres & Davis, 2020).

Discrimination in Workforce Development and Education

“Black hair appropriation” refers to the 0inappropriate adoption or imitation of Black hairstyles, often by individuals who do not belong to the Black community, which can perpetuate stereotypes and undermine the cultural significance of these styles. Understanding the nuances of Black hair appropriation is essential to fostering cultural sensitivity and respecting the significance of these hairstyles in Black culture. Black women’s hairstyles are frequently labeled unprofessional when they do not conform to Eurocentric straight hair standards, especially when exhibited in natural coils (Opie & Phillips, 2015; Henson, 2017).

Moreover, Black women's hair is more likely to be rated lower than White women’s in workplace and professional settings (Opie & Phillips, 2015). As an outward expression of racial identity, Black hair is routinely considered an act of resistance, even aggression, by non-Black employers (Griffin, 2019). This notion is where the double standard lives: Black women presenting as their natural selves is seen as threatening. The issue of Black hair appropriation highlights the challenges faced by Black women in navigating cultural and professional spaces. Notably, Thompson (2009) emphasized that Black women’s physical aesthetics, particularly in the workplace, can hurt their economic mobility, partly due to Black women being measured against unrealistic beauty standards created to exclude Black bodies and Afrocentric features (Dawson et al., 2019). To present themselves as more professional, Black women must invest

extra time and money in manipulating their natural curls and kinks to be aligned with grooming protocols (Henson, 2017).

The inappropriate adoption of Black hairstyles perpetuates stereotypes and undermines the significance of cultural identity. Recognizing and addressing this appropriation is crucial for fostering cultural sensitivity. The C.R.O.W.N. Act sets a legal precedent to protect Black women from being discriminated against for wearing their natural hair, which in theory should neutralize this double standard (Pitts, 2021).

Addressing Community-Specific Concerns

Addressing community-specific concerns related to the C.R.O.W.N. Act requires raising awareness, strategic planning, and engagement tailored to Black women’s and girls’ unique needs and challenges. The 1964 Civil Rights Act is supposed to protect against race-based discrimination, but because the courts have interpreted the meaning of race narrowly, it still allows for discrimination against Black hair in its natural state and protective styles. A person’s Blackness cannot be removed, but their hair can be altered, as it is a changeable racial marker (Sims et al., 2020). Altering Black hair to display proximity to the appearance of Whiteness has been a method of policing Blackness that schools and the workplace have enforced through grooming policies that allow for punitive measures to be taken against Black women and girls (Dawson, 2019; Essien, 2020). Grooming policies create external influences that affect those who wear their hair in its natural state or protective hairstyles. Therefore, legislation that explicitly protects Black hair from discrimination in the workplace and schools is needed.

The C.R.O.W.N. Act would specify the need to protect the welfare, prosperity, health, and peace of all people and to foster the right of all people to reasonably seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, distinction, or restriction because of race, religious creed,

color, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ancestry (Bracey et al., 2018). It would include specific protections for (a) “protective hairstyle” and (b) “race.” Enacting it is vital to tackling community-specific concerns and offering a comprehensive approach that emphasizes education and awareness. This legislation would explicitly protect against discrimination in schools and workplaces and encourage educational institutions and employers to conduct training programs and workshops to implement inclusive practices (Bracey et al., 2018). These initiatives aim to foster awareness about hair discrimination and promote inclusive and diverse environments.

Future Outlook

In recent years, significant strides have been made to push the passage of the C.R.O.W.N. Act at state and federal levels. Implementing the act requires a comprehensive approach involving advocacy, awareness campaigns, and strategic engagement with policymakers and the public. Some noteworthy progress toward federal passage has been made. California and New York have passed versions of the act, setting the groundwork for federal advocacy (Bracey et al., 2018). These state-level actions have also served as pioneering steps in recognizing and addressing racial discrimination related to hairstyles, particularly affecting African American communities. Currently 23 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands have passed versions of the C.R.O.W.N. Act (Bracey et al., 2018).

Despite gaining approval in the House, nationwide passage of the C.R.O.W.N. Act encountered obstacles when Senate Republicans blocked it twice, in 2019 and 2022 (Bracey et al., 2018). The importance of the act extends beyond its legislative mission to eliminate stereotypes and prejudices associated with being told that one’s natural appearance, particularly one’s hair, is unacceptable. The legislation also protects individuals in federal-assistance

programs and employment settings, aiming to eradicate discriminatory practices.

There has been a proliferation of public awareness campaigns on various platforms, mainly social media, to educate and inform the public about the significance of the C.R.O.W.N. Act. These campaigns, marked by hashtags like #PassTheCrown Act, have been vital in spreading awareness and generating support for the cause, notably among African American and Black communities affected by hair-based discrimination. Petitions and meetings with members of Congress have further emphasized the urgency and importance of federal intervention, using data, real-life anecdotes, and research to highlight the profound impact of hair-based discrimination on African American communities.

The C.R.O.W.N. Act remains relevant given the ongoing political movements surrounding the topic. The designation of National C.R.O.W.N. Day on July 3rd highlights the vital role of legislative intervention in cultivating a respectful environment that embraces diverse hairstyles. The observance symbolizes ongoing efforts to encourage discussions and actions to foster a more equitable and accepting society. In addition, the National Day of Racial Healing is observed annually on the Tuesday following Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This day, launched in 2017, is meant to unite people in their common humanity and inspire collective action for a more just and equitable world (Christopher, 2021). Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) is a comprehensive, multi-year national, and community-based process to bring about transformational and sustainable change. Through TRHT, corporate and community partners address the historic and contemporary effects of racism, fostering authentic relationships, trust, and collective power at the community and institutional levels (Christopher, 2021). The overarching goal of the C.R.O.W.N Act is to establish environments that promote inclusivity, enabling individuals to thrive without the detrimental effects of hair-based discrimination.

Conclusion

The introduction of the C.R.O.W.N. Act in 2019 marked a significant step toward addressing racial discrimination targeted at Black hair in workplaces and schools. Natural Black hair has historically been subject to biased perceptions and discriminatory practices (Byrd & Tharps, 2001). The act closes the gap in federal laws by explicitly protecting Black hair and safeguarding the right to seek and retain employment without race-based discrimination, serving as a tool for educational and workplace instruction and ensuring an inclusive environment for learning (Pitts, 2021).

Black women often face lower ratings in professional workplace settings due to the portrayal of their natural hair as resistance or aggression by non-Black employers (Griffin, 2019). The act is aimed at eliminating this double standard and safeguarding Black women in professional settings. It is a crucial instructional resource, fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging in educational settings. It is also a crucial instructional resource, contributing to an educational setting that embraces diversity and inclusion.

At the federal level, the act has gained momentum through public awareness campaigns, lobbying, and engagement with policymakers. As of 2023, the C.R.O.W.N. Act is law in 23 states, which sets the groundwork for federal advocacy and has made significant strides in toward recognizing and addressing racial discrimination related to hairstyles, notably affecting Black communities (Bracey et al., 2018). These collective efforts seek a more inclusive, equitable future that respects and embraces cultural identities and diverse hairstyles.

Lastly, the act is critical to rectifying historical discrimination against Black hair, particularly in professional and educational spheres. It is meant to neutralize the double standard and protect Black women from discrimination. Advocacy for the act at the federal level has

gained momentum. However, the goal is to ensure its adoption across all states in the country,

contributing to a more inclusive and equitable future that respects diverse cultural identities and celebrates the resilience and pride embodied in Black hairstyles.

References

Bracey, E. E., Lawson, K. R., Blanchard, O. N., & Asmoah, A. B. (2018). The official CROWN Act. https://www.thecrownact.com/about

Byrd, A., & Tharps, L. (2001). Hair story: Untangling the roots of Black hair in America. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Christopher, G. C. (2021). Truth, racial healing, and transformation: Creating public sentiment. Health Equity, 5(1), 668–74.

Dawson, G. A., Karl, K. A., & Peluchette, J. V. (2019). Hair matters: Toward understanding natural Black hair bias in the workplace. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26(3), 389–401.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051819848998

Ellington, T. N. (Ed.). (2023). Black hair in a White world. Kent State University Press.

Essien, I., & Wood, J. L. (2020). I love my hair: The weaponizing of Black girls’ hair by educators in early childhood education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(3), 401–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01081-1

Griffin, C. (2019, July 3). How natural Black hair at work became a civil rights issue. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/how-natural-black-hair-at-work-became-a-civil-rights-issue/ Henson, R. (2017). Are my cornrows unprofessional: Title VII’s narrow application of grooming policies and its effect on Black women’s natural hair in the workplace. Business Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review, 1, 521–38.

Ngandu-Kalenga Greensword, S. (2022). Historicizing Black hair politics: A framework for contextualizing race politics. Sociology Compass, 16(8).

https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13015

Opie, T. R., & Phillips, K. W. (2015). Hair penalties: The negative influence of Afrocentric hair

on ratings of Black women’s dominance and professionalism. Frontiers in Psychology,

6(August), 1–14.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01311

Pitts, B. (2021). “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”: A critical race analysis of the Crown Act. Journal of Black Studies, 52(7), 716–35

https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211021096

Samuels, J. (2021, January 13). The ultimate Black natural hair glossary.

https://afrocenchix.com/blogs/afrohair/the-ultimate-black-natural-hair-glossary.

Sims, J. P., Pirtle, W. L., & Johnson-Arnold, I. (2020). Doing hair, doing race: The influence of hairstyle on racial perception across the U.S. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(12), 2099–2119.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2019.1700296

Shepherd, J. M. (2018). Don’t touch my crown: Texturism as an extension of colorism in the natural hair community.

Torres, A., & Davis, A. (2020). Mission matters: World’s leading entrepreneurs reveal their top tips to success.

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There’s No Place Like Home: Ballroom Culture as an Invocation of African Family Values

by

Michelle B. Taylor, M.S.W. (ABD)

Temple University, Department of Africology & African American Studies

Temple University

African Americans have emerged as consistently influential architects of culture in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+, or more broadly “queer”) communities. Their impact extends from aesthetic realms to activism. Many LGBTQ+ communities flourish owing to the distinctive contributions of African Americans, who often discover a more profound sense of belonging in spaces that affirm queer identities than in their own familial or other cultural affiliations. It is important to acknowledge that despite formidable challenges, African American LGBTQ+ individuals have in many respects triumphed over the impediments created by systemic oppression targeting various facets of their identities.

One key factor in this resilience is their adeptness at establishing a sense of home in any community they find. The concepts of location, orientation, community, and place hold paramount significance in African-centered epistemology and Afrocentric scholarship. For queer

and transgender Africans, experiences of dislocation and disorientation stem not only from systemic racist oppression but also manifest in the pervasive rejection of LGBTQ+ individuals as fully integrated members of African communities. The act of creating a home wherever one exists and forming familial bonds with those who provide a sense of safety is instrumental in the survival of queer and transgender Africans across the diaspora. I posit that the African American LGBTQ+ notion of home relies heavily on intrinsic understandings of African cultural unity, an African matriarchal approach to community and family construction, and a dependence on cultural memories passed down through generations and across continents.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the “ballroom” cultural phenomenon swept through cities like New York with fervor and pizzazz. This culture was built on the artistry of people who had been systemically and systematically disenfranchised from the mainstream world. Ballroom culture centered on the wants, needs, desires, and artistry of African American LGBTQ+ people who had been discarded and forgotten by many of those closest to them. Despite supportive families and communities who provided secure and affectionate environments for individuals of non-heteronormative sexual orientations, many queer individuals felt compelled to leave their homes due to rejection by family members and religious communities (Telander et al., 2017). In the ballroom community space, African American queer and transgender individuals were allowed to express themselves authentically, embrace their true identities, and cultivate a sense of community in a time and place where societal acknowledgment of their humanity was lacking.

The clandestine ballroom culture, characterized by all-night dance parties, vibrant fashion shows, and glamorous competitions, served as an inclusive community space where queer and transgender Africans redefined the concept of home as a secure communal environment shaped not only by familial bonds but by kinship rooted in shared identities. Over time, ballroom culture

evolved into a platform for audacious and self-assured performances, the pursuit of an authentic life, the challenging of social and political boundaries, and the establishment of a chosen family. As with most families, the central mother figure is an essential member of that community. As many people who participated in ballroom culture were situated in what came to be known as “houses,” they often clung to the love, guidance, and protection of the one who was deemed the mother of the house (Arnold & Bailey, 2009). This person was not generally a blood relation, but their love for the “children” of the house was abundant and strong. I argue that the house mother in ballroom culture functioned as a central being and played a critical role in maintaining an aspect of African cultural practice, African matriarchy, in a way that African American queer people could embrace and embody as their own.

Understanding motherhood in the African cultural context is essential to understanding how mothering is experienced across the African diaspora. Molefi Kete Asante’s notion of location involves recognizing the specific geographical, historical, and cultural spaces that individuals or communities occupy. He argued that understanding one’s location is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of identity and worldview (Asante, 1998; 2007). Asante’s perspective rejects universalism and promotes the idea that individuals and cultures should not be viewed through a Eurocentric lens but rather in the context of their own distinct experiences and histories.

As many of us have been educated primarily in Eurocentric philosophies and disciplines, we are likely to have constructed understandings of motherhood that are rooted in European cultural contexts because that is what we have been taught to do. The sociology of motherhood, for example, looks at motherhood as an institution, a construction, and a function within a larger society (O’Reilly, 2010). However, we cannot “be captured by a sense of universality given to

[us] by the Eurocentric viewpoint; such a viewpoint is contradictory to [our] own ultimate reality,” (Asante, 1988, p. 41). We must endeavor to consider motherhood today as a derivative of its original design. To analyze modern African motherhood, we must examine the ways European cultural concepts have intervened and influenced how motherhood is performed. The Afrocentric approach is essential because it “recognizes our frame of reference so that we become the center of analysis and synthesis,” (Asante, 1988, p. 39).

It is through this lens that I can consider motherhood in a context that relies not on European ways of knowing and being but on African ones, and the centrality of the maternal figure (Dove, 2002) is exemplified in ballroom house culture. I also note that while ancient practices of African matriarchy have diminished, largely due to colonization and psychological and physical attacks on African families, we can bear witness to a reclamation of the centering of the African mother in the construction of the ballroom families and houses. The experiences of African LGBTQ+ people have involved dislocation primarily as a result of psychological distortions that have led to many African people embracing queerphobia and claiming that to be queer is antithetical to African culture. The reconstruction of the “Black family,” as exhibited by those who created these houses, challenges us to reconsider our understanding of “home” within a dislocated existence. I argue that the ability to recenter the family, despite the oppressive forces of colonization, is essential to the future survival of all African people.

There has been a renewed focus on ballroom culture, particularly of the 1980s in New York City, as a result of the popularity of the television show Pose. 2 The show stars LGBTQ+ actors Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Angelica Ross, Indya Moore, and MJ Rodriguez. It was the first television show to feature several transgender principal characters and actors, all of the

2 Pose debuted June 3, 2018 on the FX network and ran for three seasons, ending on June 6, 2021.

African diaspora. It is also the first network television show to feature this many African American queer characters and actors. The show is set in New York City in the 1980s, a time when the club nightlife was energetic and thriving, but also when the HIV/AIDS epidemic began destroying the lives of predominantly queer and transgender people. The storylines center on joy, triumph, and hope while also acknowledging the reality of the pain, trauma, and fears of living out loud as an African American LGBTQ+ person. Pose offers an insightful view into the resilience and fortitude of those who paved the way for many others including the stars of the show themselves. Central to the theme of the show is the role of a “house mother” (Bailey, 2011) and we see many interactions between two primary characters who have anointed themselves house mothers of two separate groups of disenfranchised African American and Afro-Latino queer people. Despite their frequent financial and other personal struggles (one is HIV-positive, for example), these house mothers do everything they can to provide a safe space and create a home for the children who flock to them and look to them for guidance and support.

What struck me as I watched this show was how similar the family dynamics were to what I have always understood as African cultural family dynamics, and I became interested in looking deeper into what ballroom represented as far as depictions of African motherhood in the mainstream media. I began to ask what if anything this show and broader ballroom culture were saying about African family life and culture, specifically motherhood in an African context. I decided it was important to explore this, perhaps as a way of conceiving a future in which no African American goes unmothered. What Pose offered, in its representation of ballroom culture, were examples of family dynamics and kinship connections that illuminated what I understood to be common experiences in Black families: honoring the mother; participation in kinship adoptions; upholding cultural traditions and celebrations; relying on spirituality and religious

faith; providing aid and support, and triumphing over conflict and struggles imposed by external oppressive forces. On a more aesthetic level, ballroom culture reiterates the penchant for signifying, elaborate dress, and performative flair experienced everywhere from Black churches to Black cookouts.

As Afrocentrists, our understanding of motherhood is rooted in our understanding of African matriarchy. Cheikh Anta Diop explained that African matriarchy existed outside of the European concepts of patriarchy and matriarchy and represented a society that centered on mothers and women as the bearers of culture (Diop, 1989; Dove, 1998, 2002). Diop found that African matriarchy represented communal values that were extensions of the values of Ma’at: that is, harmony, balance, reciprocity, justice, and community. In advancing his theory that Kemet is culturally linked to Africa as a whole, Diop noted that matriarchy is the cultural link that perpetuates African culture (Diop, 1989). He identified practices that support the idea that African women are not seen as inferior to men, such as marriage-related dowry practices and the distribution of labor and power (pp. 29–30). Diop explains that African matriarchy is not the same as any European conceptualizations of matriarchy, as varied as those are.

In ancient African societies, community contributions were not based specifically on gender identification. Indeed, gender identification as we know it today is a European construction, and in our ancient societies, we were less concerned with gender identity and more focused on one’s contributions to the broader community. We understood then that a person’s value was not measured by their biological sex but by their contributions to moving a community forward and strengthening its ways of being and knowing. At that time, our cultural practices and traditions were passed down through our mothers, and Nah Dove (2002) understood that mothering depends not on one’s gender identification but rather on how one cares for the

members of one’s community. One of the most important things to understand about African motherhood is that mothering is not restricted by biological sex or gender identification. It is defined by how one loves, nurtures, and cares for those in one’s community.

It can be said, then, that the role of the African mother is a powerfully influential one, biologically, socially, and politically, and that unlike Europeans, Africans attribute equitable value to mothers in their communities. African matriarchy can thus be defined as the “central role of the mother in the social and political function of societal structures,” (Alameen, 2012, p. 1). Matriarchy is not about women’s dominance over men or the inferiority of men, but about the idea that the mother is revered and honored within her community (Monges, 1997). It makes sense, then, our understanding of African motherhood should be grounded with this work, specifically the theory of the domains of African matriarchy, and continue with Dove’s expansion of it and development of the important framework of the “mother-centered matrix.”

In her discussion of the mother-centered matrix, Dove (2002) argues that the balance between masculine and feminine elements, both physical and spiritual, are not only sought after but are essential to the preservation and proliferation of African culture. The mother is the bearer of culture and the bringer of life (Dove, 1998), and history and lineage are traced through the mother. Dove’s view, as she understood motherhood by way of Diop’s research on African matriarchy, offers an explanation of the role of a house mother in ballroom culture and the greater LGBTQ+ community: there is a direct connection between how we understand African motherhood in ancient societies and how we conceive of African motherhood in queer contexts.

Arnold and Baily (2009) also noted that gender is not essential to being deemed “mother” or “father,” as the most important characteristics are the person’s ability to provide material and emotional support to the children of the house and they way they show up in the community.

Each house’s identity is defined by the mother (or father, more rarely), from the adaptation of her surname, to the clothing worn to formal events showing allegiance to the house, to the representations and defense of the mother at ballroom competitions. Honoring the mother is an important aspect of ballroom culture and community, and I believe this focus derives from the African cultural inclination to center the mother in both family and community. For members of the ballroom family, the mother is a beacon drawing in those who have been displaced and providing them with a home, community, and belonging.

A central element of the Afrocentric paradigm is the notion of dislocation. Molefi K. Asante (1988; 1998) defined dislocation simply as the displacement of African people across the globe as a result of the atrocities of European colonization and the enslavement of Africans by Europeans and Arabs. This displacement is not only physical, however, and dislocation also suggests a removal or a disconnect from the African center, ways of being, and cultural ties. When we analyze the experiences of African Americans, we must consider the violent dislocation of our people and the mechanisms we have employed to survive in this oppressive society.

The African American LGBTQ+ community is a cogent example of how a dislocated group survives by relying on cultural memory and practices. We must consider how these people have been dislocated and dispossessed not only as African Americans, but also as people who are not heterosexual and not cisgender. This intersectional analysis is imperative to explain the phenomena.

Asante reminded us that Afrocentricity is essential to understanding and analyzing African American phenomena and can be applied to the experiences of African American queer people in the United States, as a dislocated people who have fought to find homes and

communities, and who have found themselves at intersections of oppression that make this all the more difficult. We should thus consider the implications how African American queer people have survived, and how their ways of being can inform liberating activities and behaviors for all African Americans.

It is important to acknowledge that for the most part, African American queer people have not sought to strike out on their own or take individualistic approaches to navigating life and finding their place in the world. Indeed, there have been both community-based and academic efforts to make it clear that being queer and being African or African American are not mutually exclusive, and those efforts have resulted in progress toward a fuller embrace of queer identities. Essex Hemphill (2000) asserted that African American queer people were not going away, and that many would be coming home, even with home being “a site of contestation” as opposed to “comforting” or a “welcome table” (Henderson et al., 2007). This tension has largely been motivated by respectable aspirations within families, social and spiritual communities, and Black academic spaces: “The politics of black respectability as understood in this way can be seen as laying the foundation for the necessary disavowal of black queers in dominant representations of the African American community, of African American history, and of African American studies” (Henderson et al., 2007). Queer people have both resisted this disavowal and accepted it for the rejection of their humanity that it has been. Whereas some have opted for pushing back and inserting themselves into hostile spaces and conversations, others have opted to create communities and empowering conversations where they can find them largely among themselves. As a result, there has been a gravitational pull toward community building, and at the center of the community there has always been a maternal figure, someone who exhibited the characteristics of an African mother (Dove, 1998;

2002).

As Diop and Dove discussed, concerns about the environment and how it affected communities were priorities for ancient Africans. The same is true of participants in ballroom culture, and it is the mother who takes on the responsibility of helping members of the house adjust to and survive the “elements.” This tells us that African cultural memories and traditions do not fade away or become corrupted simply because someone does not identify as heterosexual or cisgender. The “maternal” instinct is not diminished simply because one is transgender because, as Dove (1998) noted, “the concept of mother transcends gender and blood relations. A family member or friend who has been kind and caring can be said to be one’s mother” (p. 515). What we see exhibited is arguably a reinvention of motherhood on cultural terms established by a dislocated people doing their best to create a welcoming home they can return to.

Perhaps, then, we ought to imagine the possibilities for a future that centers queer inclinations toward not only surviving but thriving in the societies that seek to eradicate us. Young African American LGBTQ+ people continue to seek safe spaces, opportunities for acceptance, and a sense of home in ballroom culture and houses (Telander et al., 2017), which tells us that these continue to offer respite and refuge to those in need. What would it look like to create African cultural “houses” led by house mothers who provide guidance, love, and support to African Americans who feel displaced and disenfranchised from their families and communities for reasons other than being queer? Could this be a blueprint for community building that could be scaled up to save lives and create affirming, safe communities for African Americans who feel lost and disconnected?

To consider this, we must do more research on ballroom culture and take an Afrocentric approach to understanding the experiences of African American participants in the culture. We

must also develop a framework for understanding the wide range of experiences of people who are both African and queer so that we can better contextualize and understand their lives. For too long, queer people have been left out of Afrocentric scholarship, even denied acknowledgment as part of African communities. We ought to broaden the scope of our intellectual imaginations and consider all the ways queer African Americans have been bearers of African culture and have participated in the recreation of African communities and value systems. At the very least, we should consider the victorious consciousness of African American LGBTQ+ people who, despite everything they have had to face, have managed to find and create safe, loving, and affirming home spaces in a society that would rather they not exist at all.

Reference

Alameen, A. V. (2012). Women’s access to political power in ancient Egypt and Igboland: A critical study (Doctoral dissertation). Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

Arnold, E. A., & Bailey, M. M. (2009). Constructing home and family: How the ballroom community supports African American GLBTQ youth in the face of HIV/AIDS. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 21, 171–88.

Asante, M. K. (1988). Afrocentricity. Africa World Press.

Bailey, M. M. (2011). Gender/racial realness: Theorizing the gender system in ballroom culture. Feminist Studies, 37(2), 365–86. https://doi.org/10.1353/fem.2011.0016

Diop, C. A. (1989). The cultural unity of Black Africa: The domains of patriarchy/matriarchy in classical antiquity. Karnak House.

Dove, N. (1998). African womanism. Journal of Black Studies, 28(5), 515–39.

https://doi.org/10.1177/002193479802800501

Dove, N. (2002). Defining a mother-centered matrix to analyze the status of women. Journal of Black Studies, 33(1), 3–24.

https://doi.org/10.1177/002193470203300101

Hemphill, E. (2000). Ceremonies: Prose and poetry. Cleis Press.

McBride, D. (2007). Straight Black studies: On African American studies, James Baldwin, and Black queer studies. In M. Henderson & E. P. Johnson (Eds.), Black Queer Studies: A critical anthology (pp. 68–89). Duke University Press.

Monges, M. M.-K.-R. (1997). Kush, the jewel of Nubia: Reconnecting the root system of African civilization. Africa World Press.

Telander, K., Hosek, S. G., Lemos, D., & Jeremie-Brink, G. (2017). “Ballroom itself can either make you or break you”: Black GBT youths’ psychosocial development in the house

ball community. Global Public Health, 12(11), 1391–1403.

https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2017.1293123

Clenora Hudson (Weems), Ph.D. Professor, Department of English University of Missouri-Columbia Ida Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor (2021–22), University of Iowa, Department of African American Studies

Neither an outgrowth nor an addendum to feminism, Africana Womanism is not Black feminism, African feminism, or Walker’s womanism that some Africana women have come to embrace. Africana Womanism is an ideology created and designed for all women of African descent. It is grounded in African culture, and therefore, it necessarily focuses on the unique experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of Africana women. It critically addresses the dynamics of the conflict between the mainstream feminist, the Black feminist, the African feminist, and the Africana womanist. The conclusion is that Africana Womanism & its agenda are unique & separate from both White feminism & Black feminism, & moreover, to the extent of naming in particular, Africana Womanism differs from African feminism.

(Hudson-Weems, Africana Womanism, 5th & 6th Eds., 15 & 17)

In light of the above clarification of what Africana womanism is and what it ain’t, it is important to first distinguish oneself from others, and one’s own needs, desires, goals from theirs. I am reminded of an earlier publication, delivered at the 1st International Conference on Women of Africa and the African Diaspora, held at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka in 1992.

It was published five years later in Sisterhood, Feminisms and Power: From Africa to the

Africana Womanism/Africana-Melanated Womanism: What It Is/What It Ain’t

Diaspora, following the publication of Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves (1993). Daphne Ntiri, moderator of a conference session, highlighted the significance of my presentation on Africana womanism:

Hudson-Weems’ presentation received serious attention from panelists and participants alike at the Nigeria meeting. Her diligent portrayal of the historical facts that have systematically marginalized women of African descent even the African woman in her own land drove home some hard facts and opened the eyes of the women to new intellectual realms. As Chair of the Panel, I noted large-scale concurrence from Africana womanists in the standing-room-only crowd. (Ntiri, Introduction in Africana Womanism, 5th & 6th Editions, 7-8; 8) She also shared a powerful quotation from a headline article in The Nigeria Daily Times covering the conference. With its catchy title, “Africana Womanism: Beyond Bra Burning,” connoting opposition to the popular concerns of women only, particularly in the Western world, the editor, while endorsing this new concept, simultaneously globalized the paradigm:

Personal and racial experiences . . . will be the factors responsible for the evolution of Africana Womanism. Therefore. Legitimate concerns of the Africana Woman are issues to be addressed within the context of African culture and history. Africana Womanists do not believe in “bra burning.” They believe in womanhood, the family and society.

(Nigerian Daily Times, 1992)

There is an obvious difference in priorities here race first which led me to consider the history of Africana people, as female empowerment rather than race empowerment is not the first priority in our communities. Therefore, the proper name to assign to us, reflecting our reality, cannot be the same as that of the dominant culture, which was designed for and by White

women decades ago. With this establishment, the paradigm was then authentically cast for us, as observed by the authors of the foreword to Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves. In that foreword, according to Stewart and Mazama (2023), Africana womanism is to be tailored for the ultimate benefit of Africana people, although others can benefit as well: The importance of Africana Womanism to Africana Studies/Africology cannot be overstated. Among its many virtues is its role as an important corrective to the continuing tendency to marginalize the experiences of Africana women and minimize their roles as active agents in the ongoing liberation struggle. Consequently, Africana Womanism is enabling Africana Studies/Africology to realize its full potential as a guiding beacon in the global battle to claim the natural rights of all people of African descent. (p. xiii)

Africana women, since African antiquity have needed only to be properly named and defined. Thus, we need a paradigm that reflects our true life experiences, needs, and desires, including the co-existence of Africana men and women, who experience shared oppression and therefore must struggle collectively for the survival of our families and communities to free us from racial dominance. It’s a family affair, and always has been, in which we must stick together.

This long work first came to fruition in two 1989 publications, beginning with “Cultural and Agenda Conflicts in Academia: Critical Issues for Africana Women’s Studies.” This paper issued an urgent call for a new terminology for the historical and cultural reality of Africana women:

Africana women might begin by naming and defining their unique movement “Africana Womanism.” The concept of Womanism can be traced back to Sojourner’s [1852] speech that began to develop and highlight Africana women’s unique experience into a paradigm for Africana women. Africana Womanism does not suggest that female

subjugation is the most critical issue they face in their struggle for parity. Like Black feminism, Africana Womanism acknowledges societal gender problems as critical issues to be resolved; however, it views feminism, the suggested alternative to these problems, as a sort of inverted White patriarchy, with the White feminist now in command and on top. Mainstream feminism is women’s co-opting themselves into mainstream patriarchal values. (Hudson-Weems, “Cultural and Agenda Conflicts” 187)

Four years later, in 1993, Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves was released. One of its seminal chapters, “The Agenda of the Africana Womanist” (revised in the 2020 5th edition), lays out the basis of the authentic Africana womanism paradigm. It was a brand-new concept documenting the historical and ongoing reality of who Black women are and how we address daily racial issues affecting our multi-dimensional lives. In the foreword, the renowned scholar ’Zula Sofola, Nigeria’s first female playwright, gave the following assessment:

Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves is not simply a scholarly work, one of those in the mainstream, but our own. It is a new trail blazed with incontrovertible revelations on the African heritage and gender question. Hudson-Weems bravely takes the bull by the horns, confronts the Eurocentric avalanche of works on questions of gender, and puts forward the Afrocentric point of view. (Sofola xi)

Around the same time, noted black psychologist Julia Hare the spouse of Nathan Hare, who launched the nation’s first department of Black studies at San Francisco State University in the late sixties provided a profound commentary on the differences in the politics of Black life and of White life, particularly on issues related to women:

Women who are calling themselves black feminists need another word that describes what their concerns are. Black feminism in not a word that describes the plight of black

women. In fact, . . . black feminists have not even come together and come to a true core definition of what black feminism is. The white race has a woman problem because the women were oppressed [suppressed]. Black people have a man and woman problem because Black men are as oppressed as their women. (Hare, Quoted in Black Issues 15) Hare’s call for a new name for the Black woman’s movement, because of problems with the prevalent terms such as the various forms of feminisms, suggests a need for a new terminology and concept. In 1997, the editors of Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition, a major Black literature anthology, assessed Africana womanism in the biographical headnote to my own contribution:

The first African American woman intellectual to formulate a position on Africana Womanism was Clenora Hudson-Weems, author of the 1993 groundbreaking study, Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves. Taking a strong position that black women should not pattern their liberation after Eurocentric feminism but after the historic and triumphant women of African descent, Hudson Weems has launched a new critical discourse in the Black Women’s Literary Movement. (Liggins Hill 1811)

In 2004, Africana Womanist Literary Theory, the sequel to Africana Womanism, was published, and the 1993 volume was later republished in a fifth edition (2020; followed by a sixth), introducing a new part III, “From Africana Womanism to Africana-Melanated Womanism,” which consisted of five new chapters, including “Africana Womanism’s Race, Class and Gender: Pre-Intersectionality.” This is a reminder that this concept, with its prioritization of race, class, and gender and its distinct meanings and terminology (connectedness, connectivity), is the cornerstone of Africana womanism, which was launched even before “intersectionality” and later advanced to the concept of “intersectional feminism.”

According to Christian (2020), in the afterword in Africana Womanism,

The current academic fad phrase is “intersectionality” as if those of us in Africana discourse never considered the myriad of issues encountered by our communities. “Race,” class and gender, and the prioritization therein, have always been key issues for comprehending Africana Womanism. (p. 131)

As the debate on Africana womanism versus intersectionality is addressed here, with both their origin and impact on Africana women brought to the forefront, the question is “Are there benefits of intersectionality?” I believe that there is, but not necessarily for Black women: the term “intersectionality,” introduced by Crenshaw in 1989, is limiting for Black women because “feminism” and by extension, “intersectional feminism” emerged from outside the Black population, having been initiated and defined by White women. In fact, of all the possible motives behind this concept for Black women, the only possibly positive one would be to serve as a corrective for historical wrongs against Black women, who were historically excluded from and unwelcomed by White women:

In making feminism more inclusive, while appealing to a larger audience, intersectionality was strategically introduced. Traditional feminism since its inception, until the terminology intersectionality was introduced in 1989, was gender exclusive, which now advocates an interest in racism and classism, too. . . . Audre Lorde, for example, raised her concerns about the exclusion of Black women, as well as lesbians, while commenting on the interconnection between Black men and women. Feminism, and its current evolution from gender exclusivity to intersectionality, was designed for and by White women . . . its motive is perhaps as a means of swelling the numbers of supporters by expanding its agenda, or by addressing, on some level, its unjust practice

of racial dominance. (Hudson-Weems, “Africana Womanism’s race, class and gender:

Pre-Intersectionality” 108-9 & 124-5)

More recently, the first U.S.-based edited volume on Africana womanism, Africana-Melanated Womanism: In It Together, which I edited, was released in 2022. The following is a succinct overview of Africana womanism versus intersectionality:

Yes, intersectionality, a step in the right direction, expanding beyond gender issues alone, is quite appropriate in defining white women in their 3rd and even 4th Waves of Feminism today, evolving from gender [female]-exclusivity to current inclusivity. However, it offers the Black woman virtually nothing [new], relative to Africana women and our families/communities. (Hudson-Weems, “The Significance of an Authentic Africana Womanism Paradigm” 20)

Asante (2004) gave his assessment of Africana womanism as having established a new and more appropriate foundation for Africana women, although others have glossed over its authenticity in favor of other forms of feminism:

Perhaps one of the most important challenges facing Africana womanism, much like challenges we have seen in other Afrocentric ventures, is keeping clever writers from siphoning off ideas and then claiming that those ideas really belong to feminism or to some other Western construction. What the Afrocentric community has come to applaud is the clarity with which Hudson-Weems speaks about African women. She has often pointed out, as she does in this volume, that many women authors try to suggest that the self-definition, self-determination, and centering that she has articulated is really a part of some feminist movement. In fact, what has usually happened is that those writers have found the Afrocentric ideas and concepts developed in Hudson-Weems’ Africana

womanism significant and, therefore, have sought to appropriate them without proper attribution. (Asante 138)

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison made the following assessment of feminism for Black women in 1971 in New York Times Magazine, challenging the participants and leaders of the women’s lib movement of the 1960s:

The early image of Women’s Lib was of an elitist organization made up of uppermiddle class [white] women with the concerns of that class and not paying much attention to the problems of most black women. Too much emphasis is placed on gender politics. . . . For years black women accepted that rage, even regarded that acceptance as their unpleasant duty. But in so doing they frequently kicked back, and they seem never to have become the true slaves that White women see in their own history. (Morrison 63)

Indeed, the concerns of the Black woman were not a part of the agenda for the shaper of modernday feminism, Betty Friedan, whose The Feminine Mystique (1961) established the position of White women in the women’s lib movement. Ten years after Morrison’s assessment, Friedan advocated for female exclusivity in The Second Stage (1981), changing her position from female centrality to family centrality and calling for an end to “male-bashing,” as White women openly stated that their number-one enemy was the White male. Contrary to this posture, Black sociologist Joyce Ladner, author of Tomorrow’s Tomorrow, contended that “Black women do not perceive their enemy to be black men, but rather . . . oppressive forces in the larger society which subjugate black men, women and children.” (pp. 277–78).

That said,

While I am not calling for a replacement of traditional, established paradigms, such as

feminism, etc., for they were, indeed, created out of the [common] needs of a particular group that had legitimate concerns or issues that needed to be addressed, I am nonetheless proposing for a broadening of the body of criticism to include yet another perspective or paradigms, which is Africana-Melanated Womanism. (Africana Womanism Fifth & Sixth Editions, 112 & 121)

In closing, we must know that Whites too are responsible for doing what is right, fair, and just. Hence, they must join in the commitment to rectifying historical wrongs by ensuring justice for all humanity with the understanding that until everyone is free, no one is really free. This is an issue for more than just Africana people. It’s a human issue. Thus like the Africana womanist, everyone must protect the destiny of the human family by embracing a strong sense of true family centrality. “We are all in it together,” no matter the ethnicity, no matter the gender, no matter one’s personal choices about sexuality:

“Africana Womanism: I Got Your Back, Boo” (Clenora, 2009)

Don’t you know by now, girl, we’re all In It Together! Family-Centrality that’s it; we’re going nowhere /out the other. That means the men, the women, and children, too, Truly collectively working “I got your back, Boo.”

Racism means the violation of our constitutional rights, Which creates on-going legal, and even physical fights; This 1st priority for humankind is doing what it must do, Echoing our 1st lady, Michelle “I got your back, Boo.”

Classism is the hoarding of financial privileges,

Privileges we must all have now in pursuit of happiness.

Without a piece of financial pie, we’re doomed to have a coup; Remember protect the other “I got your back, Boo.”

Sexism, the final abominable sin of female subjugation, A battle we must wage right now to restore our family relations. All forms of sin inevitably fall under 1 of the 3 offenses:

A.W., “I Got Your Back, Boo,” corrects our common senses. And to God be the glory.

References

Asante, M. K. (2004). Afterword. In C. Hudson-Weems (ed.), Africana Womanist Literary Tradition (pp. 137–9). Trenton: Africa World Press.

Christian, M. (2023). Afterword. In C. Hudson-Weems (ed.), Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves (6th ed., pp. 151–53). London and New York: Routledge.

Friedan, B. (1961). The Feminine Mystique. New York: Dell.

Friedan, B. (1971). The Second Stage. NY: Summit Books.

Hare, J. (1993, Mar. 11). Feminism in black & white. Black Issues in Higher Education, 12–17.

Hill, P. L. (ed). (1997). Call and response. In The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition. Houghton Mifflin.

Hudson-Weems, C. (2023). Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves Classic (6th ed.). London and New York: Routledge.

Hudson-Weems, C. (2004). Africana Womanist Literary Theory. Trenton: Africa World Press, 2004.

Hudson, C. (1989). Cultural and agenda conflicts in academia: Critical issues for Africana women’s studies. Western Journal of Black Studies, 13(4), 185–89.

Hudson (Weems), C. (2022). The significance of an authentic Africana womanism paradigm: Collectivity and interconnectedness for social justice. In Africana-Melanated Womanism: In It Together. U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Ladner, J. (1972). Tomorrow’s tomorrow: The Black woman. Garden City: Anchor.

Morrison, T. (1971, Aug.). What the Black woman thinks about the women’s lib movement. New York Times Magazine.

Ntiri, D. (2023). Introduction. In C. Hudson-Weems (ed.) Africana Womanism: Reclaiming

Ourselves (6th ed., pp. 1–9). London and New York: Routledge.

Sofola, ’Z. (2023). Foreword. In Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves (6th ed., pp. xi-xii). London and New York: Routledge.

Stewart, J., & Mazama, A. Foreword. In Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves (6th ed., pp. xiii-xvi). London and New York: Routledge.

Truth, S. Narrative of Sojourner Truth. New York: Arno & New York Times, 1968.

THE STATE OF BLACK/AFRICANA STUDIES

Decolonizing Discourse: Black Studies as a Vanguard of Inclusive Education Amidst the “Anti-Woke” Onslaught

by

Tara Mock, Ph.D. Honors College, The University of Alabama

An entire generation of “enlightened” European scholars worked hard to wipe out the cultural and intellectual contributions of Egypt and Nubia from European history, to whiten the West in order to maintain the purity of the “European” race. They also stripped all of Africa of any semblance of “civilization,” using the printed page to eradicate their history and thus reduce a whole continent and its progeny to little more than beasts of burden or brutish heathens. The result is the fabrication of Europe as a discrete, racially pure entity, solely responsible for modernity, on the one hand, and the fabrication of the Negro on the other.

(Césaire, 2023)

History acts as a guiding light illuminating paths once trod by civilizations long lost. It is through its history that a community narrates its identity, recounts its journey, and envisages the roads yet to be traveled. In this context, Black studies emerges as a prominent beacon lighting the expansive and profound Black experience, encompassing social upheavals, and redefining the dimensions of global Africanity. Interest in reconstituting Blackness and situating the lived experiences of Black people within the global African experience is not new: proto-Black studies intellectuals such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Edward Bruce, Carter G. Woodson, and Arthur A.

Schomburg acknowledged both a profound link and a sense of duty to the broader African American community in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nor is it unique to the American story: Paulo Freire’s (1970) views on education in Brazil are important signifiers of the potential liberatory effect of education, and Paul Zeleza (2011) wrote about the schism between African and African American studies. Nor is it limited to the educational realm, given the activistintellectual tradition from which the field emanates (Karenga, 2002, pp. 7–8).

In this way, Black studies helps to uncover a spectrum of histories that define global Africanity, transcending temporal, spatial, and ideological boundaries to present an alternative to the prevailing Eurocentric paradigm. In the contemporary academic sphere, this multidiscipline symbolizes a quest for intellectual emancipation, challenging fabricated accounts and promoting a broader understanding of human experience. It fosters critical thinking, promotes diverse discourse, and prepares students to engage constructively with the complex realities of a globalized world. Through these lenses, the field champions inclusive education, offering a more enriched, diversified, and equitable narrative that challenges conventio and fosters a deeper understanding of humanity.

Although Black studies challenges the prevailing narrative in advocating for a curriculum reflective of the multifaceted human experience, it has not been able to jettison the “epistemic erasures, omissions, fabrications, stereotypes, and silences of imperialist historiography” noted by Zeleza (2007) or to overcome the “historical amnesia in Europe” delineated by Karenga (1988) to become a truly liberating project. The transformation of the field into a vehicle for true liberation capable of dismantling the shackles of Eurocentric, paradigmatic historiographical narratives, continues.

The Eurocentric worldview will continue to diminish the historical contributions of non-

European and non-Western cultures until Euro-Americans adopt these contributions as their own.

Black studies corrects these errors, boldly adopting an foundation in Africana ideals and contributions to provide culturally relevant and responsive pedagogies. i This shift in perspective not only enriches our understanding of global history but empowers diverse voices and narratives, contributing to a more inclusive and comprehensive view of the world's heritage.

In this sense, the field bears the gravitas of its historical journey, the essence of its people and of humanity, beyond mere scholarly pursuits. It creates a conduit between academic institutions and the broader community, honoring and accentuating its historical foundations and liberatory ethos while fostering meaningful dialogue with universal communities of practice. Yet while the field continually metamorphoses to cater to the exigencies of global Blackness, it also finds itself under the perpetual scrutiny of exclusionary educational policies underpinned by the Eurocentric paradigm.

The persistent erasure of the cultural and intellectual contributions of non-European civilizations has set a historic precedent for what Asante (2006) termed “cultural particularity” and “essentialist privilege.” This denial resonates in modern-day attempts to silence inclusive narratives within the American educational landscape, showcasing a systemic effort to undermine Black studies. As an endeavor rooted in unearthing and illuminating the expansive Black experience, the field faces a new wave of suppression under the guise of combating “wokeism.” The suppression of inclusive narratives, as seen in legislative actions against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, African American studies courses, and critical race theory (CRT) in states like Florida and Alabama, reflects a broader ideological discord over how race and history are perceived in educational settings. The banning of these teachings and the introduction of bills aimed at stifling discussions of “divisive topics” reflect a concerted

effort to maintain the singular, Eurocentric narrative.

National Discontent Over “Wokeism” and Its Ripple Effects on Black Studies and Educational Discourses

In the current political climate, narratives of African America are often weaponized, misinterpreted, and suppressed as justification for marginalizing and othering American citizens. Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has waged what has been dubbed a “war on wokeism,” an ideology that intersects with Black studies through a shared focus on social justice and equity, casting the field as an adversary in political and cultural discourse. This “war” has manifested in legislative and policy endeavors combatting what DeSantis and his cohorts perceive as progressive or leftist ideologies permeating various sectors of society, notably education

The “antiwoke” crusade has been fortified by legislative tactics such as the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees or “Stop WOKE” Act (2022) which bans any instruction on race relations or diversity that suggests a person’s status as privileged or oppressed is determined by their race, color, national origin, or sex. It has strived to muzzle K–12 and university curriculums via assaults on advanced placement African American history courses and the dissemination of critical race and other systemic theories in schools. Such efforts toward what Russell-Brown (2022) referred to as “state orthodoxy” not only sabotage the objectives of Black studies but imperil the free thought and critical discourse that underpin the educational project. ii

This tussle over wokeism, and by extension the enlightenment project of Black studies, has spread beyond Florida, reflecting nationwide contention over inclusive histories and their position in the academic sphere. Former president Donald Trump once threatened to cut federal

funding to schools that incorporated the 1619 Project into their curriculums. iii This project, which was aimed at reframing the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center, was branded by Trump (2020) as “ideological poison” and “propaganda” that threatened to “dissolve the civic bonds” of the United States. Trump responded by launching the 1776 Commission to advance what he dubbed “patriotic education,” thereby forging an association between inclusive histories, Black history, non-Euromerican history and anti-patriotism (President’s Advisory 1776 Commission, 2021). Trump’s remarks on these subjects endorse the narrative that Black history is somehow separate from American history, cementing the place of the 1619 Project alongside CRT, DEI, African American studies, and “wokeism” as dog whistles for his support base.

This narrative is part of a larger national discourse, with numerous states enacting measures to curb discussions of race in classroom settings. Since January 2021, 36 states have taken measures to either ban or restrict discussions on race in the classroom. These efforts reflect a broader divide on race, education, and ideology, illustrating how the discourse surrounding Black studies curriculums is manifesting in educational settings across jurisdictions (Natanson, 2023).

In Alabama a state where I am employed and which, like Florida, has seen Black communities grapple with low education and health outcomes and high poverty, infant mortality, and obesity honors college students often enter my classroom having never heard of the slave ship Clotilde or the 16th Street Baptist church. Similarly, medical students frequently have little knowledge of the historical names Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, or the significance of Tuskegee beyond the university carrying its name. iv Students frequently lack knowledge even of significant local historical events and figures. However, attempts to address these gaps are often dismissed

on the grounds of avoiding the “divisive topics” at their roots.

On August 12, 2021, the Alabama State Board of Education voted to ban CRT teachings in K–12 classrooms (despite its not being taught there) and to curb discussions of race, both considered divisive topics. The board passed a resolution called “Preservation of Intellectual Freedom and Non-Discrimination in Alabama Public Schools,” aiming to ensure an “unbiased” learning environment, and in so doing it further narrowed the spectrum of knowledge accessible to Alabama youths.

Rep. Ed Oliver presented House Bill 7 in the Alabama legislature. This bill was aimed at stopping public institutions from discussing certain “divisive topics” in which “fault, blame, or bias should be assigned . .. (to) members of a race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin” (AL.com, 2023). v House Bill 11, also filed in the Alabama legislature ahead of the 2022 session, proposed making the teaching of systemic racism in schools a fireable offense (CBS 42, n.d.). House Bill 9 echoed this sentiment, declaring that the State of Alabama shall not teach, instruct, or train any individual to adopt or believe these divisive concepts (Lyman, 2022). And House Bill 312 and SB 292 specified that Alabama shall not encourage beliefs in “divisive concepts” and prohibited the teaching of divisive concepts related to race, religion and sex in public K–12 schools, colleges, universities, and certain state training programs. These legislative moves reveal a concerted effort to hinder the teaching of inclusive histories, adversely affecting all students in the state by narrowing portrayals of the multifaceted human experience. Historically, control over education has served as a tool to sustain racial hierarchies and marginalize the oppressed. Modern resistance to teaching and learning in the form of anti-woke, anti-inclusive legislation reflects past resistances to literacy, notably during the antebellum and Jim Crow periods. During that time, literacy was opposed through the “codes” that deprived

enslaved individuals, and later freedmen, of educational opportunities or a deeper grasp of their histories. These codes were propelled by intertwined fears of enslaved individuals banding together to orchestrate escapes, alongside rising calls for abolition. At their core, they were anchored in the dread that enslaved Blacks might gain knowledge, directly or indirectly, that could underpin collective action against their oppressors. These codes thus stand as a stark reminder of how control over education has been wielded to sustain racial hierarchies and manage political action in the U.S. The modern legislative measures against “woke” curriculums resonate with these historical practices, underlining a systemic fear of a more inclusive, more conscious narrative and of how knowledge precipitates action and action precipitates change.

The “Stop WOKE Act” in Florida and the prohibition of “divisive topics” in Alabama therefore epitomize a wider ideological national discord over the framing of curriculums on race and history. Despite being at the forefront, Florida and Alabama are merely two states among many that have moved to outlaw the instruction of what some label “divisive topics,” but others view as essential history. This development is significant because it resonates with LadsonBillings’s (1995) conviction what these laws try to prohibit extends beyond merely aligning school culture with student culture. The field aims to leverage student culture for classroom practices, nurturing cultural adeptness alongside social and political awareness. The essence of fostering social and political consciousness, now often termed “wokeness,” is what drives legislative efforts to delegitimize the subject matter.

These endeavors, often branded as a pushback against “wokeism,” thus reveal a deeper fissure between ideological interpretations of American history. Essentially, a divide exists between those who adhere to a Eurocentric viewpoint and those who recognize the racialized realities of the modern world. Amid this tumult, Black studies has emerged as a crucial liberatory

movement striving to encompass marginalized voices and experiences in educational discourse.

Black Studies: A Path to Dismantling the Code

Black studies acts as a countervailing force against narrowing educational narratives underpinned by what Jefferson-Jones (2023) referred to as the “state-mandated erasure of Black history and memory” (p. 4) By delving into the histories, experiences, and contributions of black individuals and communities, Black studies challenges the cultural racism embedded in traditional curriculums and hence functions as both problem and solution. The discipline extends the invitation to re-examine and re-interpret American history and society through a more inclusive lens, which is unsettling for some. The field nonetheless remains steadfast as a medium for intellectual liberation, urging a re-evaluation of narratives within educational spaces and advocating for a holistic, inclusive discourse.

The multidiscipline’s value is pronounced at both the K–12 and university levels. In foundational schooling, it enriches the curriculum by fostering a more comprehensive and empathetic understanding of American society and history. In higher education, it cultivates critical thinking, promotes diverse discourse, and prepares students to engage constructively with the multifaceted realities of a globalized world. The need for this level of engagement is greatest where the pushback is strongest. Thus the interminable push for Black Studies is not merely a call for inclusivity but a challenge to the educational status quo, urging a move beyond superficial narratives toward a deeper, critical engagement with America’s histories.

Against this disheartening backdrop, Black studies stands as a bastion of intellectual freedom, embodying what Cruse (1967) described as the effort to “create new images of . . . man” (p. 57). Contemporary Black studies scholars continue to rectify historical inaccuracies, pushing back against anti-wokeness by adopting a curvilinear worldview centering Africana

ideals and contributions with a “basis in human practice” (Asante, 2006). vi

Significant recent contributions to the field come from works like Monteiro-Ferreira’s “The Demise of the Inhuman” (2015), which critiques Western discourse and advocates for Afrocentricity over European epistemologies; Norment’s “African American Studies” (2019), which offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at the African American experience; McDougal’s Research Methods in Africana Studies (2014), which empowers scholars and students alike, establishing Africana Studies as a legitimate and rigorous academic discipline with its own unique research methodologies; and Alkalimat’s “The Future of Black Studies” (2022), which reimagines the multidiscipline for successive generations. These and other new works challenge the dominant narrative, fostering a more inclusive and critical educational discourse. The field has thus become as a vital contributor to the “critique, resistance, and reversal of the progressive Europeanization of human consciousness” of which Karenga (2002, p. 26) spoke, propelling the educational system toward a more equitable and informed future.

The clash between “anti-woke” codes and Black studies underscores a critical juncture in American education. It beckons a re-evaluation of which narratives are deemed worthy of exploration in educational spaces. Amid the legislative tide to narrow the scope of racial discourse, the discipline is, as it always was, a struggle against Dubois’s (1903) “unreconciled strivings” and “warring ideals,” Freire’s (1970) liberatory movement, and Taiwo’s (2009) need to come to grips with the “achievements of the Barbarians.” Black studies is each of those things as it attempts to reorient our worldview and erase the distortions of the Eurocentric past and present.

The enduring relevance of Black studies today, in a storm of exclusionary policies, underscores its vitality in challenging the cultural racism embedded in traditional Eurocentric

curriculums. As efforts to undermine inclusive education continue, Black studies persists as a crucial endeavor to foster a more equitable, informed, and inclusive society. The mission of contemporary Black studies scholars extends beyond mere scholarly production. It calls for a reconnection of the discipline with its communities of practice, challenging fabrications about the Black experience, dismantling the codes, and propelling the educational system toward a more equitable and enlightened horizon.

References

AL.com. (2022, Feb. 9). New “divisive concepts” education bill filed in Alabama legislature.

Alkalimat, A. (2022). The Future of Black Studies . Pluto Press.

Asante, M. K. (2006). Social discourse without abandoning African agency: An Eshuean response to intellectual dilemma. In M. K. Asante & M. Karenga (Eds.), Handbook of Black Studies.

Césaire, A. (2023). Discourse on colonialism. In Postcolonialism. Routledge.

CBS 42. (n.d.). New Alabama bill would make teaching critical race theory a fireable offense.

https://www.cbs42.com/alabama-news/new-alabama-bill-would-make-teaching-criticalrace-theory-a-fireable-offense/

Cruse, H. (1967). The crisis of the Negro intellectual: A historical analysis of the failure of Black leadership. New York Review of Books.

Du Bois, W. (1911). The souls of black folk: Essays and sketches.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In Toward a sociology of education (pp. 374–86). Routledge.

Jefferson-Jones, J. (2023). The anti-woke and the Black American (waking) dream.

Florida A & M University Law Review, 17(2), article 7.

Karenga, M. (2009). Names and notions of Black studies: Issues of roots, range, and relevance. Journal of Black Studies, 40(1), 41–64.

Karenga, M. (1988). Black studies and the problematic of paradigm: The philosophical dimension. Journal of Black Studies, 18(4), 395–414.

Karenga, M. (2002). Introduction to Black Studies (3rd ed.), University of Sankore Press.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American

Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–91.

Lyman, B. (2022, Mar. 17). Alabama house approves bill banning teaching “divisive concepts” in K-12 history education. Montgomery Advertiser https://www.montgomeryadvertiser .com/story/news/2022/03/17/alabama-house-approves-bill-banning-teaching-divisiveconcepts-k-12-history-critical-race-theory/7075428001/

McDougal, S. (2014). Research methods in Africana studies. New York: Peter Lang.

Monteiro-Ferreira, A. (2014). The demise of the inhuman: Afrocentricity, modernism, and postmodernism. SUNY Press.

Natanson, H. (2023, Mar 17). Few legal challenges to laws limiting lessons on race, gender. Washington Post.

Norment, N. (2019). African American studies (new ed.). Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers.

President’s Advisory 1776 Commission. (2021). The President’s Advisory 1776 Commission Final Report. National Archives. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/The-Presidents-Advisory-1776-Commission-Final-Report.pdf

Russell-Brown, K. (2022, Sep. 1). The stop WOKE act: HB 7, race, and Florida’s 21st century anti-literacy campaign. New York University Review of Law & Social Change

Taiwo, O. (2009). How colonialism preempted modernity in Africa. Indiana University Press.

Trump, D. (2020). Remarks by President Trump at the White House Conference on American History. National Archives Museum. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefingsstatements/remarks-president-trump-white-house-conference-american-history/

Zeleza, P. (2007). The pasts and futures of African history. Article based on a paper compiled for the University of South and presented in Pretoria, Aug. 8, 2006.

Zeleza, P. (2011). The ties that bind: African, African American, and diaspora studies. Center for African American Studies. Princeton: Princeton University.

i Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is “a pedagogy of opposition specifically committed to collective, not merely individual, empowerment.”

ii On January 12, 2023, DeSantis’s administration rejected a proposed advanced placement African American history course, extending his stance against what he perceives as “woke” ideologies infiltrating the educational sector. In addition, the “Stop WOKE Act” or “Individual Freedom Act”, a notable piece legislation associated with DeSantis’ war on wokeism, prohibits the promotion or advancement of certain concepts which are viewed as part of “woke” ideologies.

iii Launched in August 2019, The 1619 Project is an initiative spearheaded by Nikole Hannah-Jones alongside writers from the New York Times and New York Times Magazine. The project’s core objective is to reexamine the history and lasting impact of slavery in the United States.

iv The highlighted individuals and artifacts bear substantial relevance to both Black and Alabama history. Their omission from both K–12 and college curriculums in Alabama underscores a concerning educational gap, depriving students of a richer understanding of their state’s and nation’s historical fabric.

v House Bill 7 Prohibits all public educational institutions, government agencies, municipalities, and state contracts receiving Alabama state funding from requiring students, employees, or contractors to participate in trainings or course work that promote a wide range of topics which are vaguely labeled as “divisive concepts,” or directing or compelling students, employees, or contractors to affirm, adopt, or adhere to those concepts. These prohibitions, modeled after President Trump’s executive order 13950 which was found by a federal court to be unconstitutional, are ambiguously drafted and may chill or censor discussions about the role of racism and sexism in the founding of our country and in present-day structural inequities. Employees and contractors who violate the terms of HB7 could be disciplined or fired by state agencies, local school boards, and colleges. Prohibits schools and universities from seeking federal funding intended to fund any training or teaching of concepts prohibited by the bill. Permits public educational institutions to terminate educators who violate the bill’s confusing provisions.

vi Asante’s work emphasizes that theory, devoid of a foundation in human practice, lacks historical substance and aims to align with endeavors that reestablish the importance of African agency in human events.

African Culture and Community Justice: The Power of Maat and the Nguzo Saba in Creating and Sustaining Equitable Police Arrest Rates

by

Michael H. Washington Sr.,

Professor

of

History and Founder of Black Studies,

Northern Kentucky University

On March 9, 2023, the University of Cincinnati–Blue Ash held its 2023 Spring Scholarship Luncheon to give recognition to the various scholarships offered by the college and honor the 2023–24 recipients. Among these were Barbara Brown and Laney Cosgrove, who were each awarded a $500 Willa A. Washington/Hazelwood Community Association Community Justice Scholarship, created in 2017 for two worthy recipients each year. Although the Blue Ash campus is a predominantly White institution, this scholarship was organized by a community-based youth organization, the African-Centered Community Organizers, that situates African cultural concepts at the center of its programs. The organization was the youth affiliate of the Hazelwood Community Association, which represented the interests of a historically Black subdivision of Blue Ash, a suburb of Cincinnati. The youth group was educated to believe that positive outcomes for the Black community could best be achieved when African culture is respected and used in the implementation of policies and practices that affect the Black community.

This belief was put to the test in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown in

2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. In late November of that year, a newspaper in Cincinnati ran an article that provided data from police departments in several suburbs showing that they arrested Blacks at higher rates than the Ferguson police. This article left youths of African descent in Hazelwood feeling vulnerable, and they still recalled a 2007 incident in which Charles Wayne Bennett was shot and killed by Blue Ash police (Casetext, 2009; Fox, 2007). Bennett was an African American man and the uncle of Malik White, one of the founders of the AfricanCentered Community Organizers. Bennett and White resided in the same household.

The news story woke painful memories and caused members to once again feel under attack by the Blue Ash Police Department. This led the youth group to act. Rather than protest against police wrongdoing, they relied on their understanding of African culture to actively pursue positive outcomes for the community which meant achieving equitable police arrest rates. The result was a partnership that fostered common interests among the community organization, the local university, and the police. But how did the community justice scholarship emerge as a common interest? What were the ingredients of its sustained success? The purpose of this essay is to answer to these questions. It is an attempt to describe the community-based origins of the Willa A. Washington/Hazelwood Community Association Community Justice Scholarship and how it functions to sustain equitable police arrest rates. The intent is to demonstrate how the programmatic implementation of African cultural values by an empowered community-based constituency group can help to humanize public policy.

Origins of the Community Justice Scholarship

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, an African American, died while being arrested in the New York borough of Staten Island after being put in a chokehold by Daniel Pantaleo, a White police officer. Less than a month later, on August 9, an African American named Michael Brown

was killed by Darren Wilson, a White policeman in Ferguson, Missouri. The reaction to these killings was public protest, rallies, and charges of police brutality. By December 20, 2014, dozens of demonstrations had been held nationwide and even in England against police brutality. On that day, Ismaaiyl Brinsley went beyond peaceful protest to retaliate. He avenged the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by ambushing and shooting to death two New York City police officers before taking his own life (New York Times, 2015).

Amid the turbulence and violent reactions to police brutality and disproportionate Black arrest rates throughout the country, African American youths in Hazelwood had a very different response. To address their concern about locally inequitable Black arrest rates, they created a new group, the African Centered Community Organizers (ACCO), as their vehicle to organize an accountable relationship between the police and the African American community. The youths used their knowledge of African culture, specifically the Maat and the Nguzo Saba, to form the organizing principles of their organization and create a cooperative partnership between the community association, local law enforcement, and the local campus of the University of Cincinnati (Hazelwood Community, 2016).

The youths already had familiarity with African cultural concepts because two of their leaders, Malik (Joshua) White and Chi’Kah Washington, had spent their childhood attending monthly meetings of the Hazelwood Community Association (HCA). This was because Malik’s mother was in charge of the community center and Chi’Kah’s father was president of the HCA.

Chi’Kah’s dad was also a history professor and founder of the Black Studies Program at Northern Kentucky University. Both parents instilled in their children the importance of civic responsibility, in part, by organizing an elementary school club for them to model African culture for the community. They named this club the African-Centered Role Models because the

youths performed miniature fashion shows in African attire during their annual Black History Month and Kwanzaa programs (Hazelwood Community, 2016). By the summer of 2014, the two Hazelwood youths were high school students with several years of experience modeling African attire at special community events. Their years of preparation had given them knowledge of and a deep appreciation for specific elements of African culture, such as revering God, appreciating their ancestors, showing respect for their elders, enjoying the company of their cousins and other extended family members, and helping others. The catalyst for the group’s name change to the African-Centered Community Organizers was Dan Horn’s article in the Cincinnati Enquirer on November 22 reporting that Blacks were disproportionately arrested by the Blue Ash police. The name change meant a change in focus, from merely modeling African clothing to modeling the use of African culture as a vehicle to define and defend the interests of their community (Hazelwood Community, 2016).

As the youth affiliate of the Hazelwood Community Association which was created in 1997 as the last of the four organizations to serve the community the ACCO functioned in a similar fashion to Boy Scout Troop 462 decades earlier. Soon after Charles Allen and others founded the civic movement in the community by organizing the Brothers’ Civic Society of Hazelwood in 1941 (Washington, 2014), they organized the Boy Scout troop to provide civic education and leadership training for the next generation of community leaders (Rose, 1991, p. 150). By 1984, the year of Allen’s death, a new generation of civic leaders had worked successfully with the old leadership to save the community from the city’s plan of demolition for the development of an industrial park. Moreover, by the time Allen died, he and his generation of civic leaders had witnessed former members of Troop 462 leading the improvement of housing

stock in the historically Black subdivision. From a historical standpoint, nurturing youth leadership by means of civic education had been important for representing the Hazelwood community’s interests. Just as Boy Scout Troop 462 produced leaders in the activities of saving the community and improving housing, members of the ACCO would decades later represent the community’s interests by protecting its Black residents from inequitable police arrests.

Following the name change, the youths sought a deeper understanding of African cultural concepts. Under the mentorship of the president of the HCA, they learned the importance of using African cultural ideals to create and implement public policies such as human interactions with public officials that would produce more equitable arrest rates. Rather than pursuing social change by reforming police policy or through violence, the ACCO constructed a model of social change rooted in African values. This was important to the youths because they had learned the philosophical difference between African and European ways of thinking. The European way is based on dichotomous logic, or either-or patterns of thinking, whereas the African way places value on being communal and preserving the integrity of the community. The youths embraced the communal approach, which meant defining the police as a part of the community rather than the opposing other. The communal approach meant that not only would the police share interests with the Black community, but that the African cultural concept of communal well-being would be the force that guided the project and the glue that held it together.

The youths were taught that the MAAT represents the principle ethic upon which ancient Egyptian culture was built and then used their understanding of this to conceptualize their proposal to the community and the police. Their approach was based on the understanding that the MAAT’s seven cardinal virtues should serve as the foundation for all problem solving in the

Black community (Karenga, 1990, pp. 23–25). Truth is the first of the sacred virtues, and the youths believed that statistical data by themselves could not reflect the truth about why so many Blacks were being arrested. Likewise, they believed that justice, the second virtue, is the manifestation of fairness, and that when Black people were disproportionately arrested, it was important for Black people themselves to create initiatives, projects, and partnerships with law enforcement that would lead to more equitable outcomes, or justice. Propriety, the third sacred virtue, was defined by the youths as acting with respect and appreciation. On this point, they took the position that it was the responsibility of African descendants to learn about, honor, and properly appreciate African culture and use it as a tool in the struggle for equitable treatment and justice.

The fourth virtue, harmony, was defined by the youths as the rhythm of cooperation. When disparate groups cooperate to achieve a common goal, they are said to be working in harmony. Because it was in the interest of both the Black community and the police to have equitable Black arrest rates, it was important that these two groups work in harmony to build trust and achieve this outcome. The fifth virtue is balance, which is symbolized by the scales of justice. If equilibrium is to be achieved, people of African descent must assume responsibility for developing accountable structures to prevent the scales from tilting. The sixth virtue is reciprocity, or the sharing of responsibility on mutual terms. Where there is reciprocity between the community and law enforcement, trust can develop between them. Where trust exists, fairness and justice are more likely to prevail and become a basis for a cooperative social order. This speaks to the seventh cardinal virtue, order. By engaging responsibly with the police in establishing accountability and trust, members of the African American community participated in bringing into existence a new way of living and maintaining order (Wase, 1998, pp.15–33).

The Community Justice Scholarship and Equitable Police Arrest Rates

The first ACCO meeting was organized during the week of Kwanzaa (Dec. 26, 2014–Jan. 1, 2015) to address the disproportionate Black arrest rates (Karenga, 2002, p. 3). Two weeks later, at the monthly meeting of the HCA, the youths presented their proposal to community elders and the Blue Ash police force, represented by Chief Paul Hartinger and Lieutenant Steven Shueler. Their proposal was based on the idea that it was in the best interests of both the police and the African American community to have proportionate arrest rates. They proposed the formation of two committees, each with representatives from both the community association and the police force: the Numbers Crunching Committee and the Education Committee. The aim was to enhance trust between the groups through collective decision making and problem solving.

The Numbers Crunching Committee would examine arrest rates and make recommendations in the event of disproportionality. Because the proposal grew out of the youths’ familiarity with the oral traditions of African culture, they insisted that the statistical data on Black arrests be supplemented with the stories behind each arrest. Their insistence on the use of oral tradition to validate the statistical data was based on their belief that problems facing the Black community could best be addressed by African cultural approaches.

The Education Committee called for the police to be visible in the community as partners with the community association and the local branch of the University of Cincinnati in fundraising activities for a scholarship created for the community. The scholarship was named in honor of Willa A. Washington, who had died in 2003 and been a founding member of three of the four community organizations that had existed since 1941, and whose son was the first Hazelwood resident to earn a degree from the local college (Fun-Raise USA, n.d.). The

scholarship’s application materials contextualized the concept of community justice by articulating the beliefs of Willa Washington. According to the application, Washington believed that the health and well being of communities are the results of residents’ commitment to fairness and justice. In her view, healthy communities consisted of justice-minded residents who did not tolerate criminal activity, bullying, or institutional biases that produced disparate outcomes from systems that served the community, such as law enforcement. In this context of civic responsibility, students applicants were required to provide their definitions of community justice and to describe their community service experiences and how these had affected them over the preceding year. The two annual fundraising events were the Historical Walk-A-Thon Tour, which brought attention to the Black community’s historical sites, and the basketball tournament which involves police, firefighters, and citizens from throughout Hamilton County.

The emergence of the committees and projects was the result of the youths’ use of the seven principles, or Nguzo Saba (Karenga, 2002, pp. 35–67) to conceptualize how they would implement the virtues of MAAT. Thus, umoja (unity) embraced the police as a part of the community worthy of trusting and accountable relationships. Kugichagulia (self-determination) and nia (purpose) expressed the depths of the determination to sustain equitable arrest rates. Ujima (collective work & responsibility) and ujamaa (cooperative economics) were the concepts that gave birth to the fundraising projects, which were expressions of creative originality or kuumba (creativity). But it was the youths’ use of imani (faith) that allowed them to persevere in their use of African cultural elements to sustain an effective partnership, equitable arrest rates, and a scholarship that personified their lifestyles of community justice.

References

Casetext. (2009, Sept. 30). Knox v. City of Blue Ash. https://casetext.com/case/knox-v-city-ofblue-ash

Fox 19. (2007, Aug. 28). Police release dash cam video of fatal shooting, passenger speaks out.

https://www.fox19.com/story/6991408/police-release-dash-cam-video-of-fatal-shootingpassenger-speaks-out/

Fun-Raise USA. (n.d.). The Willa A. Washington community justice scholarship at the university of Cincinnati Blue Ash. https://fun-raiseusa.com/uc-justice-scholarship

Hazelwood Community Association. (2019, May 19). Our stage [Video file]. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/KAYJsG04b3k

Karenga, M. (1990). The book of coming forth by day: The ethics of the declarations on innocence. Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press.

Karenga, M. (2002). Kwanzaa: A celebration of family, community and culture. Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press.

New York Times. (2015, Jan. 2). Many identities of New York officers fueled life of wrong turns.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/03/nyregion/ismaaiyl-brinsleys-many-identitiesfueled-life-of-wrong-turns.html

Rose, M. L. (1991). History of Blue Ash, Ohio 1791–1991. Blue Ash, OH: The City of Blue Ash.

Wase, I. M. G. (1998). The American African path of Sankofa. Denver, CO: Mbadu Publishing.

Washington, M. (2014). Civic organizing in the Hazelwood subdivision: The quest for educational access, 1900–1949. Ohio Valley History, 14(4), 43–60.

The Black Girl Social Club: Black Women Creating, Finding, and Building Community Through Sisterhood

by

Charmane M. Perry, Ph.D.

Department of Africana Studies

San Diego State University

When we are one, we win. (Black Girl Social Club)

This organization is exactly what Black women needed. (Nickeya Hannah, Los Angeles chapter)

In fall 2019, I moved to Birmingham, Alabama to start a new position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Less than a year later, the covid-19 pandemic hit, forcing the world to shut down. For many reasons, Birmingham turned out to be an optimal place for me. I was already having difficulty finding a community, and the pandemic only increased the obstacles to finding spaces of support, freedom, and belonging. In summer 2021, our department hired a new visiting faculty member, Joyce Zoe Farley, who told me about Black Girl Social Club (BGSC). I had never heard of this organization, but longing for community, I decided to check it out. It turned out to be exactly what I needed.

In this essay, I discuss the origin, growth, and impact of BGSC for Black women who are

searching for sisterhood and community with other Black women. The rapid growth of BGSC suggests that Black women around the world are in search of healthy, supportive, and endearing relationships with other Black women. Creating space for Black women to nurture sisterhood has many implications specific to the Black community and Black families, as the personal and collective work to foster relationships in this organization will trickle into relationships in other spaces. Further, BGSC builds on the legacy and tradition of Black community solidarity and development, institutions and relationships that have been pivotal for the growth, well being, and empowerment of the Black community not only in the United States but across Africa and the African diaspora.

“When We Are One, We Win”: The Origins and Growth of the Black Girl Social Club

Shortly before New Year’s Eve in December 2018, Carmen Jones attended a girl’s night out with eleven other women where they conversed, laughed, and made affirmations for the upcoming year over good food and drinks. As noted on the organization’s website,

After a night of healing, guided meditation, laughing, crying, and lots of new connections made, Carmen realized this was something women needed–more specifically Black women. They needed a space to feel seen, be heard, and not feel judged. They needed healing and personal development, through solid relationships and social activities. (The Black Girl Social Club [BGSC], 2023)

The warmth and love experienced during girl’s night inspired Carmen to recreate those feelings not only for herself but for Black women like her who were seeking sisterhood, love, support, and community from other Black women. This led to the creation of the Black Girl Social Club in 2019, with Atlanta, Georgia as the founding chapter. Shortly thereafter, chapters were created in Richmond, Virginia, Los Angeles, and New York City. Since then, BGSC has spread to more

than seventy chapters in the U.S. and even to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Germany, and Dubai, and totals more than 4,000 members (Byrd, 2022). Clearly, the need for a space to be seen and heard and not feel judged, the need for healing and personal development through solid relationships and social activities, was not specific to Carmen and Black women in Atlanta, but was needed by Black women all over the world.

In July 2019, I officially became a member of the Birmingham chapter of BGSC. I was welcomed with warmth and kindness by presidents Delena Chappel and Falina Long. I attended various events, such as a film screening of Respect, bowling, and fellowship over food. In addition to the social activities, we volunteered and gave back to the Birmingham community. In November 2021, members of our chapter pitched in to buy personal items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, soap, and light refreshments, and distributed them downtown in an area heavily populated with unhoused individuals. Volunteering and community engagement are goals of the goals of BGSC. For example, it partners with organizations and missions such as the Precious Dreams Foundation, the Black & Missing Foundation, When We All Vote!, Samaritan’s Feet, Black Girls Who Paint!, and Alter Therapy to provide members with discounted counseling services. These organizations represent only a small fraction of the volunteering and community engagement efforts that are central to BGSC’s core values: community, compassion, leadership, service, and integrity.

My time in Birmingham expired when I accepted a position at San Diego State University in spring 2022. However, the isolation I had felt in Birmingham did not recur because of the BGSC community I joined in San Diego. When a BGSC member relocates, she can transfer her membership instead of waiting for open enrollment and applying to a new chapter. So a few months after coming to San Diego, I met my new sisterhood.

Without this community, my experience in California would have as isolating as Birmingham, if not more. Where the Black community in Birmingham made up 68% of the population (U.S. Census, 2022a), that in San Diego was much less visible at only 6% (U.S. Census, 2022b). The Black population in San Diego has also been slowly shrinking and in a constant state of motion. Because San Diego is a military town, many Black people there are in the military and often leave when they retire. Of the more than sixty members in the San Diego chapter, most that I have met were not native to San Diego or even California, but came here because of military duty, work, or other reasons. Once here, they found the question of making San Diego a permanent residence daunting, as the city is one of the most expensive in the United States (Henry & Schmiedeberg, 2023; Garfinkle, 2023). The small population and the difficulty of locating Black neighborhoods and spaces made the community I found in the BGSC chapter that much more important to my well being and adjustment to San Diego.

My experiences and reflections are not unique. In October 2023, I asked Deidre SaylesMosley, president of the San Diego chapter, about her decision to join BGSC and its impact on her life. Deidre told me that having moved from Michigan in 2015 to start a new chapter in her own life, finding a community, a Black community in particular, had been difficult for her. As for Black San Diego in particular, she said,

Most of them are military, but most of the natives live in southeast San Diego due to it being a more affordable area to live in. The downside with that is that those areas are also known to not be the most safe. (Personal communication, September 15, 2023)

Because of this, it was nearly six years before Deidre was able to say that she had found her community, and this was due to joining BGSC. Searching for a community of “like-minded Black women,” she discovered the group on Instagram, and the events that followed had a

significant impact on her life:

Anytime anyone asks me this question, it takes me a second to truly gather my thoughts in order to convey what joining this organization means to me. “Impact” is an understatement. I recently mentioned the impact BGSC has had on my life last month (August 2023) at Tribe Appreciation month, and I remember having this very full feeling. I compared my life prior to joining BGSC as “my cup being half empty” but after, feeling very fulfilled and whole. That was certainly something that I had been searching for and didn’t realize how it would change me as a person for the better. (Personal communication, September 15, 2023)

Deidre had found (and became instrumental in building) community in sisterhood BGSC’s mission is to foster sisterhood and build relationships among Black women through social interaction, and its vision is to “foster an inclusive international network of Black women who understand sisterhood, community, and collaboration” (BGSC, 2023). The ultimate goal “is to cultivate relationships and connections that are impactful, while producing work that is equally impactful” (BGSC, 2023). Social interactions extend beyond social events like comedy shows, yachting, skiing, cookouts, trips to South Africa, and cruises to Mexico. They include networking and professional development opportunities within one’s own chapter and across chapters nationally and internationally. When asked about sisterhood and the sisterhood found in BGSC, Deidre related that because she was an only child, she had found sisterhood primarily through friendships:

When I think of sisterhood, I feel genuine love, transparency, reliability, compassion, comprehension and all-around respect. That’s what I try to embody with my friends, and I expect that to be reciprocated. As you get older, you learn that expecting those types of

characteristics and attributes from people may seem unrealistic at times, but that’s why you do the work. You do the work in finding those individuals that align with what you want out of life and out of your friendships. (Personal communication, September 15, 2023)

After the loss of her best friend in 2019, she felt the lack of that bond:

I was left with that seemingly fading memory of the sisterhood I shared with her, which allowed me to open up and search for BGSC post-pandemic. Sisterhood in the Black community is crucial, and my BGSC sisters allow me to be myself, goofy and all. That’s what it’s all about! (Personal communication, September 15, 2023)

BGSC promotes and celebrates the accomplishments of Black women and pushes them to support each other through good and difficult times because “when we are one, we win.”

BGSC also focuses on the next generation of Black women through the creation of BGSC Jr., an extension dedicated to mentoring and serving Black girls and young women between 11 and 21. The objective is “to provide impactful social experiences, to provide an outlet for mental health and physical wellness, to provide meaningful career prep, and to provide educational and academic support” (BGSC, 2023). The core values of BGSC Jr. are similar to those of BGSC: compassion, service, social responsibility, integrity, education, and leadership.

To continue the building of sisterhood and community among Black women, it is important to demonstrate and be a role model so that young Black girls can mature into women who understand the meaning of sisterhood and community. This is important not only for Black women but for the Black community as a whole. It is only recently, through my experiences with BGSC the San Diego chapter in particular and other relationships that I am finding true, authentic sisterhood. Although still in the early stages of development, BGSC Jr. can play a

significant role in the transformation of relationships between Black girls, Black women and, by extension, Black people.

Conclusion

As an organization, BGSC walks in the tradition of the Black women who organized and joined mutual aid societies, club movements such as the National Association of Colored Women, and historically Black Greek-lettered sororities since the late eighteenth century (Lerner, 1974; Jenkins, 1984; Smith, 1986; Giddings, 2007; & Ross Jr., 2019). Black women have historically sought to build communities and traditions of sisterhood while uplifting and transforming the Black community. These traditions continue as Black women create new communities of support today (Murch, 2020). While members of BGSC have built and nurtured relationships with each other, the larger activities of the organization affect Black families and Black community development by promoting support, empowerment, and solidarity to better the Black community and the future of Black youths.

According to Deidre, “BGSC is all about community. In fact, community and service are two of our brand pillars/values.” For example,

Coming up this holiday season, we’re planning to work with our local veterans, as well as feed the homeless and wrap Christmas presents for the kids at the YMCA. We are also intentional about supporting Black-owned businesses over everything. It’s important to give back to the communities that have poured into us and strengthen us. In our group chat on Band, we often share our black resources: hairstylists/braiders, fitness instructors, restaurants, etc. (Personal communication, September 15, 2023)

These are some of the many ways BGSC is a part of the tradition of Black sisterhood and community through organizations. They demonstrate how it is committed to the economic,

social, cultural, and political development of Black communities around the globe. As BGSC grows across memberships and chapters, it will become more than an organization: it will be a movement of Black sisterhood that improves the overall well being of the Black community.

References

Byrd, J. (2022). The Black girls social club conference reinforces the power of sisterhood. Hello Beautiful

https://hellobeautiful.com/3678663/black-girls-social-club-conference/

Garfinkle, M. (2023). 7 of the 10 most expensive cities to live in the U.S. are in one state. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/these-are-the-mostexpensive-cities-to-live-in-for-2023-2024/453132

Giddings, P. J. (2007). In search of sisterhood: Delta sigma theta and the challenge of the Black sorority movement. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Henry, K., & Schmiedeberg, R. (2023). San Diego ranks among most expensive American cities to live comfortably. NBC San Diego. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sandiego-ranks-among-most-expensive-american-cities-to-live-comfortably/3204904/

Jenkins, M. T. (1984). The history of the Black woman’s club movement in America

[Unpublished dissertation]. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Lerner, G. (1974). Early community work of Black club women. Journal of Negro History, 59(2), 158–67

Murch, D. (2020). Black women, mutual aid, and union organizing in the time of covid-19. Academe. https://www.aaup.org/article/black-women-mutual-aid-and-union-organizingtime-covid-19

Ross, Jr., L. C. (2019). The divine nine: The history of African American fraternities and sororities (2nd ed.). Dafina.

Smith, S. (1986). The Black women’s club movement: Self-improvement and sisterhood, 18901915 [Unpublished thesis]. University of Wisconsin Madison.

United States Census. (2022a). Quick facts: Birmingham city, Alabama

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/birminghamcityalabama/PST045222

United States Census. (2022b). Quick facts: San Diego city, California.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandiegocitycalifornia/PST045222

The Black Girl Social Club. (2023).

https://theblackgirlsocialclub.com/

by

Africana Studies Program

School of Liberal Arts

Indiana University Purdue University

Visible, Present, and Engaged: IUI Africana Studies and Black Studies Praxis through Community Engagement

Leslie K. Etienne, Ph.D.

Ronda Henry, Ph.D.

Joseph Tucker Edmonds, Ph.D.

Patricia Turley, Ph.D.

Lasana D. Kazembe, Ph.D.

Cleveland Hayes II, Ph.D.

Jennifer Thorington Springer, Ph.D.

Obioma Nnaemeka, Ph.D.

This paper highlights the rationale and principles that Indiana University Indianapolis’s (IUI) Africana Studies Program deploys in to embody the movement-based origins of the discipline, which encourages service to the communities they reside in. These rationales and principles include the following:

1. Prioritizing valuable scholarly, cultural, and artistic engagement of Black communities.

2. Engaging in undergraduate research that prioritizes service and social and cultural justice.

3. Facilitating the production and use of Black scholarship in exchanges with community experts that educate and uplift our communities.

These ideals are more than a call to action made during Africana studies’ genesis. They are embedded principles that serve as foundations for intervention, resistance, and struggle within our collective and guiding principles for Africana studies’ faculty. Over the past few years the program has grown, and through strategic focus and dialogue, a need has been recognized to engage research and teaching in the broader context of liberatory work. This has resulted in an effort to prioritize community engagement in ways that are foundational, realistic, and genuine to our approaches and activities.

Overview

Indiana is the southernmost “Northern” state. It is not uncommon to see confederate flags and ultra-conservative slogans on the bumpers of pick-up trucks, images one might associate more with the South. It is a state where the Ku Klux Klan once wielded heavy political influence, reaching the highest offices in government and the upper echelons of civic life. Yet just as in other large urban centers in the Midwest, such as Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, Indianapolis’s Black community, created monly by migration, has a unique relationship to activism (Pierce, 2005). IUI’s campus sits in what used to be the heart of Black life in the city: a Northern, de facto segregated area replete with a segregated high school created with the blessing

and assistance of the Ku Klux Klan: Crispus Attucks High School.

IUI and Indianapolis were responsible for the displacement of thousands of Black people and caused irreparable harm to the social and economic structures that sustained that community and the famed Black cultural thoroughfare that was Indiana Avenue. This erasure was orchestrated using the same playbook as in other major Midwestern cities, in which “urban renewal” was carried out by constructing highways and other infrastructure projects that bisected, displaced, or obliterated vibrant Black neighborhoods and communal spaces without thought or care. It is within this fraught socio-cultural and historical context that the IUI Africana Studies Program operates.

Africana Studies Program Mission, Scholarship, and Praxis

The mission of the IUI Africana Studies Program (formerly IUPUI) is to provide an academically rigorous, socially engaging, and relevant learning environment for the study of Africa and the African diaspora. The program has a core faculty based in the School of Liberal Arts, where it draws from jointly and directly appointed faculty members in conjunction with affiliate faculty from other departments. The program expanded in 2018 by connecting with faculty whose scholarship and teaching was aligned with the rationales and principles collaboratively developed by Africana Studies faculty.

The program also adheres to Karenga’s (2010) definition of the discipline: “the critical and systematic study of the thought and practice of African people in their current and historical unfolding. It is a critical study in that it is characterized by careful analysis and considered judgment” (p. 3). The program further identifies itself with Karenga's framing by being grounded in culture, academic excellence that positions the discipline as an interpreter of the Black experience, and an emphasis on social responsibility (Karenga, 2010, pp. 30–31). For this report, Africana studies and Black studies are used interchangeably; we recognize both as equally reliable depictions of our work in the context of academia.

Our philosophy of Africana studies scholarship and praxis descends from Africana critical theory and discursive epistemologies that prioritize analyses grounded in an interdisciplinary range of intellectualisms (Rabaka, 2009, pp. 25–27). This framing holds that attempts to conflate or subsume Africana Studies into larger diversity and inclusion programs or initiatives in our institution are reductive and dismissive. To counter these tendencies, we promote the ways in which Africana studies broadens scholarly perspectives for students by unapologetically interrupting Eurocentric valuations of epistemology. Thus we understand Africana studies as an expansion of the curriculum not to be confined to a formulaic, robotic academic identity that provides mere “technicians for the workforce” (Hare, 1972). Consequently, we seek collaborations through affiliate scholars in other disciplines as well as community-embedded scholars as we all work to tackle vital issues facing our communities.

In the affiliate group, there are also community-based scholars from the Indiana Historical Society, the City of Indianapolis (deputy mayor), and the State Museum (curator). The affiliate groups’ areas of study cover various disciplines, including criminal justice, social work, computer science, informatics, university library studies, sociology, medical humanities, English, religious studies, medicine, geoscience, urban education, music therapy, political science, world languages, and history. This diversity allows for an understanding of the potent, broadening impact the program has, as well as of how the collective organizes around a distinct set of principles and values. The Black community’s trust in IUI as an institution is an issue, but the program has intentionally been present and supportive, serving as a resource and building a distinct identity framed by relationships of trust. Examples of this include faculty members volunteering their time for public-facing events and activities, community experts being invited to speak in our classes, service on community organization boards, and hosting of free or low-cost events open to the community.

Engagement Philosophy

A critical event that helped move community engagement efforts forward was the founding of the Center for Africana Studies and Culture (CASC). The center operationalizes the activist and community-oriented theory, research, and teaching of the Africana Studies Program. CASC’s mission is to create venues and opportunities for a more comprehensive engagement of the Black experience by translating the academic work of the IUI Africana Studies Program into practice. The focus is on designing events that showcase Black creative activities in the arts and humanities and that prioritize science and technology. Our community engagement work is a call to Black Studies praxis, a commitment to the communities many of us are nurtured by, learn from, and grow within. This communal influence existed before we became scholars, and it is integrated into our academic work and experiences.

This translation of Africana scholarship into community praxis involves three main areas: undergraduate research, community-involved cultural work, and other programming such as the health equity initiative. We highlight here the philosophy and some of the activities of our community-engaged programming as implemented through the work of the center, which is the operational arm of Africana Studies’ academic program.

Undergraduate Research

Serving our students is a significant part of our work in Africana Studies and the Center for Africana Studies and Culture. Through participatory learning, students are guided on using research to analyze and address contemporary issues, achievements, and problems facing Black communities. Currently the Institute for the Study of Undergraduate Researchers of Color (ISURC), in affiliation with CASC, has multiple undergraduate research programs in Africana Studies that are aimed at collaborating with Black communities to research the history, heritage, and legacies of invisible Black communal spaces, activities, and events. These programs promote

social and cultural justice and bring visibility to the heritage, history, and achievements of Black populations throughout the city and the state. They include the Olaniyan Scholars Program, the Through Their Eyes Program (which offers scholarships to students displaced by the creation of the university), and the Heritage and Humanities Scholars Program, which was created in collaboration with the community-based Urban Legacy Lands Initiative (ULLI). Through this collaboration, an award of $418,000 supported the creation of this new scholarship program. These programs introduce students to community-engaged research focused on communities of color through the interdisciplinary lens of Africana studies. This work indicates the value and social responsibility of Africana studies, and the importance of playing a sustained role in community empowerment (Jones et al., 2003). These programs also encourage students to direct future research trajectories toward Black studies scholarship-activism that can, as Kershaw (2003) put it, “describe, explain, and empower African people to positively affect their life chances and experiences.”

Community-Involved Cultural Work

CASC operates free and open-to-public cultural events, in many cases as co-curators with community partners, that are focused on the arts, as we promote a purposeful understanding of how Black artistic expression is revolutionary and essential to Black resistance. Our partnerships engage all areas of the cultural arts. For instance, we have partnered with the IUI Herron School of Art and Design to curate an exhibit entitled “Past Is Present: Black Artists Respond to the Complicated Histories of Slavery.” In the performing arts, CASC’s current artist-in-residence is working to bring jazz, an important Black cultural heritage and artistic expression in Indianapolis, to K–12 students, the campus, and the community through a myriad of public talks and performances. CASC also helps produce the state’s first and only playwriting festival dedicated to showcasing Black playwrights, and which supported the founding of both of our city’s Black

Equity theaters. And after a ten-year absence, the Center for Africana Studies and Culture and the Africana Studies Program have reintroduced the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira angola to the campus.

Health Equity

As an example of our programming priorities, our health equity initiative seeks to catalyze academic research and instructional design to address health inequalities and support environmental sustainability and food sovereignty work with our partners. We prioritize the recognition of Black people’s relationship to the land as a cultural exercise in diasporic indigeneity, struggle, healthcare justice, and self-determination. This work enables us to cosponsor an agriculture/food sovereignty workshop, a research project with community health workers in Mississippi, and faculty-members designed and facilitated culturally relevant training initiative for medical students.

Public Scholarship

Africana Studies faculty consistently collaborate with Black-led community organizations to translate Black scholarship, as we aim at disseminating our work in settings that enable us to be of service to our communities in intergenerational, non-academic contexts. During 2021–22, we embarked on a program called Africana Studies Presents (ASP), a free and open-to-the-public speaker and performance series sponsored by the CASC and the Africana Studies Program. ASP allows us to showcase the richness, relevancy, and majesty of Africana culture. It has featured webinar panels such as Black Mother Educators, Rethinking Africana Women’s Health, and Exploring Black Liberatory Praxis: Perspectives on Contemporary Struggle and Activism in the African Diaspora. The center also operates a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School in partnership with the School of Education, which serves predominantly Black public school students. In this setting, Africana Studies faculty and students work in various capacities through

literature, a distinct culturally insistent valuation of the tenets of education justice, and the Black Freedom movement.

Conclusion

The guiding principles of our collective represent our intention to be good stewards and conduits of Africana studies’ overall mission while also aligning our efforts with a public urban research institutions’ strategic plans and espoused ethics. IUI prioritizes undergraduate students’ learning and success, a deeper commitment to community engagement, and an internationalized curriculum. Our work aligns with these goals in ways that are committed to centering Black people’s histories and culture through research, teaching, and service. We are called to do this work critically and reflectively in ways that privilege Black voices, Black studies exemplars, and ancestors as guiding examples, and by educating students and engaging in community activism that brings this to fruition on IUI’s campus.

References

Hare, N. (1972). The battle for Black studies. Black Scholar, 9, 32–47.

Jones, C., Dixon, P. & Umoja, A. (2003). Return to the source: The role of service-learning in recapturing the empowerment mission of African-American studies. Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(1).

Karenga, M. (2010). Introduction to Black studies (4th ed.). University of Sankore Press.

Kershaw, T. (2003). The Black studies paradigm: The making of scholar-activists. In J. Conyers (Ed.), Afrocentricity and philosophy. (pp. 27–36). McFarland and Company Publishers.

Pierce, R. B. (2005). Polite protest: The political economy of race in Indianapolis, 1920–1970. Indiana University Press.

Rabaka, R. (2009). Africana critical theory: Reconstructing the Black radical tradition, from W.E. B. Du Bois and C. L. R. James to Frantz Fanon and Amilcar Cabral. Lexington Books.

YOUNG SCHOLARS

20th Century Latin American Dictatorships: Constructing Color Through Economic Oppression

Talia Marash Political Science Major Carleton College

Race, as a concept, theoretically works to provide nations with boundaries and to mark off certain groups as “other”: a radical or color-based difference from a singular national definition of an “us.” The discrimination so widely associated with this invented term for identity takes a different context abroad, as a focus on color, religion, or ethnicity can lead to the same type of violent and discriminatory oppression. In this essay, the importance of the key themes of racial constructions, racial categories, and racial inequalities, and their power in defining and dividing societies are presented. Three Latin American leaders and their economic and social policies and direct and indirect relations with defining and limiting race are explored.

The first is the former President of Brazil. Getúlio Vargas ruled as a provisional, constitutional, and dictatorial leader from 1930 to 1946. Following that, Argentina under Juan Peron from 1946 to 1955 is analyzed, along with his abuse of government positions from his presidency to two periods of military dictatorship. The this is Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, who

ruled Chile from 1974 to 1990 as president, appointee by a military junta, and eventually as de facto dictator. A key aspect of all these countries is the way that race was defined and prioritized, as different aspects of identity can work to oppress minority identities in different contexts. A wave of Latin American dictatorships through the mid-20th century amplified existing social and class-based racial hierarchies to further divide citizens and create a more powerful, “Whiter” idea of the aristocratic state.

A key link between these regimes, apart from geographical closeness, is the way they constructed and dictated racial standards to impose categories and exacerbate historical inequalities. Throughout this period, those in power constructed the national idea of an elite race to benefit themselves, leading to Whiteness as the ideal. These racial categories determined who benefited from the economic systems imposed by the state, and dictated a narrative that validated the racist practices of the totalitarian government. Another key link was the fact that they did not fully and explicitly oppress identities of color, instead narrowing the sphere in which people of color could find success through these economic categories, allowing them to present a sort of appeasement of the needs of people of color.

Under Getúlio Vargas’ regime, from 1930 to 1946, a quasi-totalitarian constitution was used to shut down Chile’s legislature, and efforts toward modernity were imposed in explicitly racist economic and social forms, as Blackness was seen as a conflict with White modernity, allowing White men to hold power and thus set the standard. With the constitution as the outline of these modernizing reforms, Vargas imposed economic standards through race and rid Brazil of traditional culture and identity. In cities, Vargas created zones of living based on economic ability, decreasing taxes on the wealthy to allow them to spend more on housing in nice parts of the city, inspired by European standards of physical class-zoning in large cities (Wade, 2009). By contrast, low-income communities, historically people of darker skin tones, were taxed relatively higher

than others and did not have the means to move to nicer parts of the city (Bak, 1985).

This was deliberate, as the communities in which “Whiter,” wealthier people lived were also located closer to the centers of power, providing them with insight into the places where Vargas’s decisions were made (Telles, 2004). A lack of development in historically Black communities from state-funded projects further isolated these communities from the systems of power (Lesser, 1999). Vargas resided in the Catete Palace, an urban mansion in Rio de Janiero’s Flamengo neighborhood (Brazilian President Found Dead, 1954). Even now, this is a beachfront, middle- to upper-class neighborhood, with relics of its upper-class roots visible in the colonial architecture that was once inhabited by the beneficiaries of Vargas’s regime.

Vargas’s dislike of a native Brazilian identity, taking the form of disregard for and efforts against mixed social classes and his whitewashing of Brazilian history, were only emphasized in his efforts to rid the country of its traditions. Samba, specifically, became a focus (Hanchard, 1994). In working to incorporate “sanitized versions of popular culture,” Vargas instituted European ideals associated with the Estado Novo (the period under the new constitution, 1937–1945) definition of modernity (Wade, 2009, p. 124).

On a national level, Vargas also was staunchly opposed to immigration and to nonEuropean outsiders. In his constitution, he worked toward a Whites-only set of immigration policies to further validate the “brasilidade” identity he was campaigning for (Lesser, 1999). This idea of modernity defined the only valid demographic group as White men (women were inherently sexualized and deemed unfit for respectability). Understanding the economic and social systems under the Vargas regime and how they awarded power is essential to understanding the harsh color-based divides implemented to maintain power.

Juan Peron defined himself as a populist, focusing his work on the majority White bourgeoisie in his rise to power, and benefiting them and high-status White elites through his

policy, quickly drawing connections between race and socioeconomic status in his military dictatorship. With Argentina seen as an ally of the United States on the Latin American front of the battle against socialism, a fear of the far left brought the country to the right as the military rule of Peronism destroyed the idea of a working class that was essential to class relations within the country (Munck, 1985).

Peron’s regime introduced a new type of fascism dependent fascism to Latin America. In this, there was an armed elite, a fascist movement separate from the fascist state, and a lack of any popular political movement (Munck, 1985). Through this group of armed elites, which amounted to the White community, acting under a leader who reflected their personal identity with absolute power, the regime furthered the racial standards of class relations. This form of fascism, coupled with Peron’s self-proclaimed populism, served the “popular” group of the White community who held political, economic, and social power. A reliance on social order and emphasis on economic stability to maintain these regimes was visible throughout the continent in this period but was especially intertwined with the government in Peron’s Argentina (Munck, 1985).

In ridding themselves of the middle class, Peron and his government worked to define the “other” away from his group of power on the basis of race. Specific language was used to differentiate others from Whites, as Blackness was defined by any presence of color, not just lack of Whiteness. The degradation of Blackness as an aspect of identity was so strong that White identity was inherently deemed null in its intersectional existence. In policy, “the term negro came to ambiguously signify poor, immigrant, black, and/or Amerindian while eluding an explicitly racial signification” (Ko, 2019, p. 1385). The reality behind these steps was that the military dictatorship wanted to alienate communities of color, depriving them of economic, social, and political power to fight against the systems that were built to oppress them. This fear

of dark skin color, and of a statewide descent toward racial darkening, motivated work to create an ideal identity surrounding Whiteness. Immigration once again prioritized European Whites, with statewide restrictions on people from countries of color. When Black communities were given opportunities to immigrate, they were restricted to physical labor as a way of maintaining lower economic status for this group (Bastia, 2014). They also worked in subservient positions to high-status White elites. No space was provided for economic ascendance to Black communities within the limits of Peron’s White regime.

Pinochet’s regime used popular momentum and executive orders to impose an unspoken standard of Whiteness as a national identity, shaping the socio-economic policies that were the proclaimed focus of his dictatorship in the process. By centralizing healthcare in the state, militarizing everyday activities, and restricting the movements of those deemed a threat, Pinochet and his regime furthered existing racial stratification by purposefully subverting Black communities (Townsend, 2019). Pinochet further divided the state using standards of gender by sending “social workers to visit working-class and poor families to ensure that women maintained hygienic households and husbands did not abuse their wives or waste money on alcohol and gambling” (Townsend, 2019, p. 48). From there, the Pinochet regime’s imposition on the form of the family allowed for further divisions of intercultural identity groups, ranging from indigenous communities to Black communities, and anything else defined as non-White. Social workers’ involvement in the lives of poor families, traditionally families of color, also allowed for government oversight of groups that might oppose the regime. Although framed as a benefit to marginalized communities, Pinochet’s policy was created out of focused efforts to subvert competition and opposition among those it actively oppressed.

Before the rise of Pinochet, White identity was something that crossed class lines through inter-familial relations. After his ascent to power, the idea of strengthening the Chilean race

through increased Whiteness stratified high-economic communities from their mixed-race pasts.

“Social reformers . . . promoted discourses of racial homogeneity,” before Pinochet’s slimming down of the definition of the Chilean race (Townsend, 2019, p. 47). The predominance of the patriarchal family structure in Chile allowed these reforms to be tied to family structures and “to create alliances across class lines, consolidate welfare states, and draw the working classes into citizenship” (Townsend, 2019, p. 47). However, Pinochet saw this mixing of class as a threat to his high-class group of leadership. Through the idea of “strengthening” an imagined Chilean race, Whiteness was put at the forefront of economic policy to benefit this demographic and purposefully subvert past efforts of racial harmony.

Pinochet encouraged violence through his populist propaganda, with colonial characteristics of the state reflecting a history of the racial patterns used to suppress opposition from the oppressed minority. In Chile’s past, “ideas about . . . race implied aspirations to North Atlantic whiteness and were refracted through the politics and policies of development,” (Townsend, 2019, p. 48). Economic policy created a two-tiered rural economy to differentiate and repress indigenous economic progress (Richards, 2013). In marginalizing the economy of people of color to rural locations, Pinochet created a physical barrier between indigenous success and his urban-centered regime. The larger state idea was that the good indigenous communities were those that integrated into the idea of urban Whiteness, something that had been equated to a central idea of Chile (Richards, 2013). Using the idea of White racial superiority but framing it as racial ambivalence around state policy allowed Pinochet to claim that class was the main social marker of the state. However, because economic policy was centered around the success of White leaders and their families, this economic policy was inextricably linked to a purposeful effort to subvert and degrade Black identity. These dictatorships, all economically and militarily supported by U.S. fear of socialism,

were founded on the idealization of the White race and created provisions slightly benefitting but still oppressing people of color economically to quell disagreement with the White heads of state. Efforts to appease those communities of color were also similari between these regimes. They used propaganda to claim a color-blind stance that was belied by all their other policies and attitudes toward communities of color. By prioritizing the White economic and social experience and building economic success off communities of color while violently oppressing opposition, all these regimes reflected the identities of those who led them. This reality mirrored that of the United States, which was built on the enslavement of Black bodies. Centering the White experience as the broad experience of the state not only invalidated indigenous identities but further divided each state into race-based class systems.

Conclusion

The tensions presented by these dictatorships remain core to the political issues and ideologies of their states today. The current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, comes from a military background and uses violent language to advocate for fewer covid-19 restrictions which affects communities of color the most in Brazil cultural assimilation for indigenous communities, and anti-same-sex marriage stances. His rhetoric reflects a history of violent language backed by military support to oppress already-marginalized identities and validate his personal beliefs in the name of a powerful right-wing government based on his preferred policies.

In Argentina, although it has evolved, Peronism and the tension between other ideologies remains a core political issue. With the current Justicialist Party, historical tensions between social justice, economic independence, and political sovereignty, things that drove Peron’s oppressive policies, are once again at play. In Chile, there is an extreme centralization of state power and policy in the current republic that is an evolution of the Pinochet dictatorship.

There are inherent contradictions between evolution out of a Spanish colonial past of

“caudillos,” or professional military leaders backed by troops, and the later rise of these dictatorships (Lynch, 1992). These more modern leaders’ claims to promote justice are fundamentally inaccurate, as both groups claim exceptional authority by way of force over a minority that they fear overpowering them. Although the caudillo faded from power in the 20th century, its foundations allowed for the growth of caudillismo, a precursor to the vacuum in colonial power that allowed for the rise of dictatorships. Oppressive policies toward people of color and centralized power in governments run by White men mark the political systems of these countries to this day. The deep-rooted legacy of oppression of communities of color through economic policy and social stratification has allowed for physically distant dictatorships to maintain fundamentally similar violent regimes.

Efforts to challenge oppressive economic policies in Latin America in the modern era are deeply intertwined with progressive and liberatory movements addressing historical injustices, particularly those related to race-based discrimination. Grassroots activism and community organizing inspired by movements such as Afro-Latinidad actively confront economic disparities faced by Afro-descendant communities (Presch & UnidosUS, 2022). These movements strive to dismantle systemic racism and economic injustices by advocating for fair wages, equal opportunities, and inclusive economic policies.

Policy advocacy plays a crucial role in addressing economic disparities in the region. Calls for equitable tax policies and wealth redistribution resonate with movements seeking to rectify historical injustices faced by indigenous and Afro-descendant populations. Recent discussions of affirmative action policies have also highlighted efforts to address the economic impact of historical discrimination.

Alternative economic models gain prominence as mechanisms to challenge traditional structures that perpetuate inequality. Cooperatives and community-owned enterprises, especially

those led by marginalized groups, are emerging as powerful tools for economic empowerment. These models, such as the cooperative initiatives in Afro-descendant communities in Brazil, are aimed at reshaping economic power dynamics and fostering community self-sufficiency.

Education and awareness campaigns are essential to confronting race-based economic disparities. Organizations like the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme strive to dismantle the deep-rooted prejudices that contribute to economic inequities. By raising awareness of the intersections of racial and economic outcomes, these campaigns foster understanding and support for policies that address racial discrimination in the economic sphere.

Intersectional approaches in Latin America are critical given the complex interplay of race, class, and gender. Movements like the Haitian Bridge Alliance emphasize the unique obstacles faced by Afro-Latinx women in economic spheres and work towards policies that recognize and address these intersectional disparities (Manuel Jiménez, 2023). Online platforms and social media play crucial roles in connecting activists and sharing information among Latin American countries. Organizations like AfroResistance (n.d.) use digital spaces to mobilize support, amplify voices, and coordinate efforts to challenge oppressive economic policies rooted in racial discrimination.

Contemporary movements in Latin America, including Afro-Latinidad activism, advocacy for equitable policies, alternative economic models, education campaigns, and intersectional approaches, collectively contribute to the struggle against oppressive economic policies shaped by racial discrimination. By focusing on the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities in the region, these movements try to create more just and inclusive economic landscapes that address historical injustices related to race.

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CONCLUSION

Conclusion

The theme for the 48th Annual National Council of Black Studies ((NCBS) Conference for 2024 is

“Our AfroFuture in the Crosshairs: Black Studies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Big Tech, and the Cultural Wars.” In this decade, our academic discipline is under attack through to remove Black studies from school curriculum and the increased normalization of anti-Black racial bigotry and hate crimes targeting Black people. The treatment of our discipline reflects of the treatment of our people. In this issue of the NCBS Annual Report, we called for essays that use Black studies paradigms, theories, and models to address contemporary attacks and misrepresentations of the discipline. From start to finish, this issue contains essays that accomplish this task.

Tarik A. Richardson uses scholarship to reassert African agency to engage in cultural reclamation to counter Afrophobic misrepresentations of African history. Complementarily, John O. Marshal challenges Eurocentrism in genetic ancestry testing. He presents the ways the African Ancestry Company uses a larger genetic database of African populations and its greater knowledge of African cultures to make genetic ancestry testing more relevant to Black populations.

Although there is always a push to prepare Black communities for full participation in the economy through methods like workforce development, it is important to continue centering humanity and the interests of African communities as reflected in the principles of the Black studies mission. Several articles speak to this mission, addressing academic excellence, social responsibility, and cultural grounding. Averill Kelley, Acacia Dorsey, and Dashad Green reinforce the idea of social responsibility in education, particularly for Black communities. Rodney T. Cunningham and Alexis Riddick put forward a model for understanding the unique and unmatched approach to nurturing Black academic excellence offered by historically Black colleges and universities. Finally, Anitra Butler-Ngugi explores ubuntugogy, a knowledge system that centers

the unique cultural worldviews of African people in the knowledge process.

In the section “Culturally Grounded and Decolonial Agency, Identity, and Support,” several authors describe avenues by which Black people have created spaces supportive of their identities through institution building, legislation, and intellectual production. Marcedes Butler, Acacia Dorsey, and Airies Davis describe the C.R.O.W.N. Act as a legislative measure for addressing antiBlack workplace racism. Michelle B. Taylor describes the role of ballroom culture as an expression of agency and institution building and an identity-supportive, protective space for African American LGBTQ+ individuals. Clenora Hudson (Weems) describes the importance of not just creating but protecting intellectual space, namely through Africana womanism and Africanamelanated womanism.

A pair of essays in this volume discuss the mission of the discipline, which extends beyond the classroom. These essays are particularly significant given recent attacks on Black studies in states across the U.S. They reinforce the utility of Black studies in the pursuit of educational reform and as an engine for social change. Tara Mock discusses the importance of Black studies for leading challenges to the erasure of the cultural and intellectual contributions of people of African descent and other underrepresented groups, and in serving as a vanguard for achieving greater educational equity. Michael Washington describes how the scholarship in the discipline was used by Black youths for community organizing and to engage community members with police to produce more equitable policing.

These essays lead seamlessly into those on community engagement. This year’s section picks up on the theme of creating space. Charmane M. Perry writes about the Black Girl Social Club as a product of Black women’s creation of space and as an institutional nurturer of a lasting sisterhood members can carry into other relationships and spaces. Ronda Henry, Joseph Tucker

Edmonds, Patricia Turley, Lasana D. Kazembe, Cleveland Hayes II, Jennifer Thorington Springer,

and Obioma Nnaemeka contribute an essay highlighting Indiana University Indianapolis’s Africana Studies Program as an model for how the longstanding principle of service to community can be institutionalized in our discipline.

This is a global report, inviting scholarship about the entire African world and recognizing that our struggle are common but also interconnected. Fittingly, the final essay in the Young Emerging Scholars section, by Talia Marash, highlights the ways that oppressive constructions of race have been embedded in Latin American social and economic policies to systematically reproduce inequalities.

The attacks on Black studies and Black people are related, and they are global. The essays in this volume demonstrate the ways that our discipline can connect Black intellects with commitments to community uplift, educational equity, and the deconstruction of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Ultimately, they provide examples and methodologies for serving and creating space for people of African ancestry to better understand themselves and their environments, and ways to empower, protect, and increase the life chances of people of African ancestry. This is something we are committed to ensuring all our successive accomplish.