What’s in a Name? The Hidden Historical Ideologies Embedded in the Black and African American Racial Labels

History can inconspicuously repeat itself through words and language. We explored the association between the “Black” and “African American” racial labels and the ideologies of the historical movements within which they gained prominence (Civil Rights and Black Power, respectively). Two content analyses and two preregistered experimental studies ( N = 1,204 White American adults) show that the associations between “Black” and “bias and discrimination” and between “African American” and “civil rights and equality” are evident in images, op-eds, and perceptions of organizations. Google Images search results for “Black people” evoke more racially victimized imagery than search results for “African American people” (Study 1), and op-eds that use the Black label contain more bias and discrimination content than those that use the African American label (Study 2). Finally, White Americans infer the ideologies of organizations by the racial label within the organization’s name (Studies 3 and 4). Consequently, these inferences guide the degree to which Whites support the organization financially.

Geochemical analysis of colonoware and brick artifacts from Brook Green Plantation using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

This study used data collected using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to examine ceramic artifacts found during the excavation of historic Brook Green Plantation, in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Excavations at this site yielded culturally significant artifacts associated with African and African American people held in bondage during the 19th century. The geochemical composition of Colonoware and brick artifacts was compared to clay samples that were taken from six locations on the grounds of Brookgreen Gardens. Some Colonoware sherds were found to be consistent with a clay source close to the excavation site. This research is part of a larger goal to demonstrate the applicability of portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry in the analysis and interpretation of archaeological ceramics.

County Demographics and COVID-19 Death Rates: Comparison of relationship in the first and current stage of the pandemic in the United States of America

Previous studies have discovered disparity in death rates associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States during the initial stages of the pandemic. Specifically, the death rates were higher in the population in poverty and communities of color across the United States. In the current study, we perform the secondary analysis of death rates due to COVID-19 data, obtained from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results indicate that in the first phase of the pandemic (February 1 to August 1, 2020), counties with higher percentage of White, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and two or more races populations were found to have lower per-capita COVID-19 death rate. Whereas counties with population having higher percentage of females, Black or African American people, and persons in poverty had higher death rates. Analysis of the death rates from August 1 to September 10, 2020, indicate that disparity continues with counties having higher population of Black or African American people and female having higher death rates. Poverty is not a significant variable in determining the death rates due to COVID-19. Based on the current data and lack of detailed molecular mechanism of the disease, we suggest that more resources must be diverted to counties with higher percentages of Black or African American and female populations.

Comparison of a Collective Intelligence Tailored Messaging System on Smoking Cessation Between African American and White People Who Smoke: Quasi-Experimental Design

Background The Patient Experience Recommender System for Persuasive Communication Tailoring (PERSPeCT) is a machine learning recommender system with a database of messages to motivate smoking cessation. PERSPeCT uses the collective intelligence of users (ie, preferences and feedback) and demographic and smoking profiles to select motivating messages. PERSPeCT may be more beneficial for tailoring content to minority groups influenced by complex, personally relevant factors. Objective The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of PERSPeCT in African American people who smoke compared with white people who smoke. Methods Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared African American people who smoke with a historical cohort of white people who smoke, who both received up to 30 emailed tailored messages over 65 days. People who smoke rated the daily message in terms of perceived influence on quitting smoking for 30 days. Our primary analysis compared daily message ratings between the two groups using a t test. We used a logistic model to compare 30-day cessation between the two groups and adjusted for covariates. Results The study included 119 people who smoke (African Americans, 55/119; whites, 64/119). At baseline, African American people who smoke were significantly more likely to report allowing smoking in the home (P=.002); all other characteristics were not significantly different between groups. Daily mean ratings were higher for African American than white people who smoke on 26 of the 30 days (P<.001). Odds of quitting as measured by 30-day cessation were significantly higher for African Americans (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.04-5.53; P=.03) and did not change after adjusting for allowing smoking at home. Conclusions Our study highlighted the potential of using a recommender system to personalize for African American people who smoke. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02200432; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02200432 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/jmir.6465

Comparison of a Collective Intelligence Tailored Messaging System on Smoking Cessation Between African American and White People Who Smoke: Quasi-Experimental Design (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The Patient Experience Recommender System for Persuasive Communication Tailoring (PERSPeCT) is a machine learning recommender system with a database of messages to motivate smoking cessation. PERSPeCT uses the collective intelligence of users (ie, preferences and feedback) and demographic and smoking profiles to select motivating messages. PERSPeCT may be more beneficial for tailoring content to minority groups influenced by complex, personally relevant factors. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of PERSPeCT in African American people who smoke compared with white people who smoke. METHODS Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared African American people who smoke with a historical cohort of white people who smoke, who both received up to 30 emailed tailored messages over 65 days. People who smoke rated the daily message in terms of perceived influence on quitting smoking for 30 days. Our primary analysis compared daily message ratings between the two groups using a <i>t</i> test. We used a logistic model to compare 30-day cessation between the two groups and adjusted for covariates. RESULTS The study included 119 people who smoke (African Americans, 55/119; whites, 64/119). At baseline, African American people who smoke were significantly more likely to report allowing smoking in the home (<i>P</i>=.002); all other characteristics were not significantly different between groups. Daily mean ratings were higher for African American than white people who smoke on 26 of the 30 days (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Odds of quitting as measured by 30-day cessation were significantly higher for African Americans (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.04-5.53; <i>P</i>=.03) and did not change after adjusting for allowing smoking at home. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlighted the potential of using a recommender system to personalize for African American people who smoke. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02200432; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02200432 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/jmir.6465

Women’s voices of protest: Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni’s poetry

The paper explores contemporary African American women’s protest poetry in the light of the liberation movements of the mid-20th century – Black Power, Black Arts Movement, Second Wave Feminism. The research focuses on political, social, cultural and aesthetic aspects of the Black women’s resistance poetry, its spirited dialogue with the feminist struggle, and undertakes its critical interpretation using the methodological tools of Cultural Studies. The poetics and style of protest poetry by Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni, whose literary works have received little scholarly attention literary studies in Ukraine, are analyzed. Protest poetry is defined as politically and socially engaged verse which is oppositional, contestatory and resistant in its subject matter, as well as in the form of (re)presentation. Focusing on political and societal issues, such as slavery, racism, segregation, gender inequality, African American protest poetry is characterized by discourse of resistance and confrontation, disruption of standard English grammar, as well as conventional spelling and syntax. It is argued that militant poems of Sonia Sanchez are marked by the imitations of black speech rhythms and musical patterns of jazz and blues. Similarly, Nikki Giovanni relies on the oral tradition of African American people while creating poetry which was oriented towards performance. The linguistic content of Sanchez and Giovanni’s verses is lowercase lettering for notions associated with “white america”, obscenities targeted at societal racist practices, and erratic capitalization, nonstandard spacing, onomatopoeic syllables, use of vernacular as markers of Black culture. The works of African American women writers, which are under analysis in the essay, constitute creative poetic responses to traumatic history of African American people. Protest poetry of Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni explicitly express the rhetoric of Black nationalism and comply with the aesthetic principles of the Black Arts movement. They are perceived as consciousness-raising texts by their creators and the audiences they are addressed to. It is argued that although protest and resistance poetry is time- and context-bound, it can transcend the boundaries of historical contexts and act as timeless texts.