African American and Other Traditionally Underrepresented Students in School STEM: The Historical Legacy and Strategies for Moving from Stigmatization to Motivation

Social justice advocacy is a term commonly utilized to describe action steps initiated to remove obstacles to success for underrepresented students. This chapter challenges school counselors and educators to adopt a “Woke” perspective (which integrates action and awareness) on behalf of African American students. Furthermore, these professionals should be equipped with culturally responsive tools to support African American students and engage in systemic advocacy on their behalf. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, this chapter will examine the historical and contemporary context of discriminatory practices, as well as the current impact on African American students. This chapter will also address specific strategies to inform professional practice and advocacy work, as well as implications for training programs.

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Stigma and Status at an HBCU: Perceptions of Racial Authenticity Among Racially Underrepresented Students in the South

Journal of Black Studies ◽

10.1177/0021934717749416 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 171-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Patrick Webb ◽

Le’Brian Patrick ◽

Sandra H. Sulzer

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Underrepresented Students ◽

The United States ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Acting White ◽

African American College Students ◽

Predominately White Institutions ◽

Predominately White ◽

Racial Authenticity ◽

Student Classification

The existence of race-based stigma among minority populations in the United States has been well-documented. Notably, the acting White accusation has garnered considerable attention in relation to the African American population. Interestingly, studies related to this accusation have been primarily centered around Black students at Predominately White Institutions. Comparably, a focus on African American college students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which student characteristics (i.e., age, classification) are associated with the acting White accusation. Utilizing a quantitative method design, we analyzed over 100 student surveys which identified a number of significant outcomes. Through the use of ANOVA, findings indicate that both student classification and age are significantly associated with a number of aspects related to the race-based stigmatization. Limitations, policy implications, and areas of further research are discussed.

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Image Versus Text in PowerPoint Lectures: Who Does It Benefit?

Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work ◽

10.18084/1084-7219.23.1.91 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 91-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrea Barrick ◽

Dana Davis ◽

Dana Winkler

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

African American ◽

Student Satisfaction ◽

Response Rate ◽

Underrepresented Students ◽

Public University ◽

Retention Rates ◽

The Social ◽

American Students ◽

Institutional Retention

Microsoft PowerPoint has become routine in higher education lectures, yet there is very little research on the effectiveness of text in slides, which is primarily what is used. The current study assessed student satisfaction with images versus text slides in PowerPoint lectures across several classes of one professor in the social work department at a large public university. The survey was sent to 123 BSW students who were instructed by the researcher with PowerPoint lectures that involved primarily images versus text. Seventy-eight students completed the survey for a response rate of 63%. Results indicated that students overwhelmingly reported that images in PowerPoint lectures enhanced their learning. However, further analyses indicated that being African American is negatively associated with enhancing their learning using images. This is important because of the increase in African American students enrolling in college and low institutional retention rates of underrepresented students.

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“I’m Already Seen as a Sexual Predator From Saying Hello”: Black Men’s Perception of Sexual Violence

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260519877942 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 088626051987794

Author(s):

Nelson O. O. Zounlome ◽

Y. Joel Wong ◽

Elyssa M. Klann ◽

Jessica L. David

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

African American Men ◽

Underrepresented Students ◽

Clinical Work ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

University Education ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Male Survivors ◽

The Impact

Sexual violence is a severe and rampant issue plaguing college campuses. However, the lack of research pertaining to underrepresented students calls into question the generalizability of university education and prevention efforts. Consequently, there is a gap in the literature regarding African American men’s understanding of sexual violence. This study seeks to address this gap by examining African American university men’s conceptualization of sexual violence from their own racial and cultural perspectives. Ninety-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight male African American students attending predominantly White institutions. Data were analyzed by three coders using an interpretative phenomenological approach and intersectional framework. Data were then presented to an auditor and the coders revised the themes based on the auditor’s feedback. Four themes emerged from this analysis: aggressive and violent stereotypes of Black men, othering of male survivors, racial considerations when responding to survivors, and awareness of racial injustices. These results provide evidence supporting the need for culturally grounded sexual violence education and prevention efforts to effectively reach African American men on university campuses. For example, universities may consider having African American confidential advocates and a committee of racially diverse members to run reported instances of sexual violence to reduce bias. In addition, universities may benefit from partnering with Black fraternities to empower men to be allies for social change against rape culture within their communities. For clinical work, such efforts could include incorporating explicit discussions of the impact of gendered racism on Black male survivors into session. Also, clinicians could aim to combat the internalization of the gender racist stereotypes with clients.

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Carrie Mae Weems’s Photo-(Auto)biographies

Picturing Identity ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469640709.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 171-195

Author(s):

Hertha D. Sweet Wong

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Racial Violence ◽

Historical Legacy ◽

Surfaces And Interfaces

African American photographer and folklorist Carrie Mae Weems examines in image and text the nature of memory and history, insisting on a critique of historical wrongs as part of a process of self-formulation. As a storyteller-artist, she envisions the artist as the “narrator of history.” This chapter explores the development of her photo-autobiographies from photo-text sequences hung on gallery walls to elaborate architectural installation pieces that require viewers to enter and navigate the narrative visual-verbal space with its many surfaces and interfaces. In the process of showing and telling through photographs and texts and reframing photographic archives, she represents the historical legacy of racial violence to provoke readers-viewers to become aware of injustice and the false narratives that enable it.

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The Hearing Aid Effect in African American and Caucasian Males as Perceived by Female Judges of the Same Race

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.3002.165 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 165-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mary Davis ◽

Rhonda Jackson ◽

Tina Smith ◽

William Cooper

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Undergraduate Education ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Semantic Differential ◽

Semantic Differential Scale ◽

Education Majors ◽

Female Undergraduate ◽

Lay Persons ◽

Males And Females

Prior studies have proven the existence of the "hearing aid effect" when photographs of Caucasian males and females wearing a body aid, a post-auricular aid (behind-the-ear), or no hearing aid were judged by lay persons and professionals. This study was performed to determine if African American and Caucasian males, judged by female members of their own race, were likely to be judged in a similar manner on the basis of appearance, personality, assertiveness, and achievement. Sixty female undergraduate education majors (30 African American; 30 Caucasian) used a semantic differential scale to rate slides of preteen African American and Caucasian males, with and without hearing aids. The results of this study showed that female African American and Caucasian judges rated males of their respective races differently. The hearing aid effect was predominant among the Caucasian judges across the dimensions of appearance, personality, assertiveness, and achievement. In contrast, the African American judges only exhibited a hearing aid effect on the appearance dimension.

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Performance of Working Class African-American Children on Three Tests of Articulation

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.2103.171 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 171-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Patricia A. Cole ◽

Orlando L. Taylor

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Working Class ◽

African American Children ◽

American Children

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Final Consonant Deletion in African American Children Speaking Black English

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.2403.161 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 161-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Michael J. Moran

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Black English ◽

African American Children ◽

Vowel Length ◽

Minimal Pairs ◽

Speech Evaluation ◽

American Children

The purpose of this study was to determine whether African American children who delete final consonants mark the presence of those consonants in a manner that might be overlooked in a typical speech evaluation. Using elicited sentences from 10 African American children from 4 to 9 years of age, two studies were conducted. First, vowel length was determined for minimal pairs in which final consonants were deleted. Second, listeners who identified final consonant deletions in the speech of the children were provided training in narrow transcription and reviewed the elicited sentences a second time. Results indicated that the children produced longer vowels preceding "deleted" voiced final consonants, and listeners perceived fewer deletions following training in narrow transcription. The results suggest that these children had knowledge of the final consonants perceived to be deleted. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

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Language and Literacy Predictors of Dialect Density Among School-Age African American Children From Two Geographic Regions

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2020_lshss-19-00063 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 807-820

Author(s):

Lena G. Caesar ◽

Marie Kerins

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Multiple Regression ◽

Oral Language ◽

East Coast ◽

Geographic Region ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

School Age ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Geographic Regions ◽

American Children

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral language, literacy skills, age, and dialect density (DD) of African American children residing in two different geographical regions of the United States (East Coast and Midwest). Method Data were obtained from 64 African American school-age children between the ages of 7 and 12 years from two geographic regions. Children were assessed using a combination of standardized tests and narrative samples elicited from wordless picture books. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to determine relationships to and relative contributions of oral language, literacy, age, and geographic region to DD. Results Results of correlation analyses demonstrated a negative relationship between DD measures and children's literacy skills. Age-related findings between geographic regions indicated that the younger sample from the Midwest outscored the East Coast sample in reading comprehension and sentence complexity. Multiple regression analyses identified five variables (i.e., geographic region, age, mean length of utterance in morphemes, reading fluency, and phonological awareness) that accounted for 31% of the variance of children's DD—with geographic region emerging as the strongest predictor. Conclusions As in previous studies, the current study found an inverse relationship between DD and several literacy measures. Importantly, geographic region emerged as a strong predictor of DD. This finding highlights the need for a further study that goes beyond the mere description of relationships to comparing geographic regions and specifically focusing on racial composition, poverty, and school success measures through direct data collection.

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