Browsing by Subject "Race"
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Item Christianity and Race in the United States: Calling the White Church to Action(2017-05-08) Brudner, Elizabeth; Douglas, Kelly; Center for Geographies of Justice and Cultures - Religion; Bachelor's DegreeMy hope in this paper is to reflect upon the ways the white church has perhaps betrayed what it means to be Christian and why when it comes to matters of racial justice. Why, for instance, is the white church not more involved in fighting racism? In answering these questions, I will explore the white church’s main means of justification for its explicit and implicit participation in racism: white theological errors used as a means of maintaining power and privilege allowing for and supporting a lifestyle of racism that is deeply against the character of God as seen through scriptures.Item The Effect of Access and Exposure on Occupational Segregation for Women and Minorities(2021-01-25) Banks, Frederick; Wachhaus, T. Aaron; Sowa, Jessica; Havewala, Ferzana; University of Baltimore. College of Public Affairs; University of Baltimore. Doctor of Public AdministrationThe central theme of this project rests in providing evidence of occupational segregation relative to race and sex. In line with the central theme is the proposition that workforce training impacts the effects of occupational segregation and expands occupational choices for both women and minorities. Career choices for women and minorities are significantly narrowed, due to the impact of occupational segregation. The objective of this study is to identify specific factors that may account for expanded career choices for minorities and women who have been enrolled in work development training versus those who have not participated in workforce training. Previous studies primarily utilized a single theory to examine occupational segregation (Perales, 2013; Cech, 2016; and Moore, 1995). Employing a multi-theoretical framework in the explanation of career choice allows this project to include various elements of occupational segregation that impede opportunities for women and minorities. This current study employs a quantitative approach in examining workforce development training participation as a significant influence on career choices for minorities and women in the United States’ (US) labor market. Overall, this research demonstrates that workforce trainng impacts race and gender relative to career choices, although the effects are reflected differently relative to distinct racial and gender categories. While it was clear that race and gender were significant attributes in identifying career choice and job satisfaction in this study, workforce training exhibited significant effects on work-life and and occupation type specifically for our target groups. Workforce training significantly impacted the variability of occupation type and work life specifically for minorities. Women showed minor changes in the variability of occupation type as an effect of workforce training. Both women and minority job satisfaction showed significant variability as a condition of workforce diversity. Job satisfaction was significantly less influential in determining work-life for minorities while White work-life was much more effected by job satisfaction. Workforce development and training show promising results as conditions to improve occupational choice for women and minorities, specifically in non-traditionalItem Far From the Tree(2021-04-14) Conway, Dominque; Burke, Porscha; Orange, Michelle; MFA in Creative NonfictionThis project focuses on how race and space are experienced in the United States by drawing on my family history and my own experiences as a person of mixed racial heritage. Here, I incorporate genealogy, personal narrative, self-reflection, examination of historical documents and patterns of family migration, as well as oral histories from family members to analyze and document these experiences. Using autoethnographic and other research methods, I have attempted to construct the collective voice of ancestors in order to recreate memory. This journey has exposed me to a historical narrative that has long sat in the shadows of United States history. Even though some aspects of the lives of several of my ancestors have been documented, this information was mostly unknown, especially to the descendants. This project became a process of filling in the blanks, and constructing a fuller historical view of my ancestors and the places where they lived and died as well as broadening my own understanding of United States history. Fall Far from the Tree increases the understanding of the human experience by telling the stories of a people and places that have gone mostly untold.Item Interactive Relations of Executive Function, Race, and Sex with Physical Performance: A Longitudinal Investigation in African American and White Adults(2017-01-01) Leibel, Daniel Karl; Waldstein, Shari R.; Psychology; PsychologyPrevious studies have shown robust, direct associations between executive functions (EF) and physical performance, as well as variation in physical performance as a function of race and sex. However, little is known about how EF relates to age-related decline in physical performance during middle adulthood, and whether this association is moderated by race and sex. Using a sample of 1,549 urban-dwelling adults (59.6% female; 59.4% African American [AA]; 39.9% living in poverty; aged 30 to 64 years at baseline) from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study, the present investigation used mixed-effects regression to examine interactive relations among EF, race, and sex with age-related decline in handgrip strength, standing balance, and lower extremity strength and endurance over four to five years. Results revealed significant two-way interactions of (1) race and age, such that Whites experienced greater age-related decline in single-leg balance and right-handgrip strength than AAs; and (2) sex and age, such that men experienced greater age-related decline in lower extremity strength and endurance than women. Additionally, results revealed a significant three-way interaction of EF, race, and age, such that lower EF was associated with different decline trajectories in right handgrip strength between AAs and Whites. Finally, results revealed that lower EF related to poorer left-handgrip strength, single-leg balance, and lower extremity strength and endurance across time points. These findings have implications for screening and intervention strategies targeting individuals at heightened risk for future physical decline, particularly those with lower EF, men, and Whites.Item Investigating Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Graduate School Enrollment Rates among McNair Scholars(The Pell Instittute, 2022) Breen, Stephanie M.; Newsome, AntoinetteThe McNair Scholars Program aims to increase graduate school enrollment for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students with the goal of Ph.D. attainment. This study explores graduate school enrollment rates among University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) McNair Scholars using Astin’s (1993) IEO Model. Utilizing UMBC McNair Program’s Annual Performance Reporting (APR) datasets from 2010-2020, we conduct crosstabulations and logistic regression to examine what input and environmental factors contribute to graduate school enrollment for 117 UMBC McNair Scholars. While findings reveal no statistical significance in input and environmental factors, we found differences in enrollment rates across some racial/ethnic and gender groups. Implications of this study suggest that provisions for data collection and self-reporting practices must become standardized to increase program and evaluation effectiveness.Item Looking Out(2016-01-01) DeBold, Elena; O'Dell, Kathy; Visual Arts; Imaging and Digital ArtsLooking Out is an exhibition centered around the relationships, stories, and expressions of an inmate, Thomas, currently serving a life sentence. The work aims to give a voice to Thomas and his family while connecting their stories with the wider issues of mass incarceration, racial injustice, and racial trauma. At the heart of the work is an exchange between Thomas and Elena. Elena is able to make work surrounding Thomas'slife, and Thomas is able to express himself in ways otherwise not usually possible due to his incarceration. Through its use of immersive, multi-sensory, and interactive artistic techniques, Looking Out aims to bring about an empathetic understanding of the lives of others while breaking down stereotypes. The work seeks to merge art and experience?more specifically, to consider the creation of new experiences, the formation of new relationships, and the construction of new memories as an art form. In this art form, Elena acts as an empath, able to relate to other individuals within their own framework of lived reality, in hope that the role of empath will stretch to the audience. Additionally, Elena attempts to demystify Thomas'sexperience, thus countering the media'sstereotype-based portrayal of incarcerated black men, while creating an outlet through which Thomas'sand his family'svoices can be heard.Item "The Principal is Like a Warden in a Four-Year Sentence"(2019-05-17) Balasubramanian, Meera; Kasniunas, Nina; Singer, Eric; Robinson, Angelo; Center for People, Politics, and Markets - Political Science; Bachelor's DegreeThis thesis seeks to apply the above literature in its evaluation of Maryland’s efforts to dismantlement the school-to-prison-pipeline. This project seeks to answer two specific questions through its analysis, (1.) What extent has Maryland been able to address the school-to-prison-pipeline in the state? (2.) And what is the impact of Maryland’s historical and political background on the state’s successful or failed efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison-pipeline? Using a combined methodology of fifteen recommendations from various organizations at the forefront of restorative justice framework, this study seeks to explore if Maryland is or is not successful in its efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison-pipeline in the state. If Maryland has been able to reduce the school-to-prison-pipeline in the state, then it is due to a combined effort of progressive politicians and grassroots organization of political non-profit foundations and citizens in the state. Efforts made to decrease police spending and criminalization of minority youth for actions that do not cause harm to others will also be assessed. Restorative justice and the practice of preemptive implementation in public schools before student conduct violations will also be evaluated. As other scholars have hailed the state of Maryland as an example of how to implement restorative practices, this study seeks to find out how and why. Maryland efforts to dismantle the-school-to-prison-pipeline will be closely examined through fifteen recommendations. These categories span across legislative efforts, data collection, and state and community efforts made in the state. Maryland will be evaluated on what areas the state has taken action, where the state has attempted to take action, where the state has failed to take action, and what further efforts are needed to ensure full dismantlement of the school-to-prison-pipeline in the state.Item Race, space and place in suburban Durban: an ethnographic assessment of gated community environments and residents(Springer, 2006) Durington, Matthew Slover; Towson University, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal JusticeThis paper explores gated community culture and development in the suburbs of North Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Using perspectives from the anthropology of space and place as a theoretical and methodological framework, ethnographic fieldwork in one community in this area explores the cultural reasoning behind the movement to a fortified suburban enclave in South Africa by problematizing why, in a newly democratic society based on an ethos of desegregation, do individuals feel the need to segregate themselves along class and racial lines in fortified developments in a fashion reminiscent of homeland demarcation during apartheid? And, is the movement to gated communities within post-apartheid South Africa solely a white cultural and class phenomenon? While these questions are necessary, and perhaps commonsensical in terms of the unique social history of South Africa, research also attempts to complicate these lines of inquiry to apprehend the cultural reasoning and lifestyles of gated community residents to move past racial and class stereotypes and delve into the complex culture of these environments and the different rationalizations that individuals work with to justify their surroundings.Item Re-thinking "The American Dream of Integration" in Suburbia: Race, Class and Resegregation in Randallstown 1956-2003(2018-01-01) Utz, Zachary Michael; Musgrove, George D; History; Historical StudiesThis research focuses on the suburban community of Randallstown in the northwest corner of Baltimore County, Maryland. During the approximately fifty years covered in this narrative (1956-2006) Randallstown underwent a significant shift in its demographics, going from nearly entirely white to overwhelmingly black. I present a linear narrative describing how this happened by drawing particular emphasis to the ambiguities of terms like "integration” and "stability” in suburban Randallstown. I argue that historians need to re-examine the contexts in which this terminology was employed in suburban communities in the wake of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. This research aims to offer a unique insight into the complex ways that individuals and institutions navigate their places within a suburban context that is historically defined by legacies of discrimination and segregation.Item Side Hustle-Main Hustle(2022-05) Korenstra, Christina; MA in Cultural SustainabilityCommunities on every level in the United States have been plagued by racism for two and a half centuries. The systems in place in our country perpetuate the racial injustice which continues to this day. Because the injustice and inequities in our country are rooted in our very structures and systems of functioning, systemic change is required. Ultimately, it would be ideal to maximize resources and provide education as to how to secure and access resources that have historically been unattainable for African American communities. Furthermore, identifying community networks of Black-owned owned businesses that can rely on each other for cohesion and support can in turn strengthen communities and aid them in becoming more sustainable and self-reliant. Understanding the dynamics of racial disparities becomes essential to finding solutions and achieving equality. Funding leaders of color then becomes an essential factor as African American leaders bring strategies that offer an intimate understanding of the racial experiences of communities of color and the associated issues these communities face. I have documented Black-owned side businesses, conducting ethnographic research through photographic and video documentation of some of the businesses and interviews. Due to the impact of COVID-19, observation and documentation of locations was modified to observe the current health and safety protocols of the business and community. It was preferable to interview as well as to actively observe the businesses but in some cases the only option was to rely solely on proprietor interview. The result has been the development of a comprehensive business plan for a resource center that will pool resources for business owners and offer networking support for mentorship to aid leaders of color to follow a trajectory for success to develop businesses, grow businesses or make their side hustle their main hustle.Item SOCCER IN THE SUBURBS: SPORT AND CLASS IN PRINCE GEORGE'SAND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES(2020-01-20) Espinal-Acosta, Saul; Nolan, Andrew; History; Historical StudiesTen years ago, a high school soccer team comprised mostly of Hispanic players was inches away from claiming championship gold but fell short, and they mainly were defeated by teams consisting primarily of Caucasian players. That high school team was High Point High School, the school I attended. I wanted to uncover why predominantly white teams performed better than minority teams because minorities, specifically Hispanics, are raised playing soccer. By doing this, I was able to understand how soccer operated as an American sport. This theses begins with the growth of soccer in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties from the 1980s through the 2000s. It shows how Anglo-Americans have embraced the sport and how it has been used as an engine to widen ethnic, racial, and economic divides within American communities. A case study was conducted emphasizing youth soccer to high school soccer in Montgomery and Prince George'scounties. Primary sources were limited; thus, oral histories with soccer authorities were used from both counties. Sources from The Washington Post and sources outside of Washington, D.C. were used to corroborate their accounts if the fundamental human limitation of memory caused any disadvantages with the oral histories. Chapter 1 focused on Montgomery County, and chapter 2 focused on Prince George'sCounty. The third chapter collected and analyzed information from both counties and highlighted the racial relations among white Americans and ethnic minorities in the counties.Item TELOMERE ATTRITION AND AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE: DISPARITIES BY POVERTY STATUS AND RACE(2020-01-20) Leibel, Daniel Karl; Waldstein, Shari R; Psychology; PsychologyTelomere length (TL) is a marker of biological aging. However, evidence for relations between TL attrition and age-related cognitive decline is equivocal. Further, it is unknown whether historically disadvantaged sociodemographic groups (e.g., African Americans (AAs) and/or those living in poverty), are most vulnerable to cognitive decline associated with TL attrition. Therefore, the present study examined prospective interactive relations of TL change (?TL), poverty status, and race with age-related cognitive decline across multiple domains over five years. Participants were 323 urban-dwelling adults (baseline mean age = 48; 50.8% female; 52.0% AA; 50.2% below poverty) from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study. Cognitive tests included Digit Span Forward and Backward; California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT) total learning, short-delay free recall, and long-delay free recall subtests; Benton Visual Retention Test; Trail Making Test Parts A and B; and Animal Naming. TL was assayed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Linear mixed-effects models examined prospective interactions of ?TL, poverty status, race, and age (indexing time) with cognitive decline, adjusted for sex, high school-or-greater education, and baseline TL. Results revealed a significant four-way interaction of ?TL�Poverty Status�Race�Age (b=-0.16, p=.023) such that greater TL attrition was associated with steeper decline in Digit Span Backward performance among Whites living in poverty and AAs living above poverty. Second, a significant three-way interaction of ?TL�Race�Age (b=-0.15, p=.005) showed that greater TL attrition was associated with steeper decline in CVLT long-delay free recall performance among Whites. Third, a significant two-way interaction of ?TL�Age (b = 0.09, p = .022) showed that, in the overall sample, greater TL attrition was associated with steeper decline in Animal Naming. Finally, sensitivity analyses showed that adjustment for hsCRP and the presence of cardiometabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, heart failure, myocardial infarction) did not cause attenuation of these effects. Findings suggest that associations between TL attrition and cognitive decline may be specific to working memory, delayed verbal memory, and verbal fluency, and vary by race and/or poverty status. Clarification of underlying mechanisms may ultimately support prevention and treatment of premature cognitive aging.Item The Effect of Race on Clinical High-Risk Diagnosis, Attenuated Psychosis Symptoms, and Functioning in Help-Seeking Adolescents(2019-01-01) Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, Pamela Jayne; Schiffman, Jason; Psychology; PsychologyExtensive research has demonstrated higher rates of psychotic disorders and more severe psychotic symptoms among racial minorities, particularly among Black/African-American individuals. Additionally, racial differences have emerged in patterns of functional impairment for those with psychotic disorders. Although racial disparities are well documented among individuals at later stages of psychosis, few studies have examined racial differences in the clinical high-risk (CHR) phase of illness. In a sample of socioeconomically diverse help-seeking youth (N = 111), the present study examined racial differences between Black and White youth regarding psychosis risk diagnoses and severity of attenuated positive symptoms as measured by the Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes (SIPS). Additionally, the moderating effect of race was examined on the relation between positive symptoms and social/role functioning. No significant racial differences emerged in diagnosis rates in the total sample. Additionally, symptom severity did not differ among Black and White participants identified as CHR positive. However, race had a moderating effect on the relation between SIPS positive symptoms and social functioning for total positive symptom score (p < .001), with suspiciousness (p < .001) and hallucinations (p < .10) driving this effect. Findings further the understanding of racial differences in the CHR phase of illness among White and Black youth, and highlight limitations of the existing literature and assessment tools for diverse youth.Item Trill: A Song/Book of Revelations & Reckonings from a Southern Black Girlhood and Beyond(2020-01-13) Manora, Yolanda; Messitt, Margaret; Orange, Michelle; Hume George, Diana; MFA in Creative NonfictionA lyric essay/prose poetry memoir project about Southern black girlhood & womanhood and navigating the material and metaphysical spaces between the Civil Rights and #BlackLivesMatter Movements both at home in the American South and beyond.Item Yes, We’re Fishing—In Rough Waters for Hard-to-Find Fish(Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2013-03) Thompson, Rebecca J.; Bergman, Mindy E; Culbertson, Satoris S; Huffman, Ann H.In their focal article, Ruggs et al. (2013) outline the missed opportunities for researchers within industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology in examining marginalized employees. The authors identify seven groups as having been overlooked by I–O psychologists and thus deserving greater attention in the future. They conclude their focal article by noting that, ‘‘Instead of being on the front line serving as scientists and allies for those who are marginalized and treated poorly, we have let these individuals take a backseat while we have gone fishing.’’ We disagree with this assertion. It is not that we have gone fishing and ignored marginalized employees. Rather, we have gone fishing, in rough waters, to locate hard-to-find fish. We are not purposefully ignoring marginalized employees. On the contrary, we are conducting research while battling numerical representation issues and ethical and administration issues. The focus of our commentary is to highlight these challenges and offer suggestions for addressing them in an effort to assist researchers in actually doing what the authors of the focal article are calling for them to do—to successfully engage in more focused research on these underrepresented members of the workforce.