scholarly journals Black vs African American: Why are communication and clinical researchers not paying attention to what descendants of the African Diaspora want to be called, and why is that a problem?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raiven Owusu ◽  
Katherine Ridley-Merriweather ◽  
Krista Hoffmann-Longtin
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
African American ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
African Diaspora ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Communication Theory Of Identity ◽  
The Impact

Problem: Descendants of African Diaspora (DADs) in the U.S. experience greater health disparities than other racial or ethnic minority groups. Many factors play a role, including their lack of participation in clinical trials. By refusing to participate, DADs cannot benefit from medical research. The barriers to recruiting DADs is well discussed in literature, but we found no research suggesting that mislabeling participants could be creating another barrier. This essay delves into the history of labeling DADs to illuminate the existing tensions between the use of “Black” and “African American” and the impact they may have on recruitment.   Processes: Communication Theory of Identity and Critical Race Theory shaped our analysis of this mislabeling issue and its possible implications. Both theories offer insight into how an individual shapes and is simultaneously shaped by communication. We reviewed, summarized, and coded literature in the academic and popular press to answer the research question: How can mislabeling DADs possibly deter them from participating in clinical trials?   Findings: Within DADs, there are several subgroups with different cultural heritages that contribute to how people identify. Therefore, no “catch-all” label can be used to accurately describe DADs. Academic and popular press literature indicate that preferences exist amongst this group for how they wish to be identified. Researchers should realize that “Black” and “African American” are not perceived the same by many DADs and should refrain from using them interchangeably.   Conclusion: Given the current Black Lives Matter movement, it is imperative that health communication scholars and health researchers consider how language shapes participation and research outcomes for DADs. More research is needed to determine if the use of “Black” and “African American” interchangeably creates another barrier to the recruitment of DADs. However, if possible, researchers should take time to note the preferences of their target populations prior to recruitment. 

scholarly journals Aggressive Policing and the Educational Performance of Minority Youth

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joscha Legewie ◽  
Jeffrey Fagan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
African American ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Educational Performance ◽  
High Crime ◽  
The Impact

An increasing number of minority youth experience contact with the criminal justice system. But how does the expansion of police presence in poor urban communities affect educational outcomes? Previous research points at multiple mechanisms with opposing effects. This article presents the first causal evidence of the impact of aggressive policing on minority youths’ educational performance. Under Operation Impact, the New York Police Department (NYPD) saturated high-crime areas with additional police officers with the mission to engage in aggressive, order-maintenance policing. To estimate the effect of this policing program, we use administrative data from more than 250,000 adolescents age 9 to 15 and a difference-in-differences approach based on variation in the timing of police surges across neighborhoods. We find that exposure to police surges significantly reduced test scores for African American boys, consistent with their greater exposure to policing. The size of the effect increases with age, but there is no discernible effect for African American girls and Hispanic students. Aggressive policing can thus lower educational performance for some minority groups. These findings provide evidence that the consequences of policing extend into key domains of social life, with implications for the educational trajectories of minority youth and social inequality more broadly.

scholarly journals A Review of Qualitative Research of Perception and Experiences of Dementia Among Adults From Black, African, and Caribbean Background: What and Whom Are We Researching?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moïse Roche ◽  
Paul Higgs ◽  
Jesutofunmi Aworinde ◽  
Claudia Cooper
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Black African ◽  
Black British ◽  
American Perspective ◽  
Majority Population ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
African Caribbean ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background and Objectives Black, African, and Caribbean (BAC) families are disproportionately affected by dementia but engage less with services. Studies reporting their experiences of dementia have tended to aggregate people from diverse backgrounds, without considering the impact of this diversity, or researchers’ ethnicities. We investigated participants’ and researchers’ ethnic identities, exploring how this relates to findings. Research Design and Methods We searched electronic databases in September 2018, for qualitative studies exploring how participants of Black ethnicity understand and experience dementia and dementia care. We reported participants’ and researchers’ ethnicities, and meta-synthesized qualitative findings regarding how ethnicity influences experiences and understanding of dementia. Results Twenty-eight papers reported 25 studies; in United States (n = 17), United Kingdom (n = 7), and Netherlands (n = 1). 350/492 (71%) of participants were in U.S. studies and described as African American; participants in U.K. studies as Caribbean (n = 45), African/Caribbean (n = 44), African (n = 28), Black British (n = 7), or Indo-Caribbean (n = 1); and in Netherlands as Surinamese Creole (n = 17). 6/25 (24%) of studies reported involving recruiters/interviewers matching participants’ ethnicity; and 14/25 (56%) involved an author/advisor from a BAC background during analysis/procedures. We identified four themes: Dementia does not relate to me; Inappropriate and disrespectful services; Kinship and responsibility; Importance of religion. Discussion and Implications Studies were mostly from a U.S. African American perspective, by researchers who were not of BAC background. Themes of dementia diagnosis and services feeling less relevant to participants than the majority population resonated across studies. We caution against the racialization of these findings, which can apply to many differing minority groups.

scholarly journals Aggressive Policing and the Educational Performance of Minority Youth

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joscha Legewie ◽  
Jeffrey Fagan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
African American ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Educational Performance ◽  
High Crime ◽  
The Impact

An increasing number of minority youth experience contact with the criminal justice system. But how does the expansion of police presence in poor urban communities affect educational outcomes? Previous research points at multiple mechanisms with opposing effects. This article presents the first causal evidence of the impact of aggressive policing on minority youths’ educational performance. Under Operation Impact, the New York Police Department (NYPD) saturated high-crime areas with additional police officers with the mission to engage in aggressive, order-maintenance policing. To estimate the effect of this policing program, we use administrative data from more than 250,000 adolescents age 9 to 15 and a difference-in-differences approach based on variation in the timing of police surges across neighborhoods. We find that exposure to police surges significantly reduced test scores for African American boys, consistent with their greater exposure to policing. The size of the effect increases with age, but there is no discernible effect for African American girls and Hispanic students. Aggressive policing can thus lower educational performance for some minority groups. These findings provide evidence that the consequences of policing extend into key domains of social life, with implications for the educational trajectories of minority youth and social inequality more broadly.

Early Career African American Teachers and the Impact of Administrative Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 004208592098833
Author(s):  
Eugenia B. Hopper ◽  
Derrick Robinson ◽  
Paul Fitchett
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Teacher Mobility ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
American Teacher ◽  
Career Teachers ◽  
The Impact

This study examined the mobility trends of African American public-school teachers. Guided by the integration of critical race theory and organization theory, this study used longitudinal data from the National Center for Education Statistics to explore how race and organizational climate predict African American teacher mobility. Using a quantitative descriptive study with logistic regression to determine which characteristics impact African American early career teachers’ decision to stay in the profession, findings suggest alarming trends in African American teacher mobility and opportunities for school leadership to have a greater role in retaining African American early career teachers.

“Hey, Black Child. Do You Know Who You Are?” Using African Diaspora Literacy to Humanize Blackness in Early Childhood Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-431
Author(s):  
Kamania Wynter-Hoyte ◽  
Mukkaramah Smith
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
African Diaspora ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Early Childhood Curriculum ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Black Critical Theory ◽  
Grade Classroom

This article examines the partnership between a teacher and teacher educator disrupting a colonized early childhood curriculum that fosters a dominance of whiteness by replacing it with the beauty and brilliance of Blackness. We explore the following research question: “What are the affordances of teaching from an Afrocentric stance in a first-grade classroom?” We employ Afrocentrism, which includes African cultural principles as the paradigm, and our theoretical lenses are Critical Race Theory and Black Critical Theory. Our Sankofa methodology revealed that African Diaspora literacies fostered (a) positive racial and gender identities, (b) community, and (c) positive linguistic identities in the work to help children to love themselves, their histories, and their peoples. We close with implications.

Cultural Dominance in Dietetics; Hearing the Voices, African American Nutrition Educators Speak

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Jill White
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
African American ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Registered Dietitians ◽  
The Impact

Currently less than 4% of Registered Dietitians in the U.S. come from African American or Latino communities. People are often unwilling to reveal their lifestyle patterns to those they fear will be insensitive to their sociopolitical position in society. The 2002 Institute of Medicine Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care recommended an increase of underrepresented minorities in the health care workforce. This study analyzed the impact of white dominance in the Field of Dietetics. Nineteen African American women who practice nutrition education in the African American community were interviewed regarding their own educational experiences, their practice, and their perception of the profession of Dietetics. They were also asked to give their opinions regarding changes that need to take place in the field. Critical Race Theory was utilized as a lens to analyze the findings. The women reported racism in their educational histories. The participants commented on their ability to relate to the food, economic conditions and learning styles of their African American clients. They identified a number of obstacles to becoming Registered Dietitians, many of which centered on accessing the internship process and the lack of perceived cost/benefit. The participants discussed needed changes in the educational process, including more multicultural education for dietetic students. It is hoped that this study will provide a voice from those who have been marginalized in Dietetics to project insight on how the field might become more inclusive and effective in communities of color.

Enrollment of lung cancer patients on clinical trials at an NCI comprehensive cancer center

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6633-6633 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. Keedy ◽  
L. Horn ◽  
A. Hayes ◽  
B. Spencer ◽  
G. Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
African American ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Disease Stage ◽  
Comprehensive Cancer Center ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Willingness To Participate

6633 Background: Enrollment of cancer patients (pt) in clinical trials is considered essential in order to improve cancer care. However, cancer clinical trials participation remains low. Understanding barriers to pt enrollment is necessary to overcome this problem. Previous reports have identified pt age, race, and ethnicity, disease stage, performance status (PS) and relationship with their health care provider as factors that can influence the enrollment of pts in clinical trials. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the charts of all lung cancer pts seen in the Thoracic Oncology Clinic at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center between November 2005 and November 2008. A total of 1075 lung cancer pts were seen. Results: 577 charts (of a planned 1075) have been audited to date. Pt demographics: median age = 64 yrs; male = 54%; Caucasian = 92%, African American = 4%, and Asian = 1%; NSCLC = 80%, SCLC = 17%. Male pts were more likely than females to be eligible for a clinical trial (p = 0.056). A study protocol was available for 57% of pts; 52% of pts proved eligible; 36% were entered into a study (11% total population). Significantly more protocols were available for NSCLC pts compared to pts with SCLC (p ≤ 0.001); there was also a non-significant trend towards higher enrollment of eligible NSCLC pts. There was no difference in eligibility between ethnicity; the percentage of eligible pts enrolling on trials was similar between Caucasian & African American pts (46% and 43%); no Asian pts were enrolled. The most common reasons for not enrolling included a preference for treatment closer to home (29%), patient refusal (19%), PS (19%), and co-morbidities (17%). The distance pts traveled was inversely correlated with likelihood of study participation. Conclusions: A total of 11% of lung cancer pt evaluated in our Thoracic Oncology Clinic were enrolled in clinical trials. Our data suggest additional strategies are needed to attract minority groups, increase enrollment of women and pts with comorbidities and poor PS. Travel distances influence pt willingness to participate in clinical trials. Strategies are needed to overcome this factor. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

scholarly journals A Composite Counterstorytelling: Memoirs of African American Military Students in Hawaii Public Schools

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimetta Hairston
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Military Students ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
American Military ◽  
American Students ◽  
The Impact

There are social, educational and behavioral problems for African American students in Hawaii public schools. Utilizing Critical Race Theory as a lens for analysis, the perceptions and experiences of these students regarding race, ethnic identity, military lineage, and self-definition are addressed. A composite counterstory of the researcher's and 115 African American students' experiences and reflections is portrayed through two siblings' memoirs. The impact of the counterstory challenges readers to see similar themes, perceptions, and experiences of being Black, military- affiliated, and a student in Hawaii in a story format as all events are integrated into two experiences, one male and one female.

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