Journal of African American Studies 

About: Journal of African American Studies is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Racism. It has an ISSN identifier of 1559-1646. Over the lifetime, 599 publications have been published receiving 6741 citations. The journal is also known as: Journal of African-American Studies.

What Role Does Grit Play in the Academic Success of Black Male Collegians at Predominantly White Institutions

Abstract: This study tests the importance of a noncognitive trait, grit, to predicting grades for a sample of Black males attending a predominantly White institution. Using multivariate statistics and hierarchical regression techniques, results suggest that grit is positively related to college grades for Black males and that background traits, academic factors, and grit explain 24 % of the variance in Black male’s college grades. Grit, alone, added incremental predictive validity over and beyond traditional measures of academic success such as high school grade point average and American College Test scores. Implications for policy and practice are highlighted.

Coping with Gendered Racial Microaggressions among Black Women College Students

Abstract: In this study, we explored the strategies that Black women use to cope with gendered racial microaggressions, or the subtle and everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental expressions of oppression based on the intersection of one’s race and gender. A total of 17 Black women undergraduate, graduate, and professional students participated in one of two semi-structured focus group interviews. Results from dimensional analysis indicated five coping strategies: two resistance coping strategies (i.e., Using One’s Voice as Power, Resisting Eurocentric Standards), one collective coping strategy (i.e., Leaning on One’s Support Network), and two self-protective coping strategies (i.e., Becoming a Black Superwoman, Becoming Desensitized and Escaping). The theme of Picking and Choosing One’s Battles was also uncovered as a process whereby participants made deliberate decisions about when and how to address the microaggressions they experienced. Findings indicated that Black women used a combination of coping strategies depending on contextual factors, which supports and extends previous research. Implications and directions for future research in the field of African American studies are discussed.

Maids of Academe: African American Women Faculty at Predominately White Institutions

Abstract: The presence of African American women at predominantly white institutions is one of historical relevance and continues to be one of first, near misses, and almosts. Individually and collectively, African American women at PWIs suffer from a form of race fatigue as a result of being over extended and undervalued. The purpose of this article is to present the disproportionate role African American women assume in service, teaching, and research as a result of being in the numerical minority at PWIs. Information is presented to provide an overview on racism in the academy, images and portrayals, psychosocial, spiritual, and legal issues for African American women faculty. Finally recommendations are presented to assist African American women faculty, and administrators, colleagues, and students at PWIs to understand and improve the climate at their institutions.

African American men as “criminal and dangerous”: Implications of media portrayals of crime on the “criminalization” of African American men

Abstract: Tragic police shootings of innocent individuals assumed to be dangerous or criminal happen at an alarming rate, with several notable instances occurring in the last several years (Dvorak, 2001; Kelly, 2000; Staples, 2000). Why might an individual be mistakenly "assumed" to be threatening or violent? Naturally, a host of variables may play contributory roles in priming thoughts of danger or aggression, including age, dress, and gender, among others. Nevertheless, the frequency with which black men specifically have been the target of mistakenly placed police aggression speaks to the undeniable role that race plays in false assumptions of danger and criminality. Of course, the mistaken identification of individuals as potentially violent or dangerous is a phenomenon that is not isolated to law-enforcement circumstances. In contrast, this sort of situation is manifest in a variety of settings, including store clerks who keep a particularly keen eye on African American male customers who are targeted as potential shoplifters, and white women who clutch their pocketbooks more closely when in the presence of black men. Brent Staples, an African American writer for the New York Times, recalled his experiences with being the target of fear and mistrust when he was a graduate

Racism and Police Brutality in America

Abstract: What, if any, changes have occurred in the nation’s police departments 21 years after the Rodney King beating? To answer this question, this study examined findings provided by the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project (NPMSRP). An additional goal of this study was to examine how the public generally perceive police and how race and racism shape this discourse. To answer this secondary question, we examined narratives provided by 36 contributors to the NPMSRP site. The following two questions were foundational to this study: (1) What do findings from the NPMSRP suggest about the rate of police brutality in America? (2) How do individuals perceive the police department, and what implications do these perceptions hold for Black men in America? In general, fatalities at the hands of police are higher than they are for the general public. Grounded theory analysis of the data revealed that individuals perceive members of law enforcement in the following ways: (a) contempt for law enforcement, (b) suspicion of law enforcement, (c) law enforcement as agents of brutality, and (d) respect for law enforcement. Supporting qualitative data are presented in connection with each of the aforementioned themes.