A comparative study of African American and European American ethnic identity

Differences between African Americans and European Americans were examined to find how ethnic identity salience was enacted in interethnic conversations, A sample of 126 African Americans and 78 European Americans was recruited from the community using a snowball sampling method. First, different factor structures for the two groups indicated that African Americans conceptualize sociocultural and political identity as separate constructs while European Americans express a singular and social definition of ethnic identity and experience less identity salience than African Americans. Secondly, although our sample is small, those who used the label “African American” expressed greater political ethnic identity salience than those who used the label “Black”. This finding is consistent with others' research indicating a continuing trend toward a positive political posture for African Americans. Third, ethnic identity was found to be negatively related to interethnic communication satisfaction for European Americans. Stronger European American ethnic identity was related to less satisfying interethnic conversational outcomes in less intimate relationships. Ethnic identity salience showed no significant relationship to interethnic conversational outcomes for European Americans communicating with friends nor for African Americans no matter the relational distance.     

Communicative Dynamics of Police-Civilian Encounters: South African and American Interethnic Data

Research in the American West, China, and Taiwan has shown that officers’ communication accommodative practices (and attributed trust in them) can be more potent predictors of satisfaction with the police than are the sociodemographic characteristics of those judging. With Black and White respondents, this study continues this line of work in Louisiana and South Africa and tests a new model about the relationships among perceived officer accommodation, trust in the police, and reported voluntary compliance from civilians. In addition to an array of differences that emerged between nations and ethnicities, officer accommodativeness indirectly predicted civilian compliance through trust. The hypothesized model was partially supported and culturally-sensitive.     

Parenting Practices Among Low-income Parents/Guardians of Academically Successful Fifth Grade African American Children

Research investigating the relationship between parenting and academic achievement has provided conflicting results, particularly for low-income, culturally-diverse parents. Using resilience theory, the researchers conducted a case study with five low-income African American mothers. Findings suggest that educators can benefit from partnering with African American parents.     

The Ins and Outs of Succeeding in Mathematics: African American Students' Notions and Perceptions

This article presents the results of a research study that investigated the mathematical experiences of two African American female college students. The study examined the students' perceptions of and responses to their mathematical experiences. The study sought to determine how these students viewed their experiences in mathematics classrooms, particularly their interactions with mathematics teachers and sought to identify factors that contributed to their succeeding in mathematics. The students' stories suggest a need to raise questions about traditional teaching practices that may be oppressive for African American mathematics students. Their stories also engender hope due to the support of caring educators whom they called "good teachers" and who contributed to their success with school mathematics.     

Fostering Positive Ethnic Relations Between African American and Latino Children: A Collaborative Urban Program Using Art and History

This account of a 1998 National Association for Multicultural Education workshop suggests how making and discussing art can broaden and deepen multicultural education beyond a tourist survey of food, clothing, and customs. A partnership of artmaking and multicultural education that develops creative behaviors necessary for realizing social justice, through critically reflective art activities, is described. The complexity of creating an equitable, tolerant, and just learning environment with diverse learners is compared to the complexities of making and discussing art. The discussion presents the arts as a metaphoric way of thinking about, a model for developing, and an actual modality for developing multicultural education.     

African Extravaganza in Shenzhen

The autumn season in Shenzhen is charming. Cool breeze touches people＇s face and a permeating fragrance of orange osmanthus sways across the skyscrapers, makingthis robust city full of sense of modernity. After 30 years of opening and reform, the city is heading on faster and faster to get into the world fashion. Our story focuses on a 10-day cultural extravaganza hosted by the African artists and their Chinese counterparts in the downtown area, The ongoing ＂Focus on African Culture＂ festival is a true witness of the everlasting friendship between African countries and China.     

American Commentaries

ABSTRACT

Despite widespread assertions as to the ‘Americanization’ of British culture in the first half of the twentieth century, the true extent of this cultural transfer remains open to question. This article considers what the British people actually knew about ‘America’, its institutions, culture and way of life, in this period through an analysis of coverage of the USA in the British news media (press, newsreels and wireless) in the inter-war years. Specific attention is paid to the attempts of the BBC – in particular through the broadcasting work of Raymond Gram Swing and Alistair Cooke – to provide an understanding of contemporary America beyond the widely cited stereotypes of ‘Chicago gangsters and Hollywood blondes'.