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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until April 08, 2026

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Black Deathing to Black Self-Determination: The Cultivating Substance of Counter-Narratives

Ross, Genesis
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2332-0264
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1617984242373826

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
This conceptual research uses an Afro-Pessimistic lens to analyze the lack of Black Self-Determination in the United States of America (U.S.A). It sought to find out if counter-narratives could play a cultivating role. Upon completion of the analysis several concepts to deepen and expand understanding of the lack of Black Self-determination was revealed. Collectively the concepts help dissect counter-narratives into four types (counter-narrative moments, movements, periods, and permanents). This occurred by considering the conditions that make up counter-narratives and the functional possibilities of the counter-narratives given such conditions. Accounting for the make-up (substance) and the function of counter-narratives indicated two cultivating categories: liminal and permeant. To deepen understanding of and conceptually test counter-narratives within these categories, they were put into an Afro-Surreal Futuristic script (chapter 4). The script engaged the Afro-Pessimistic while aiming towards the Afro-Futuristic, by drawing upon the Afro-Surreal as a bridge. It was the bridge because it focused attention on the strengths in what had survived over time and could aid moving forward towards distinctly different realities. By doing so, counter-narratives that cultivated Black Self-Determination had to functionally help move beyond the current states maintaining the problem (Afro-Pessimistic conditions) and get to new states (Afro-Futuristic conditions) with levels of permanence. My exposure to being Black and living a Black Self-Determined existence is foundationally shaped by: 1) being born in the latter part of the 20th century in the U.S.A; 2) consistently sharing life with people born across generations; and 3) having grown up around countless responsible elders who were blood related or like family. The oral histories, witnessed accounts of racism, racial diversity of my grade-school classmates, slew of examples where adults chose to uphold certain values despite circumstances, advocacy for the well-being of others, and commitment to an unwavering communal environment provided me a rich understanding of Black people’s brilliance, strength, and informed capacity to navigate beyond confining circumstances. Amid evolving Afro-Pessimistic activities, there are a slew of accounts where Blacks maintain a rich repertoire of intellectual, artistic, innovative, technical, and spiritual acuity. This acuity has survived though it has been relentlessly suppressed by the social longevity of dominant colonial practices transpiring via that not limited to Dehumanization, Whiteness, White Supremacy, Colonialism, Capitalism, and Narratives. Even though this acuity has survived, it is not always regarded for its ability to progress Black lives to an Afro-Futuristic state in permanent ways.
Thomas Poetter, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Denise Baszile, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Michael Dantley, EDD (Committee Member)
Paula Saine, PhD (Committee Member)
Lisa Weems, PhD (Committee Member)
128 p.
Aesthetics; African American Studies; African Americans; Black History; Black Studies; Curricula; Education; Educational Leadership; Ethics; Families and Family Life; Individual and Family Studies; Pedagogy; Performing Arts; Philosophy; Public Health Education; Rhetoric; Social Research; Social Work; Sociology; Systematic; Teaching; Urban Planning; Womens Studies
Afro-Futurism; Afro-Surreal Futurism; Afro-Surrealism; Afro-Pessimism; Black Self-Determination; Black Speculative; Capitalism; Colonialism; Counter-Narratives; Deathing; Dehumanization; Substance and Function; Whiteness; White Supremacy;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ross, G. (2021). Black Deathing to Black Self-Determination: The Cultivating Substance of Counter-Narratives [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1617984242373826

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ross, Genesis. Black Deathing to Black Self-Determination: The Cultivating Substance of Counter-Narratives. 2021. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1617984242373826.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ross, Genesis. "Black Deathing to Black Self-Determination: The Cultivating Substance of Counter-Narratives." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1617984242373826

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.