Experiences of African American male engineering students: a qualitative analysis

Prior to the 1970s, African Americans were essentially invisible in the science and engineering academic and professional communities (Babco, 2001a). The few who did earn degrees in these fields, obtained them primarily from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and these institutions also served as the primary employer for these graduates in science and engineering (Hines, 1997; Babco, 2001a, 2001b). Since the 1970s, African Americans have made considerable progress, but still are not on a level playing field with White males in terms of opportunities for preparation of science and engineering careers or for employment and advancement in those careers. The purpose of this study was to explore second and third-year African American male engineering students’ perceptions and examine what experiences have contributed to their access to and persistence in engineering. A qualitative research design was employed to gather data necessary to answer the research questions. Eight second and third-year African American male engineering students from Research University (pseudonym) participated in interviews with the researcher. The data from the interviews was used to consider the themes that emerged from the participants. The findings from this study suggest that African American male engineering students at Research University have specific experiences that influence their persistence and academic achievement. Themes identified from the interview data include: (1) pre-college experiences; (2) participation in academic and social networks; (3) institutional programming and organizational support; (4) personal accountability and motivation; and (5) goals outside of engineering. As a result of this research, several future implications are highlighted. These include acknowledging the value of diversity, continued support through organizations, and increased knowledge of best practices.

Exporting the racial republic: African colonization, national citizenship, and the transformation of U.S. expansion, 1776-1864

The effort to create a colony of African Americans on the west coast of Africa was one of the most celebrated and influential movements in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. While historians have often viewed African colonization through the lens of domestic anti-slavery politics, colonization grew from an imperial impulse which promised to transform the identities of black colonists and indigenous Africans by helping them to build a democratic nation from the foundation of a settler colony. By proposing that persons of African descent could eventually become self-governing subjects, the liberal framework behind colonization offered the possibility of black citizenship rights, but only within racially homogenous nation-states, which some proponents of colonization imagined might lead to a “United States of Africa.” This dissertation examines how the notion of expanding democratic ideals through the export of racial nationhood was crucial to the appeal of colonization. It reveals how colonization surfaced in several crucial debates about race, citizenship, and empire in the antebellum United States by examining discussions about African Americans’ revolutionary claims to political rights, the bounds of US territorial expansion, the removal of native populations in North America, and the racialization of national citizenship, both at home and abroad. By examining African colonization from these perspectives, this dissertation argues that the United States’ efforts to construct a liberal democracy defined by white racial identity were directly connected to the nation’s emerging identity as a defender and exporter of political liberty throughout the world.