African American Professionals Research Articles

The Black Men's Health Forum: Improving Health Knowledge and Willingness to Participate in Research.

The Black Men's Health Forum, a 6-week online health education intervention for African American men and accountability partners of African American men, was conducted to increase awareness of health issues that disproportionately affect African American men. In this article, we describe the intervention and report on the immediate benefits of the intervention, including changes in health knowledge and perception of research participation. Participants completed a pre-evaluation prior to participating in the forum and a post-evaluation after each session to capture data on sociodemographic information, medical history, health knowledge, and health behaviors. A total of 60 participants (30 African American men and 30 accountability partners) completed the forum. African American men had a mean age of 61.1 years while accountability partners had a mean age of 57.6 years. Overall health knowledge increased by 6.9 points for African American men and 2.8 points for accountability partners. Before the forum began, nine African American men reported ever participating in a research study. The proportion of African American men who reported that they would definitely participate in research in the next 12 months after participating in the forum increased by 40%. Through culturally tailored programming, the Black Men's Health Forum increased access to health information as well as African American male medical professionals and health researchers for African American men in the community. Exposure to health information resulted in significant increases in health knowledge and willingness to participate in health research among African American men.

Remembering the Movement & Reminiscing on Achievements: An Interview with Professor Emeritus Raphael Cassimere, Jr.

Raphael Cassimere, Jr. (1942-) is a nationally recognized champion of social justice and civil rights veteran. He received his B.A.(1966) and M.A. (1968) degrees in History from LSUNO (now the University of New Orleans (UNO)). In 1971, he received a PhD in History from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He also became the first African American professor of UNO shortly after obtaining his PhD. In 2015, the institution established The Ralph Cassimere, Jr. Professorship in African American History.
 His rise to prominence began as an undergraduate student during the heyday of the civil rights movement. In 1960, he became president of the NAACP’s Youth Council. Since then, he has a held multiple local, regional, and national offices within the NAACP. Cassimere maintained his commitment to human and civil rights while teaching at UNO. He is a recipient of the ACLU’s Benjamin E. Smith Civil Liberties Award, the Louisiana NAACP’s Lifetime Presidential Award, U.S. State Department’s Outstanding Citizen Diplomacy Award and many of other accolades. In the following interview, Cassimere reflects on his early days in the civil rights movement.

Medical education for African American communities in the rural South: A focus group approach to identify fundamental considerations.

We sought to understand concerns fundamental to planning medical education specific to rural southern African Americans who are virtually nonexistent in American medical schools. A diverse multidisciplinary research team conducted this qualitative study with 3 focus groups, including 17 rural medical educators recruited nationwide, 10 African American alumni of a rural medical education pipeline in Alabama, and 5 community and institutional associates of this pipeline. Analysis of recorded transcripts generated themes fitting an ecological model suggesting concerns and intervention foci at individual, community, and institutional levels. Three major themes operating at all ecological levels were: (1) How "rural minority student" is defined, with "rural" often supplanting race to indicate minority status; (2) Multiple factors relate to rural racial minority student recruitment and success, including personal relationships with peers, mentors, and role models and supportive institutional policies and culturally competent faculty; and (3) Challenges to recruitment and retention of rural minority students, especially financial concerns and preparation for medical education. Our findings suggest that individuals, communities, and institutions provide intervention points for planning medical education specific to southern rural African Americans. These spheres of influence project a need for partnership among communities and rural medical educators to affect broad programmatic and policy changes that address the dire shortage of rural African American health professionals to help ameliorate health inequities experienced in their home communities. It is likely that linear thinking and programming will be replaced by integrated, intertwined conceptualizations to reach this goal.

Increasing the Participation of African American Male Students in STEM

Despite recent efforts aimed at increasing diversity in STEM-related fields, many communities are still largely underrepresented in these disciplines, including African American students and professionals. Not only is this unfair on individuals who may ultimately miss out on rewarding STEM careers, but it also deprives the STEM workforce of talented minds, and the innovation that a more diverse community could achieve. Dr Terry L. Mills and Dr J. K. Haynes, two professors at Morehouse College in Atlanta, have created the John H. Hopps Jr. STEM Education Research Program, an academic intervention designed to increase the participation of African American men in STEM degrees.

Campaign to Endow Chester Pierce Human Rights Award Exceeds Target

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article APA & MeetingsFull AccessCampaign to Endow Chester Pierce Human Rights Award Exceeds TargetSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:30 Nov 2021https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.12.20AbstractThe endowment campaign, which will support costs associated with the presentation of the Human Rights Award lecture at the Annual Meeting, aimed to gather $100,000 in six months.The influence of Chester Pierce, M.D., as a writer, thinker, and clinician is profound. Individuals can still contribute to the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award fund.The endowment campaign for APA’s Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award raised more than $113,000 in gifts and pledges in six months, with the American Psychiatric Association Foundation contributing a matching $50,000 to endow this award in perpetuity.The endowment campaign, which began in April, was led by a six-member work group: Ezra E.H. Griffith, M.D., David C. Henderson, M.D., APA Medical Director and CEO Saul M. Levin, M.D., M.P.A., Samuel O. Okpaku, M.D., Ph.D., Eliot Sorel, M.D., and Cynthia Turner-Graham, M.D. The endowment will be used to provide recipients of the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award with an honorarium and related expenses to present a lecture at the Annual Meeting.In a statement to Psychiatric News, Pierce’s family expressed gratitude to APA, the APA Foundation, and the work group that established the endowment campaign. “The entire Pierce family is greatly honored that an endowment fund has been established to support APA’s Human Rights Award,” the family said. “As those who knew him will understand, Chester M. Pierce was such an unassuming person that he would have expressed astonishment upon receiving this recognition. His work was focused on the future and the world, but he was also a kind and generous man who enjoyed TV Westerns and Mad magazine. We deeply appreciate and thank the Foundation for this significant addition to his legacy.”Originally established in 1990 to raise awareness of human rights abuses, the human rights award was renamed in 2017 to honor Pierce in recognition of his dedication as an innovative researcher on humans in extreme environments; an advocate against disparities, stigma, and discrimination; and as a pioneer and visionary in global mental health.Pierce’s influence as a writer, thinker, clinician, and researcher is profound. In 1968, he and other Black psychiatrists founded the Black Psychiatrists of America, and the following year Pierce and his colleagues confronted the APA Board of Trustees about the need to address racism as a public health issue. He wrote and spoke widely about racism and published dozens of articles on how Black and White people interacted with each other, first coining the term “microaggressions.”He was the senior advisor on the creation of the acclaimed children’s television show “Sesame Street.” Pierce spent the majority of his career as a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor of psychiatry and education at Harvard Medical School. He was the first African American full professor at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where in 2009 the MGH global psychiatry program was named after him.Though the campaign has ended, individuals can still support the award by designating a gift at the APA website here or via mobile phone by texting CHESTERPIERCE to #44321. ■Information about the endowment campaign and an oral history of Pierce recorded in 1970 is posted here. ISSUES NewArchived

Investigating the Implications of Code-Switching and Assimilating at Work for African American Professionals

The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences Black Professionals face assimilating to majority cultural norms. Through analysis of qualitative data of 14 one-hour interviews of Black People employed at the director+ level, this study examined the experiences of assimilating and the impact on overall well￾being of Black People in the American Workplace. The results indicated the workplace does not encourage Black People to truly bring their full selves to work. Implications for practice include considering cultural and lifestyle norms of minorities in the workplace as organizations continue their efforts to encourage their employees to bring their full selves to work. Limitations, practical applications, and future research areas are also discussed.

Review: Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America

Review: <i>Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America</i>

William A. Hinton (1883-1959): Diagnosing and Confronting Racism in the Medical Profession.

Racism impacts every aspect of medicine, including the careers and lives of Black physicians. The story of William Augustus Hinton (1883–1959), who invented the Hinton Test for syphilis before becoming the first African American full professor at Harvard University in 1949, offers an instructive perspective on the intersection of interpersonal and systemic racism, and personal determination, just over our historical horizon. Yet there are sobering and instructive lessons throughout this history. Hinton had to navigate prejudice throughout his career. Indeed, while there is much to be inspired by in the telling of Hinton’s story, the forms of racism faced by Hinton and his contemporaries remain persisting features of academic medicine. This article focuses on encounters with racism that affect the course of medical careers and scientific innovation. Hinton’s story holds important implications for many health professionals in the twenty-first century and provides unique insights into the history and impact of interpersonal and systemic racism alike in academic medicine.

Diabetes And Race

Diabetes And Race

Exploring the Breastfeeding Experiences of African American Mothers Through a Critical Race Theory Lens.

Background: Data from the Ohio Department of Health for Hamilton County reveal that the rate of breastfeeding steadily increased for non-Hispanic white babies from 72% initiation in 2006 to 79.8% initiation in 2018. Over the same time period, the rate of breastfeeding initiation increased from 52% to 65.7% for African American babies. Despite positive gains in breastfeeding for the African American community, significant disparities remain. Research Aim/Question(s): Our aim was to gain insight into the breastfeeding experiences of African American women and professionals working primarily with African American women to promote and support breastfeeding. Methods: In this study, a critical race theory approach was used to explore the lived experiences of African American women and health care providers who serve African American communities through the analysis of breakout conference sessions. Breakout sessions were semistructured, with questions developed in a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis format aimed at obtaining information related to sociocultural factors impacting breastfeeding initiation and duration, with the goal of developing actionable community objectives to address breastfeeding disparities for African American women. Results: Three themes emerged stereotypes and microaggressions, representation, and provider support. Conclusion: Qualitative analysis of the conference proceedings reveals insights that can be developed into an action plan to address breastfeeding disparities in Hamilton County.

Black Lives Matter in Criminology? Let’s Prove It

This essay examines the the academic journey—graduate school to full professor—of an African American professor of criminology and criminal justice. The essay discusses the how criminology and criminologists address race issues and offers a wish list of strategies designed to address problematic practices and racial pitfalls within criminology programs.

Examining Teacher Migration in K-12 Schools in the United Arab Emirates: Perceptions of African American Educators

This policy paper discusses teacher migration through the professional and personal experiences of African American Expatriate Educational Professionals (EEPs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Evidence suggests that teacher migration is a strategy employed by some African American EEPs to remain in K-12 schools in the UAE. Recruitment efforts and benefits attracting EEPs to the UAE appear to be effective, whereas retention efforts appear to be a concern. School leaders, thus, face high rates of teacher turnover each year. Few studies have examined why educators leave and where they go when they leave. The data and analysis presented are derived from a more extensive qualitative study conducted from September 2019 to May 2020. The study examines teacher turnover through the experiences of 13 African American EEPs who left K-12 schools in the United States (US) for schools in the UAE. A critical theme that has emerged from this study is a nuanced understanding of teacher migration, which forms a key part of this policy paper’s discussion. The paper concludes with recommendations for implementing professional and personal development related to intercultural competencies and further studies to examine teacher turnover in the UAE.

Perceptions of African American Women and Health Care Professionals Related to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis to Prevent HIV

ObjectiveTo describe the perceptions of African American women and health care professionals (HCPs) about factors that likely influence the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among African American women. DesignProspective mixed methods. SettingChicago, IL. ParticipantsFifty-eight participants included HCPs (n = 10) and African American women (n = 48). MethodsFollowing the six steps of concept mapping, participants identified and rated factors they perceived to influence decisions to use PrEP among African American women. ResultsAfrican American women generated a list of statements, and we grouped the statements into eight clusters: access, financial, best benefits, protection, medication, setbacks, network, and fear. HCPs ranked having an HIV-positive partner as the most influential factor that affected African American women’s decisions to use PrEP (network cluster). African American women ranked ability to prevent HIV when condom use cannot be negotiated as their top reason (best benefits cluster) for using PrEP. ConclusionAfrican American women wanted to know how they could protect themselves and were open to using PrEP. For African American women considering the use of PrEP, the most influential factors were related to the benefits and accessibility of PrEP. HCPs should know that African American women are not afraid to discuss HIV risk and testing.

Do Racial Disparities Exist in the Labor Market for Educators?

This study used Current Population Survey data to analyze the earnings of K12 teachers and postsecondary teachers in order to test competing hypotheses about racial disparities in educator labor markets. The analysis found African American educators, despite being purported to be in a condition of relative shortage, did not earn an appreciable wage premium in either of these two occupational groups. The wages of African American K12 teachers were not significantly different from their White counterparts, while African American postsecondary teachers earned a small and statistically significant wage discount. These findings align with historical and contemporary policy developments in educator labor markets as well as social network theory rather than the work of researchers such as Becker (1971), Arrow (1998), or Fisher and Houseworth (2011). These findings are important in light of research which suggests African American student achievement is positively impacted by the increased presence of African American professionals in schools. However, if disparate treatment exists in educational labor markets, African American professionals may be discouraged from pursuing careers in K12 or higher education. As such, a variety of policy solutions might be needed to bring the supply of African American educators up to the level of perceived societal need.

Increasing African American Public Health Professionals: Utilizing the Feedfoward Model to Address Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in the African American Community

African Americans and other minorities (AAOM) are under-represented in careers in medicine, public health, and research. Furthermore, African Americans suffer more disproportionately from racial health disparities across most health indicators. Scholars suggest that the underrepresentation of AAOM public health and medical professionals contributes to the racial and ethnic health disparity trends in the USA. Thus, an increase in African American public health professionals may lead to a decrease in health disparities in African American communities. This manuscript will share a qualitative research study designed to explore motivators to engage African American students into careers in public health. Grounded theory and the feedforward model were used to explore critical career motivators, career decisions, career trajectories, barriers, and methods to overcome barriers among 20 African American public health graduate students and professionals. Eight motivators and six recommendations were identified to engage African Americans into careers in Public Health.

Optometry at the Intersection of Gender, Race and Class in the Early Twentieth Century

This biographical study of Dr. Bess Francis Coleman profiles the experience of an African American woman in the early twentieth century, employing a critical lens to explore how race, gender and class shaped her life and career, and the methodology of microhistory to draw out the ways in which her life exemplifies and signifies the essential work of African American women professionals during this era. Dr. Bess “Bessie” Anderson Francis Coleman (1893-1967) was the first documented African American woman licensed to practice optometry in the United States. A native of Kentucky, Dr. Coleman’s first career was as a schoolteacher in her native Harrodsburg. In 1923, she married pharmacist John B. Coleman, Jr. The Colemans moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1923, and then Chicago, Illinois in 1925 where they opened a chain of pharmacies in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Dr. Coleman received her training at the Northern Illinois College of Optometry from 1932-1934. In 1935, she moved back to Kentucky with her son, where she cared for her elderly parents and opened the only optometry practice in Lexington’s Brucetown neighborhood, well-known for its African American physicians. In 1942, she retired to Denver, Colorado’s African American enclave, Whittier. She died in 1967 and was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in her hometown.

African American professionals in higher education: experiencing and coping with racial microaggressions

ABSTRACTUsing a Critical Race Theory lens, we explored how African American professionals in both HBCUs and PWIs (4-year and 2-year institutions) experienced and coped with racial microaggressions. The participants in this study included fifteen African American instructors/professors and administrators. Despite the type of institution, the emerged themes from interviews indicated that participants experienced an array of racial microaggressions. In addition, many participants addressed race-related stress experienced in the workplace by engaging in both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Implications are provided to discuss the impact that racial microaggressions has on African Americans in the higher education workplace.

In the service of social equity: Leveraging the experiences of African American women professors

ABSTRACT This study reviews social equity within the public administration academy using critical race theory and intersectionality as frameworks. The researcher analyzes secondary data on doctorate degrees and tenure status earned by faculty members disaggregated by gender and race, contextualizing results with analysis of data from individual interviews of 14 African American women scholars in the academy. Findings suggest there are more nuanced reasons behind negative outcomes for scholars from underrepresented backgrounds. Beyond racism and sexism, there appears to be an inhospitable climate toward social equity related service and scholarship – some of the very tools many underrepresented faculty members use to combat the negative impacts of racism and sexism inside and outside of the academy. Implications for the academy and future research opportunities are presented.

Partnering with African American Pastors and Healthcare Professionals to Develop Training Videos that Demonstrate Culturally Appropriate Physician Communication Principles and Methods (FR421C)

Partnering with African American Pastors and Healthcare Professionals to Develop Training Videos that Demonstrate Culturally Appropriate Physician Communication Principles and Methods (FR421C)

The Influence of Racial Identity on White Students' Perceptions of African American Faculty

Due to the underrepresentation of African American teachers and college faculty, students have limited to no interaction with Blacks as authority figures in the classroom. When White students in particular face African American faculty in class, they often exhibit negative attitudes and inappropriate behavior. Using racial identity development and critical race theory, we seek to understand how White college students perceive African American professors and from where those perceptions stem. In considering the social and educational context in which students live, our study explores the ways White students perceive Black professors and how students' racial identity development influences their perceptions.