UChicago scholars shed new light on the African American community from political, social, cultural, and health perspectives.
Transforming Knowledge into Social Action
For political scientist Michael Dawson, understanding the condition of African Americans requires asking the right questions, gathering reliable evidence, and writing about it without the baggage of widely accepted illusions. His surveys have revealed a deep divide between whites and blacks in America over basic issues, finding that blacks and whites had totally different responses to watershed moments in the recent history of U.S. racial relations, such as Hurricane Katrina and the election of President Barack Obama.
"It became clear to me that in order to mobilize, blacks and other groups need to understand what people actually believe, how the world is rapidly changing economically and politically, and better understand how those beliefs and changes in the economic environment allow us to positively change the world we live in," Dawson explains. "What we can do in academia is provide the foundational research and tools for citizens, movements, and policy makers."
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Contradicting Black Youth Stereotypes
A significant percentage of African American youth are more socially conservative and political engaged than their white and Latino counterparts, according to a recent study by Cathy Cohen, David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science and the College. Underscoring the level to which black youth remain misunderstood and discriminated against, the study also contradicts stereotypes concerning black youth's perception of rap music, Barack Obama's election and Presidency, and the state of race in America.
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Better Assisting African American Men
Beyond combating stereotypes, African American males face unique challenges, including the increased likelihood that they will suffer from stress-induced depression and other health problems. In his new book, Social Work With African American Males: Health, Mental Health, and Social Policy, Associate Professor Waldo E. Johnson, Jr. of the School of Social Service Administration elucidates the problem unique to black males, and calls for better assistance.
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Preventing Teenage Pregnancies
Children born to teenage mothers are more likely to become teen parents themselves. Melissa Gilliam has devoted much of her career to breaking this cycle. As the University of Chicago Medical Center's chief of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research and head of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Gilliam leads research into reducing teenage pregnancies, and also solving the social problems that can result from becoming a teenage parent, such as lower education levels and financial resources.
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Examining the Effects of Violence
Urban violence, particularly among youth, afflicts poor and minority neighborhoods in most large American cities, including Chicago. Associate Professor Dexter Voisin's recent study of teens in a troubled neighborhood found various responses to community violence. While most teens isolate themselves from or resign themselves to violent environments, 23 percent pursue escape through high academic achievement.
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Uncovering Chicago's Writing Renaissance
It's not as well-known as the Harlem Renaissance, but Chicago also experienced a tremendous flowering of African American writing, which Jacqueline Goldsby helped bring to light. During her time at UChicago, Goldsby led Mapping the Stacks, a program dedicated to identifying and organizing uncatalogued archival collections that chronicle Black Chicago between the 1930s and 1970s.
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