Journal of Black Studies

This article discusses the potential contributions of African American migrants to the economic and cultural development of destination countries in Africa. The study explores the contributions of migrants to the gross domestic product (GDP), labor market, and fiscal impact—measures used by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to assess the impacts of migrants on the economy of a destination country. Migrants may share their own life experiences in community citizenship with traditional authorities when dealing with community issues. For example, land use-planning, allocation of urban-rural land, siting of sanitation facilities, health and safety of community, and community economic planning are within the competence of migrants given their education backgrounds and their decision to follow a traditional style of governance. African-American migrants present an opportunity to form backward linkages to sources of finance and investment capital in the country of origin. Our study found no existing institutional mechanism to grow these backward linkages, and there is no recognized privateprivate partnership between migrants and U.S. financial sources. The study recommends increased theoretical and empirical studies in support of the economic and cultural contributions of African American migrants in Africa.

As questions about racial reparations have entered public and political discourse again, research about the long-term impact of chattel slavery—so called “legacy of slavery” research—has taken on new significance. Over the past two decades researchers have identified direct quantitative links between slavery and a number of contemporary social and economic outcomes, including income, poverty, home ownership, school segregation, crime, educational inequality, and political polarization. Recently, however, researchers have begun to connect slavery to contemporary health outcomes, showing the legacy of slavery seems to stunt the health of black Americans while bolstering the health of white Americans. This manuscript builds on that recent research by examining the connection between subnational variation in the density of slavery and life expectancy in the American South. Using a variety of data sources, such as the US Census, American Community Survey (ACS), the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings, and spatially robust OLS regression analysis, I find that in southern counties where slavery was denser black life expectancy remains proportionally lower and white life expectancy remains proportionally higher than in southern counties where slavery was less dense.

This case study uses a conceptual framework that pieces together Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and Black Feminist Theory to elevate the voices of Black elementary school teachers allowing for their lived experiences to be seen through a portraiture perspective. The words of the participants have been woven together to create art/poetry that depicts what it means to be a Black educator presented through their individual perspectives. Eight themes were uncovered that act as unifying ties connecting the lived truths of each educator to one another. Through sharing the lived stories of these individuals this study aims to shine light on what it means to be a Black educator moving through a predominantly White working environment. This study stands as a platform to assist with uplifting the voices of the participants and vitalizing the voices of Black female educators giving them a seat at the table so they can be heard.

The concept of time is coeval with man’s existence and coterminous with his endeavors. This is predicated on the fact that it sets and dictates the pace for man. People appreciate reality differently and this includes their concept of time. This premise informed Mbiti’s idea of time in Africa. Mbiti in his submission posited that Africans have no idea of the “future” in time. A critical response to this position of Mbiti toward a restatement of the proper model of time in Africa is what this paper is concerned with. The paper employed the critical-analytic model to examine Mbiti’s position and it was obvious that Mbiti’s position was parochial and untenable. This paper then argued that time in African is rather polychromous, holistic, and existential. Africans “live in time” and if the future is part of the African life and world, then there is a future as far as time in Africa is concerned.

The African combat arts have been central to the struggle of African people for self-determination. They have been critical as vehicles of resistance, while also serving a number of important social roles such as being a basis for group cohesion, expressing the kinesthetics of African culture, functioning as a venue for various African musical traditions, and—most notably—providing a means for self-protection. One additional and significant role that these arts have taken on is as a means for cultural reclamation for African people and also as healing modalities. This essay explores the latter theme, examining how such healing is enacted through the learning and practice of Capoeira.