Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study presents results from a content analysis of newspaper coverage of protests movements by Wisconsin newspapers over a period of four decades (1960 to 1999). Analysis focused on differences and similarities in issues protested across time and location, while comparing regional and local papers. Included in these examinations are the topics of protests, the range of protest targets, and differences in coverage across newspapers with regard to location of protest as an intervening variable. In the process, this study brings past research on the “protest paradigm” under the purview of historical analysis by examining trends over time using a Midwestern state as a case study.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper that I will deliver is entitled The Historically Black University and At Brown Plus Fifty: Historical Anachronism or Necessity. In this paper, I examine three waves of post-Brown equal educational opportunity topics.

Respecting the topic of higher education, the first wave of post- Brown cases are of the "first black" variety of v. Meredith Fair. The second wave of post-Brown cases involve a discussion of higher education desegregation efforts in which I use the Louisiana higher education desegregation case as a point of discussion, both pre-Fordice and post-Fordice. In this section of the paper, I assess current concerns of Plessy-HBCUs respecting desegregation. In particular, I focus on the possible release of the Louisiana higher education system from federal oversight when the Consent Decree expires in 2005 and the effect of the Louisiana State Constitution on future state initiatives involving affirmative action programs modeled after the University of Michigan Law School admission program. The last section of this portion of the paper focuses on whether there can truly be anything "HB" in a constitutional regime which values a "color-blind" rhetoric.

The third wave of post-Brown cases involve a discussion of affirmative action programs and their impact on HBCUs. The topical discussions in this section of the paper include a critique of the "content" of equality respecting intention of the framers; Bakke's rejection of the original intent of the framers respecting the Fourteenth Amendment's applicability to African Americans; the effect of the loss of the battle for intermediate review; Grutter's prophecy in Hopwood and pre-Grutter legislative initiatives requiring race-neutral standards in admissions processes; and Justice O'Connor's opinion in Grutter and how her concerns could be predicted from prior cases; and lastly, the possible meaning of Justice Kennedy's lone concurrence in Grutter. This section of the paper closes with a critique of Justice Thomas' dissent in Grutter, his concurrence in Fordice respecting the value of diversity and how a these cases suggest "another reason for being" - a new role for the HBCU in its quest to provide equal educational opportunity.

The presentation that I will make at the Law and Society Conference approaches the discussion of some of the topics in the paper by examining three impacts that the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause makes on the interests of HBCUs and African American students. The first impact deals with the very existence and survivability of the HBCU. The second impact further contextualizes the discussion by focusing on certain public remarks made by the Chairman of the Louisiana State Black Caucus. Lastly, I question whether any claims to a value of "historically black" status can be anything more than a constitutional oxymoron?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The renewal of an interest for historical sociology raises epistemological and theoretical questions with respect to the use of historically specific categories in international relations. This paper will explore the cognitive and political architecture of the careers of concepts such as: totalitarianism, fascism, despotism and rogue states. Then, it will stress analytical and normative issues inherent to the conceptual genesis of these concepts. Third, it will propose some avenues to overcome their principal limitations.

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: This paper will illustrate historic sights within the Farish Street Historic District by a colorful powerpoint presentation of the process of selecting the historic marker sites and the texts for the marker. In addition tt will illustrate an interactive database on the numerous historic facts of the Farish Street Historic District.

Publication Type: Individual Paper
Abstract: It may be fairly argued that the miseducation of America has not been carried out more thoroughly in any field than in history, unless it is in literacy itself. The nation’s longstanding tradition of omitting, misunderstanding and misrepresenting its African heritage is well known, and continues into the 21st century in a popular culture rife with persisting stereotypes and prejudices toward non-western and non-male cultures, exacerbated by increasingly dysfunctional schools as misguided political policies and budget cuts take their toll. Predictably, this toll is felt most heavily in the African American community. However, our efforts are better spent on solutions and alternatives than reiterations of the problem. These challenges are also opportunities to “make the world our classroom.” Our communities often abound with places of historical significance, which embody permanent “teachable moments.” Our history is often made by collective efforts, in which the names of individuals might be long forgotten, yet the results stand as memorials to the everyday heroism of “regular people.” One such historic site, of particularly rich significance, is Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, Miami, Florida’s recently restored and reopened onetime “Colored Only” beach, which embodies the story of a thriving African American community for which segregation proved to be more of an asset than a liability, and is as significant as an environmental treasure as for its historical importance. This paper briefly explores the past, present and future of an innovative approach to recreation that seamlessly includes history, environmentalism and citizen involvement.