Refusing to be Dispossessed: African American Land Retention in the US South from Reconstruction to World War II

African Americans in the South were tied to the land during slavery and after emancipation. Many felt that land ownership was the key to freedom. For decades, black farmers strove for land ownership, in many cases falling prey to sharecropping and tenancy agreements in the meantime. Despite this drive toward independent farming, however, since 1920, there has been a steady decline in the number of black farm owners. This trend is especially prevalent in the Southern United States. The black farm owners who persevered through periods of economic, social, and political turmoil were able to, for varying reasons, navigate those systems more successfully than their counterparts. This thesis paints a portrait of the agricultural landscape from Reconstruction, when emancipated slaves made clear their desire to own land, to the beginning of World War II when the effects of the New Deal and the Great Migration solidified a black exodus from the land. This study looks at the causes and effect behind land retention in multigenerational black farm families, rather than land loss, which sets it apart from the existing historiography

Role of higher education for successful managers in the hospitality industry

Scope and Method of Study:The purpose of this study was to: (1) ascertain the degree to which the general benefits of a college education transfer and contribute to the success of managers in the hospitality industry; (2) determine the perceived value of a college education in the hospitality industry from the perspective of hospitality industry leaders; and (3) assess whether individuals who have a college degree are more successful in the hospitality industry than those individuals who do not have a college degree. The sampling frame for this research study were leaders in the food service segment of the hospitality industry who are members of the National Restaurant Association. A web-based, self administered survey was used to collect data. The survey had a Cronbach's alpha of .937. The questionnaire was divided into two sections. The first section discussed the demographics of the hospitality industry leaders. The second section discusses the degree to which higher education contributes to the success of food service managers from the perspective of industry leaders who responded to this study.Findings and Conclusions:Three thousand nine hundred sixty five questionnaires were distributed electronically. Three thousand nine hundred ten (98%) were successfully delivered. Ninety-Seven (2.48%) people responded to the questionnaire. Thirty-nine (54.9%) of the respondents were male and 32 (45%) were female. Twenty percent of the male respondents were between the ages of 50 and 55. Of the total respondents, eighteen (24%) had worked in the industry between 26 and 35 years; 12.4% for 26 - 30 years; 12.4% between 31 - 35; and 11.3% of had worked between 11-15 years.Generally, the findings of this study were consistent with previous research. When all other qualifications are similar, the respondents preferred a college educated manager. Thus, the results infer that having a college degree contributes to the personal success of a manager, particularly giving them a competitive edge in the hiring process and results in an increase in salary. However, the specific value that a college degree contributes to a manager's ability to work effectively is unclear.Additional research that seeks to engage hospitality industry leaders and educators in collaborative efforts to better understand why industry leaders favor managers with college degrees and to further explore the specific benefits that having a degree contributes to the success of managers in the hospitality industry should be conducted

Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life: A Church-Based Physical Activity Intervention - Baseline Participant Characteristics

Objective: Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for health, yet most African American women do not achieve recommended levels. Successful, sustainable strategies could help to address disparities in health outcomes associated with low levels of PA. The Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life study compared a faith-based and a secular intervention for increasing PA with a selfguided control group. Design Setting Participants: This cluster randomized, controlled trial was conducted from 2010 – 2011 in African American churches (n=31) in suburban North Carolina. Participants were 469 self-identified low active African American women. Measures: Baseline data were collected on participant demographics, objective and self-reported PA, and constructs related to social ecological theory and social cognitive theory. Results: Complete baseline data were available for 417 participants who were aged 51.4 ± 12.9 years, with average BMI (kg/ m2) 35.8 ± 9.9; 73% of participants were obese (BMI &gt;30). Participants averaged 3,990 ± 1,828 pedometer-assessed daily steps and 23.9 ± 37.7 accelerometer-assessed minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA, and self-reported 25.4 ± 45.4 minutes of weekly walking and moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA. Baseline self-reported religiosity and social support were high. Conclusions: L.A.D.I.E.S. is one of the largest PA trials focused on individual behavior change in African American women. Baseline characteristics suggest participants are representative of the general population. Findings from the study will contribute toward understanding appropriate strategies for increasing PA in high-risk populations.Ethn Dis. 2017;27(3):257-264; doi:10.18865/ed.27.3.257 </p

Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life: A physical activity intervention for black women

Physical activity (PA) is low among African American women despite awareness of its positive impact on health. Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills for a Better Life (L.A.D.I.E.S.) compares three strategies for increasing PA among African American women using a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Underactive adult women from 30 churches (n=15 participants/church) were recruited. Churches were randomized to a faith-based intervention, a non-faith based intervention, or an information only control group. Intervention groups will meet 25 times in group sessions with other women from their church over a 10-month period. Control group participants will receive standard educational material promoting PA. All participants will be followed for an additional 12 months to assess PA maintenance. Data will be collected at baseline, 10, and 22 months. The primary outcome is PA (steps/day, daily moderate-to-vigorous PA). We expect treatment effects indicating that assignment to either of the active interventions is associated with greater magnitude of change in PA compared to the control group. In exploratory analyses, we will test whether changes in the faith-based intervention group are greater than changes in the non-faith-based intervention group. L.A.D.I.E.S. focuses on a significant issue—increasing PA levels—in a segment of the population most in need of successful strategies for improving health. If successful, L.A.D.I.E.S. will advance the field by providing an approach that is successful for initiating and sustaining change in physical activity, which has been shown to be a primary risk factor for a variety of health outcomes, using churches as the point of delivery

Communication, Decision Making, and Cancer: What African Americans Want Physicians to Know

To explore and identify communication and decision making with health care providers for African Americans living with cancer and for their families

Developing Effective Interuniversity Partnerships and Community-Based Research to Address Health Disparities

Health disparities are an enormous challenge to American society. Addressing these disparities is a priority for U.S. society and especially for institutions of higher learning, with their threefold mission of education, service, and research. Collaboration across multiple intellectual disciplines will be critical as universities address health disparities. In addition, universities must collaborate with communities, with state partners, and with each other. Development of these collaborations must be sensitive to the history and unique characteristics of each academic institution and population. The authors describe the challenges of all three types of collaboration, but primarily focus on collaboration between research-intensive universities and historically black colleges and universities

Black Pastors’ Views on preaching about sex: barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for HIV prevention messaging

Objectives: Despite the disproportionately high rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection among US Blacks and ongoing need for effective inexpensive behavioral interventions, the use of sermons as an HIV prevention tool in Black churches has received little research attention. The Black church plays an important role in Black communities and is a potential ally in development and delivery of sexual risk prevention messages. The objective of this study was to examine Black pastors’ thoughts about whether sermons should address issues related to heterosexual relationships–and the barriers and facilitators to discussing these topics in a sermon setting. Design: We conducted in-depth semi-structured, individual interviews among 39 pastors of Black churches in North Carolina and analyzed the interview data using thematic analysis strategies based on grounded theory. Results: Pastors expressed widely ranging opinions, especially about discussion of condom use, but generally agreed that sermons should discuss marriage, abstinence, monogamy, dating, and infidelity–behaviors that impact sexual networks and HIV transmission. The major barriers to incorporation of these subjects into sermons include the extent to which a concept undermines their religious beliefs and uncertainty about how to incorporate it. However, scriptural support for a prevention message and the pastor’s perception that the message is relevant to the congregation facilitate incorporation of related topics into sermons. Conclusions: These findings have implications for the potential utility of sermons as an HIV prevention tool and suggest that it is possible for public health professionals and pastors of Black churches to form partnerships to develop messages that are consonant with pastors’ religious convictions as well as public health recommendations

Partnerships in Health Disparities Research and the Roles of Pastors of Black Churches: Potential Conflict, Synergy, and Expectations

The black church is a promising site to engage in health disparities research; however, little is understood about the pastors' perspectives. We used role theory to explore their expectations, potential conflicts, and synergy with research

Carrying the Burden: Perspectives of African American Pastors on Peer Support for People with Cancer

For African Americans facing advanced cancer, churches are trusted sources of support and ideal settings to improve access to supportive care. The Support Team model enhances community support for practical, emotional, and spiritual caregiving. We report on focus groups with pastors of 23 Black Churches and explore their perspective on the Support Team model for church members with cancer. Pastors describe the needs of church members facing cancer from a holistic perspective and recognize opportunities for synergistic faith-health collaboration. The results of this study indicate potential benefits of the Support Team model in Black Churches to reduce silent suffering among individuals facing cancer

Circles of Care: Development and Initial Evaluation of a Peer Support Model for African Americans With Advanced Cancer

Peer support interventions extend care and health information to underserved populations yet rarely address serious illness. Investigators from a well-defined academic–community partnership developed and evaluated a peer support intervention for African Americans facing advanced cancer. Evaluation methods used the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Investigators initially recruited and trained 24 lay health advisors who shared information or support with 210 individuals. However, lay advisors reported barriers of medical privacy and lack of confidence working alone with people with cancer. Training was modified to match the support team model for peer support; training reached 193 volunteers, 104 of whom formed support teams for 47 persons with serious illness. Support teams were adopted by 23 community organizations, including 11 African American churches. Volunteers in teams felt prepared to implement many aspects of supportive care such as practical support (32%) or help with cancer or palliative care resources (43%). People with serious illness requested help with practical, emotional, spiritual, and quality of life needs; however, they rarely wanted advocacy (3%) or cancer or palliative care resources (5%) from support teams. Volunteers had difficulty limiting outreach to people with advanced cancer due to medical privacy concerns and awareness that others could benefit. Support teams are a promising model of peer support for African Americans facing advanced cancer and serious illness, with reach, adoption, and implementation superior to the lay advisor model. This formative initial evaluation provides evidence for feasibility and acceptance. Further research should examine the efficacy and potential for maintenance of this intervention