Spectrum A Journal on Black Men
Journal Data
| Type | JOURNAL |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Indiana University Press (US) |
| ISSN | 2162-3244 / 2162-3252 |
| OpenAlex | S2764691138 |
| MAG | 2764691138 |
| Total publications | 55 |
| Coverage period | 2014 - 2021 |
| Country | US |
| Language | EN |
| Cited by | 2 |
| h-index | 1 |
Spectrum A Journal on Black Men focuses on issues related to Black men, aligning with cultural studies, gender studies, and critical race studies. These fields frequently publish work read by social anthropologists and are closely cognate
Academic Freedom and Politics · American Constitutional Law and Politics · American History and Culture · American Political and Social Dynamics · Animal testing and alternatives · Cinema and Media Studies · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Critical Race Theory in Education · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms
The Manifestations, Effects, and Dynamics of Race and Racism in the Campaign and Governance of Barack Obama
The State of Black America: Reassessing the Hare Plan 30 Years Later
Dr. Nathan Hare's pioneering research on Black families changed the trajectory of academia and blazed trails within higher education regarding the study of Black families and the Black child. Hare researched the state of Black families by addressing racial misconceptions and posing strategies to empower Black families and society. His 1991 book, written with Dr. Julia Hare and titled The Miseducation of the Black Child, addressed racial stereotyp…
Howard Thurman and the Roots of a Black Mystical Aesthetic
Joseph Amprey Jr., PhD: 2Nd District
Joseph Amprey Jr., PhD:2nd District Judson L. Jeffries Joseph Amprey Jr. is professor emeritus, having served as dean and professor at Kutztown University for 21 years. Dr. Amprey also worked at three historically Black colleges—Philander Smith College in Arkansas, Coppin State College in Maryland, and Howard University, the pearl of HBCUs. Holding the positions of Academic Vice President and director of the counseling center at Philander and Cop…
Man of the Year: Ricky L. Lewis
The Freedom to Act on Conscience: Lawrence Edward Carter Sr.'s Life of Scholarship, Activism, and Service
Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in 1979, and it remains the largest and most important religious memorial to the legacy of the civil rights leader. Carter has also served as the chapel's only dean for 42 years. This essay explores his life pilgrimage as an "organic intellectual" or "scholar-activist," with a special focus on how he has combined academic excellence in teachin…
Campus Protest and Composition Pedagogy: G. David Houston's Activist Rhetoric at Howard University
Eugene Dudley, PhD: 3Rd District
Richard E. Jackson, JD: 5Th District
Richard E. Jackson, JD:5th District Judson L. Jeffries Richard E. Jackson, a son of Nashville, has made a lasting imprint on higher education administration, the legal community, and a number of grassroots efforts. For the past seven years Jackson has served as the executive vice president for Administration, Finance, and Legal Affairs at American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has oversight of all the college's non-academic op…
Curating the Jazz Aesthetics in Melvin B. Tolson's Harlem Gallery
Franklin J. Henderson, MS: 12Th District
The Transformative Pedagogy behind Langston Hughes's Dispatches from the Spanish Civil War
In July 1937, and after having been lauded as one of the key figures of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes traveled to Spain as a war correspondent to report on the Spanish Civil War. In an exercise of observation, commentary, and interpretation, Hughes's dispatches provided a detailed depiction of a plight against fascism that transcended the country's geographical borders and encouraged African American readers to become protagonists of th…
The Legacy of James D. Anderson: Exploring the Role and Place of African Americans in Education
The purpose of this review is to highlight the work of Dr. James D. Anderson, whose contributions to educational and historical scholarship has provided critical counter evidence demonstrating that the African American community has represented nothing less than the full embrace of the promise of education. Over the span of his career, his body of work has shifted our understanding of the role of African Americans in educational leadership, infor…
Lynn L. Beckwith, EdD: 8Th District
Lynn L. Beckwith, EdD:8th District Judson L. Jeffries Dr. Lynn L. Beckwith is one of the 8th district's most distinguished and accomplished members. He is a sought-after consultant and keynote speaker, having delivered addresses at venues ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations to symposia about urban education and Black males to high school graduations and university commencements. Well respected in the city of St. Louis and throughout …
Sociological Dissonance and the Work of William Julius Wilson: An Appraisal
Overt Challenging of Jim Crowism in the Short Stories of Richard Wright's Uncle Tom's Children
Allen R. Sullivan, PhD: 9Th District
Allen R. Sullivan, PhD:9th District Judson L. Jeffries Allen R. Sullivan, PhD, a 2009 inductee into the African American Educators Hall of Fame, is a distinguished educator as well as administrator, having won many awards and honors over a long career. During his lifetime, Brother Sullivan racked up many honors, merits, commendations, and badges. In addition to being a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., for nearly 60 years, he is a mem…
Davidson L. Hepburn, PhD: 13Th District
Davidson L. Hepburn, PhD:13th District Myron E. Reed In June I had the honor of speaking with Davidson L. Hepburn, PhD, a native of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. For those unfamiliar with The Bahamas, it is comprised of a chain of islands spread over 500 miles in the Atlantic Ocean, located east of Florida, north of Cuba and the island of Hispaniola, and west of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands (with which it form…
John L. Fuller, PhD: 4Th District
John L. Fuller, PhD:4th District Judson L. Jeffries In 2007 Dr. John L. Fuller retired from West Virginia State University after a long and distinguished career as the university's registrar. After graduating from West Virginia State College (now University), Brother Fuller matriculated at the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies and earned a master's degree in higher education administration.1 He later earned his doctorate in leadership stu…
Fred R. Porter: 10Th District
How Whites Shaped the Study of Urban Unrest: A Scholarly Indictment by Two Black Male Scholars
Greg Pritchett, PhD: 7Th District
Greg Pritchett, PhD:7th District Judson L. Jeffries Several months ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to Greg Pritchett, PhD, former Tuskegee University professor, retired US Army Colonel, and former president of the Department of Alabama Reserve Officers Association. In 2018, Pritchett was inducted into the prestigious Field Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. A native Alabamian, Dr. Pritchett, with the exception of a few detours h…
Henry M. “Mickey” Michaux Jr., JD: 6Th District
Henry M. "Mickey" Michaux Jr., JD:6th District Judson L. Jeffries In the early 1970s Henry M. "Mickey" Michaux Jr. was part of a nationwide effort to get more African Americans elected to public office. Spurred largely by the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Michaux rode a wave that saw an unprecedented number of Blacks run for and get elected to offices that had long been held by White politicians. Michaux has the distinction of being t…
R. Beecher Taylor III, DDS: 1St District
R. Beecher Taylor III, DDS:1st District Judson L. Jeffries Before 1880, there were fewer than a dozen formally trained Black dentists in the United States. African Americans were not accepted into dental school until 1867, when Robert T. Freeman was admitted to Harvard University's school of dentistry. Three years later, George Grant, another African American student, graduated and was subsequently appointed to the school's faculty. Fortunately, …
Leon Valentine Hobbs III: A Life Well Lived
Leon Valentine Hobbs III: A Life Well Lived Judson L. Jeffries Ten years ago, I created a program in my capacity as Director of the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center at The Ohio State University called Enemies of the State. No, this title was not appropriated from the movie starring Gene Hackman and Will Smith. The title actually had real-world implications. Enemies of the State was a program that played host to memb…
Narrating Fatherhood and Masculinities in Senegal: The Case of Naffissatou Diallo in A Dakar Childhood
Fatherhood and masculinity are interconnected concepts that define and shape gender systems in Africa. Ideologies of manhood and the place of men in society are deeply rooted in socio-cultural ideologies that give prominence to men in various African communities. Men are valued as decision-makers and breadwinners—providing food and shelter for their families. However, the performativity of masculinity obscures femininity and other gendered subjec…
John Thompson, Jr: A Big Man on and off campus
(A)Political Prince: An Analysis of Prince's Political Consciousness
Prince is arguably one of popular music's most prolific songwriters. His music, artistry, and style define the decade of the 1980s, however his lyrics did more than inspire "Dance, Music, Sex, and Romance." As early as his 1980 Dirty Mind album, Prince expressed his views of social and political conditions. Throughout his career he continued to pen songs that voiced his views of domestic and global issues. Most recently, on his album HITtnRUN: Ph…
Complexion and Phenotype in Portland, Oregon
This paper explores how complexion and phenotype have shaped the lives of Black males between the ages of 18 and 30 who have attended college in the Portland Metro Area in the state of Oregon. There has been less scholarly attention on the role of complexion and phenotype in the lives of Black males than females and that suggests that these factors play less of a role in the lives of Black males. In fact, the literature on complexion and phenotyp…
Male Feminist Allies in West African Fiction: W. E. B. Du Bois and Ethical Pedagogy
The recent rallying cry “We should all be feminists” may prompt educators, even veteran feminists, to consider the goals and boundaries of egalitarian pedagogy in the college classroom. This essay examines pedagogy and feminism as integral to the ethical mission of the liberal arts. At an all-male, historically Black college, the class “West African Fiction and Film” focuses on the roles and status of women and men in Africa through the study of …
“Diamonds on the Sole of Their Boots”: The Experiences of African Immigrant Men in STEM Careers in the USA
This qualitative study offers insights into the experiences of racial microaggression among 11 African immigrant men working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers in the USA. Through a narrative analysis framed on racial microaggressions and racial battle fatigue, these men were found to navigate workspaces that were rift with race-related microinsults and microinvalidations. They used ambipunitive coping strategies …
Malcolm X, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and Morgan State College
Malcolm X, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and Morgan State College Judson L. Jeffries Black intellectuals and the rank and file shared a common esteem for Malcolm X. A former convict and one who had been thoroughly familiar with the seamy side of life, Malcolm was a fiery symbol of black anger. His condemnation of white America was merciless. His magnetic personality was matched by a stirring oratory. “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, my bro…
Banana Skirts and Cherry Moons: Utopic French Myths in Prince's Under the Cherry Moon
Paisley Park is in your heart, or perhaps in France? Prince's second feature film, Under the Cherry Moon, takes place in the south of France—but the geographic situating of the film reaches far beyond a homegrown Minnesotan's dream of palm trees, sunshine, and balmy Mediterranean weather. The cinematic aesthetics and themes of the film reveal a more acute transcription of a Paisley Park utopia defined by freedom of oppression based on class, race…
“Tough on Conduct: ” Punitive Leadership in Urban Public Schools, A Case Study of Angry Principal Dr. Roy A. West, 1986–1991
This article examines the troubled career of Black inner-city principal Dr. Roy Alexander West from Richmond, Virginia. In conjunction with recently organized school board minutes, personal interviews, newspapers accounts, court cases, and archival collections, the article argues that Black public school administrators struggled among themselves over the use of proactive, tough-on-crime discipline during the 1980s; a time when urban schools shift…
“Hey Pepé!”: The Two Words That Changed My Life
"Hey Pepé!":The Two Words That Changed My Life Tony Kiene (bio) In the summer of 1978 I had only one record to my name; a 45 of the Jackson 5's "Dancing Machine." As my parents had recently purchased our first stereo system, a turntable with an 8-track tape deck, I made good use of the needle and played that 7-inch single constantly. Sometime later that summer, just a few months shy of my eighth birthday, I was visiting a friend's house where I n…
Parade: A La Recherche De Nouveaux Sons
By 1986, the Prince-pioneered Minneapolis sound had become increasingly coopted by copycat musicians and was a familiar presence on US radio. Yet Prince had already shifted focus, relocating the sonic home of his eighth release to Continental Europe; arguably creating his most diverse album in the process. This paper explores how Parade was the first Prince record to consciously embrace a more international fan base. I discuss how the use of Fren…
Rude Boy: Prince as Black New Waver
Prince's brief engagement with new wave music has been documented by critics and biographers primarily as a strategic move, setting the stage for the crossover success he enjoyed later in the decade. This essay reexamines Prince as an active participant in the genre, rather than an opportunist or fellow-traveler: opening up our understanding of new wave as a liminal space between strictly "White" rock and "Black" R&B in the highly segregated earl…
The Prince of Gotham: Prince's Multifaceted Batman Project
Asked by Warner Bros. to contribute supporting songs for the Tim Burton–directed film Batman (1989), Prince responded with his own Batman universe in the form of a nine-track album (Batman: Motion Picture Soundtrack), five singles (with remixes and b-sides), three music videos, and a loosely related comic book. Though the album was a popular success, many critics and media scholars denigrate the work as emblematic of 1980s media synergy run amok,…
Free Yourself
Free Yourself Kimberly D. Nettles-Barcelón (bio) "Thinking about how we mourn artists we've never met. We don't cry because we knew them, we cry because they helped us know ourselves." Juliette (2016)1 Five weeks before my 50th birthday, Prince died. Hearing about Prince's untimely death felt like being wrenched suddenly into a new time. One where each day must be reckoned with head-on, no flinching, no procrastinating, just doing/being/striving …
A Literature Review Examining the Effectiveness of At-Home Physical Activity on Controlling the Blood Pressure of African American Men in Baltimore, Maryland
African American (AA) men in Baltimore, Maryland, suffer disproportionately from hypertension (HTN) and are found to be more inactive than other groups. Interventions that consider the barriers that this population faces are needed. As an initial step for planning future research, we completed a literature review of at-home physical activity interventions targeting hypertension. Articles that focused on at-home physical activity and HTN, publishe…
November Rain, Purple Reign, and Paisley Park
November Rain, Purple Reign, and Paisley Park Shannon M. Cochran (bio) When I made the decision to visit Minneapolis, I was elated, but also nervous. I wondered, "How will it feel walking through the house where Prince lived and transitioned?" Nonetheless, preparing for the trip was exciting as I had never been to Minnesota before. In fact, I would never thought of going to Minneapolis because it held no significance for me other than it being Pr…
Are We Honoring Malcolm X's Legacy
Are We Honoring Malcolm X’s Legacy? Judson L. Jeffries As an African American man who has benefitted mightily from the struggles waged by those men and woman who came before me, I often wonder if I am someone of whom they would be proud. Am I honoring their legacy? Am I doing enough? In fact, not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself that very question, “AM I DOING ENOUGH?” Am I doing enough to raise the consciousness of those around me? Malcolm …
Looking Back Nearly 60 Years: The Tuskegee Institute Community Action Corps (Ticac)
Remembering Vernon E. Jordan, Jr
Historian of Black Virginia: Luther Porter Jackson, an Appraisal
This article uses the published works of historian Dr. Luther Porter Jackson (1892–1950) to argue that he used Black Virginia history to inform contemporary and later studies about Antebellum slavery, Reconstruction, and the "Long Civil Rights Movement." Born in Lexington, Kentucky, and educated in New York City and Chicago, Jackson became the authority on Black Virginia life. His publications on slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow collectively…
“Keep Comin' On”: Sterling Brown's Enduring Challenges to African American Audiences
This paper examines the significance of the challenge that Sterling Brown's (1930) essay "Our Literary Audience" posed to African American readers to be "better": more open-minded, more confident, more self-reflective, and more willing to let go of limiting views of African American poetry's "appropriate" subjects, levels of diction, and forms of poetry. It explores where Brown's theories related to these matters intersect with and diverge from t…
Marvin Nathaniel Hagler Was Simply Marvelous
Marvin Nathaniel Hagler Was Simply Marvelous Judson L. Jeffries Arguably the greatest middleweight boxer of the modern era, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, just shy of 5’10” and weighing 160lbs, was a one-man wrecking crew. Among the greatest pugilists of all time, few fighters boast as impressive a won-lost record as Hagler. Over a 14-year career, Hagler had a total of 67 fights, winning 62 of them against only three losses. Fifty-two were by knockout.…
“Good Wings”: Orality, Literacy, and Arna Bontemps's Black Thunder
This reading of Arna Bontemps's Black Thunder, which portrays Gabriel Prosser's 1800 rebellion, argues that the novel is both a tribute to the courage and to the largely oral culture of enslaved persons. The text is also a study of the broader spectrum of orality and literacy. Viewing orality and literacy not in a dichotomous but rather in a symbiotic relationship, Black Thunder depicts the ways that these modes of communication interact to fomen…
Parent-Child Programs for Incarcerated African American Fathers: A Systematic Review
Where Are the Daddies? The Rise of the Post-Industrial Carceral State
Many African American fathers are missing from their communities. The rise of the post-industrial carceral state is a key factor that is responsible for their absence. America’s transition from an industrial society to a post-industrial society caused the disappearance of many good-paying blue-collar jobs that were held by African American workers. This led to high levels of unemployment, which adversely affected the African American community’s …
Allison Davis: Social Scientist for Social Justice
Allison Davis (1902–1983) was one of the premier African American intellectuals of his generation. Having inherited a world dominated by the color line yet privileged enough to attend the most elite universities in the United States, Davis dedicated his life to social science. At turns an anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, psychoanalyst, and educationalist, Davis spent his career com-batting race and class inequalities within an academy d…