http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/african_american Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:14:31 -0400 Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:14:31 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1875/the-graphic-novel-as-argument-visual-representation-strategy-in-kyle-bakers-nat-turner By Jacqueline Rodriguez - Traditional slave narratives follow a set of conventions that helped abolitionists recognize them as factual and trustworthy stories. Previously enslaved authors subverted those conventions to take control of their narratives and expose white abolitionists’ selfish motivations. In Kyle Baker’s graphic novel retelling of Nat Turner’s life story, free from the conventions of those traditional narratives, the reader is provided a new perspective on Turner’s story with an emphasis on reader participation. His graphic narrative prioritizes the black story without a white person... Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1875/the-graphic-novel-as-argument-visual-representation-strategy-in-kyle-bakers-nat-turner http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1855/reading-religion-in-literature-toni-morrison-luisah-teish-and-postsecular-theory By Kayla R. Drummond - The postsecular turn of the late 1990’s refers to the emergence of a critical theory which challenges an important modern assumption: that secular ideologies are inherently more valid and truthful than religious ideologies. Other developments in literary theory in the latter half of the 20th century were aimed at disrupting and challenging normative assumptions, and postsecularism was no different. By disrupting the hierarchy of the knowledge/faith binary, postsecular theory provides a range of fresh opportunities for reading religion in literature. This essay examines several important... Mon, 04 Jan 2021 12:13 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1855/reading-religion-in-literature-toni-morrison-luisah-teish-and-postsecular-theory http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1704/jazz-is-my-story-a-historical-analysis-of-jazz-and-20th-century-african-american-literature By Anjali J. Misra - The period of time from the Bebop era to the present—mid-1940s onwards—has been an era of great cultural evolution in the United States, and in few groups more so than the African American community. A factor particularly significant in this journey, and one with which jazz music has been closely tied over the past century, is African American literature. This genre, more colloquially called black literature, has only been a formal notion since the Harlem Renaissance (from roughly 1919 to 1939), during which prominent black leaders sought to elevate black culture and status by producing... Wed, 15 Nov 2017 10:26 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1704/jazz-is-my-story-a-historical-analysis-of-jazz-and-20th-century-african-american-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1625/literary-repetition-and-revision-as-healing-harryette-mullen-and-suzan-lori-parkss-collective-solution-to-historical-trauma By Zeena Y. Fuleihan - Music functions as a source of healing in Toni Morrison’s Jazz, both to the bird who is inexplicably sad and for the broken relationship between Violet and Joe, the novel’s two main adult characters. The bird cheers up and regains its appetite once it hears music, and Violet and Joe begin to repair their love after a younger character brings a record player into their home. Borrowing from the musical forms of jazz, and more specifically jazz played by black musicians, Morrison structures her book as a series of solos from various characters, moving forward and backward in time to expand... Tue, 11 Apr 2017 09:09 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1625/literary-repetition-and-revision-as-healing-harryette-mullen-and-suzan-lori-parkss-collective-solution-to-historical-trauma http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press By Franco A. Paz - This paper examines two influential slave uprisings and the treatment these received by both the abolitionist movement and the press. The first section explores the country’s reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, as well as his subsequent trial, conviction, and execution. The second section discusses the media coverage of and reaction to the Southampton Insurrection, the largest slave rebellion in the history of the United States. The third section explores the contrasting reactions to Nat Turner’s and John Brown’s respective revolts, and analyzes some... Mon, 23 May 2016 05:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1361/do-african-american-female-stereotypes-still-exist-in-television-a-descriptive-character-analysis-of-olivia-pope By Kendall King. - Pope was chosen for this study because she is leading the "progressive shift in the representation of Black female characters in mainstream television" (Mask, 2015, p. 8). Unlike most African-American women seen today on television, the character played by Washington is both dark-skinned and beautiful, while also romantically and sexually desirable (Everett, 2015, p. 37). Pope differs from other strong African-American television characters, such as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, who portrayed another prominent African-American television character, and was a lawyer, a mother, and was equated... Wed, 18 Nov 2015 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1361/do-african-american-female-stereotypes-still-exist-in-television-a-descriptive-character-analysis-of-olivia-pope http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1250/how-ralph-ellisons-invisible-man-retold-the-story-of-the-black-american-experience-for-the-cultural-mainstream By Luke D. Mahoney - People love a good story. A good story can be intriguingly informative, a good story can well up deep emotions and a good story can carry culture, history and tradition. It was through storytelling that many ancient cultures preserved and passed down their understanding of the world, their rites and their rituals. It was, and still is, through stories that children become familiar with cultural and societal norms and mores. Stories are important to people, are one of the most important forms of verbal and written communication. People learn about each other through storytelling, solve problems... Mon, 26 Oct 2015 08:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1250/how-ralph-ellisons-invisible-man-retold-the-story-of-the-black-american-experience-for-the-cultural-mainstream http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1001/the-double-victory-campaign-and-the-black-press-a-conservative-approach-to-victory-at-home-and-abroad By Haley D. O'Shaughnessy - During World War II, the black press and several prominent black leaders called for a “Double V” victory against fascism abroad and against Jim Crow at home. With such a slogan, many historians regarded this campaign as the groundwork for the black revolts that characterized the civil rights movement. While there is ample evidence that the readers of the black press were receptive to a more militant approach, black newspapers themselves undertook a conservative effort to channel black militancy into nationalistic ends. By seeking government concessions rather than supporting militant... Wed, 18 Feb 2015 11:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1001/the-double-victory-campaign-and-the-black-press-a-conservative-approach-to-victory-at-home-and-abroad http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/988/the-myth-of-obamas-post-racial-presidency-why-barack-obamas-election-didnt-end-racial-inequality-in-america By Breanna M. Bacon - The presidential campaign of Barack Obama was met with enthusiasm and controversy. If you were alive and cognizant at the time, you understood the importance and historic value of the 2008 election no matter your position. Barack Obama, the Hawaii-born Senator representing the state of Illinois, was the first black[1] candidate nominated by one of the two major political parties. Never before had there been a black candidate as viable to win the presidential election. The uniqueness of the Obama campaign led apolitical groups to actually get out and participate in the political process. The fervor... Sat, 07 Feb 2015 12:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/988/the-myth-of-obamas-post-racial-presidency-why-barack-obamas-election-didnt-end-racial-inequality-in-america http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/904/naming-and-identity-in-toni-morrisons-beloved-and-song-of-solomon By Sean M. Kirby - As an African American author, Toni Morrison is acutely aware of the pain that is intertwined with the history of her history. She articulates the debilitating physical and psychological strain that slavery, prejudices, and discrimination placed upon countless African Americans with incredible detail. One of her most powerful statements, however, comes in just one sentence near the end of Beloved. It is a truth that all African Americans know, one that was born out of slavery, one that still burns people today: the truth that “anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came... Sun, 22 Jun 2014 10:39 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/904/naming-and-identity-in-toni-morrisons-beloved-and-song-of-solomon http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/646/zora-neale-hurstons-sweat-and-the-black-female-voice-the-perspective-of-the-african-american-woman By Marion C. Burke - Zora Neale Hurston is the author of the acclaimed short story Sweat. The story was published in 1926, an incredible accomplishment considering the obstacles faced by black female authors at the time. Viewing the piece through the lens of feminist literary criticism, the effect of Hurston’s black female identity on her writing is analyzed.Hurston’s gender and race have undoubtedly shaped the story, imbuing its content with a deep political statement on social inequality.However, this paper argues that the quality of Zora Neale Hurston's writing, which in this case takes the... Wed, 23 May 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/646/zora-neale-hurstons-sweat-and-the-black-female-voice-the-perspective-of-the-african-american-woman http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/588/racial-uplift-acculturation-to-the-dominant-culture-in-contending-forces-by-pauline-e-hopkins By Aisha Rees - Domestic fiction reigned in women’s literature during the nineteenth-century. These narratives defined ”True Womanhood,” where the female exemplified four pillars: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. They are meant to reject the public sphere for more spiritual gains: true women were the moral compasses of society. Their influence in the home was supposed to project outward into society because of the true woman’s role as a wife, a mother, and a teacher. Amy Kaplan, in her work “Manifest Domesticity,” denotes that the “private feminized space... Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/588/racial-uplift-acculturation-to-the-dominant-culture-in-contending-forces-by-pauline-e-hopkins http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/357/the-n-word-the-use-and-development-of-the-term-nigger-in-african-american-culture-as-depicted-in-the-plays-of-august-wilson By Stephanie C. Grogan - August Wilson represents the experiences of African-Americans in each decade of the 20th century in his Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of ten plays. Throughout this canon, language is used not just as an important form of communication amongst the characters, but also as a means of communicating the African-American experience and its changes across the decades of the 20th century. Because the language of August Wilson’s plays is representative of both African-American culture and American cultural shifts, the plays contain rhetorical and linguistic choices that are specific to... Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/357/the-n-word-the-use-and-development-of-the-term-nigger-in-african-american-culture-as-depicted-in-the-plays-of-august-wilson http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/162/restoring-the-social-justice-identity-of-the-black-church By Robert S. Harvey - The act of preaching motivates the soul and the melodies of song enlivens the emotion, yet motivation and enlivening are not enough for debt to be eliminated, graduation rates to rise, and affordable housing and healthcare to be attained—all parts of the social crisis. As part of the black church—parishioner and clergy—this is the moment to reclaim identity; and when the black church returns to its mission and restores its identity in this society, only then will it be able to serve as a collective utility of social transformation and positive change for “such a time as... Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:03 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/162/restoring-the-social-justice-identity-of-the-black-church http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/32/in-search-of-manhood-the-black-males-struggle-for-identity-and-power By Aza Nedhari - Within the cultural framework of America, the systemic structure is characterized by White male patriarchy that allows for Black males to have the ability to negotiate the way in which they have been socialized and institutionalized to think, act, and behave because they are men. However, the reality of race and the lack of diversity in the purest sense,  impedes upon this effort and cripples the black male's ability to truly transition into manhood. He is left to constantly struggle and fight for an identity, for power, for respect, and for understanding of who he is versus what he is projected... Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:20 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/32/in-search-of-manhood-the-black-males-struggle-for-identity-and-power http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/11/sermons-in-sociolinguistic-skins-an-analysis-of-wharrys-study-on-discourse-markers-in-african-american-sermons By Scott Berghegger - In her article, “Amen and Hallelujah preaching: Discourse functions in African American sermons,” Cheryl Wharry examines the use of “sermonic expressions” by African American preachers to denote textual changes, to mark rhythm (a feature commonly associated with traditional African American culture-speak), and to maintain an atmosphere of spirituality. Wharry refutes the assumption that Black preachers’ spiritual expressions are markers for a call-and-response technique, noting that call-and-response “is displayed in the overall service and in congregational... Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:31 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/11/sermons-in-sociolinguistic-skins-an-analysis-of-wharrys-study-on-discourse-markers-in-african-american-sermons