Fayneese Miller

Coping with Communicentric Bias in Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences

The authors examine several problems posed for emperical and theoretical research by the achievement of hegemony by one culture or system of thought over others. The issue is addressed from the special perspective of social scientists of African American descent who practice in a European /American dominant society. Several highly respected tenets of science, such as objectivity, positivism, and logical consistency, are questioned as to their universal utility when the life experiences, mores, and values of subjects studied are quite diverse. We suggest adapting the design and management of the conduct of inquiry to better accommodate cultural, class, ethnic, and gender diversity under conditions of subpopulation variance and cultural hegemony

Network Structure Support: Its Relationship to the Psychosocial Development of Black Females

Peoples attitudes toward self and others are a product of the type of interactions experienced in their social environment. Consistent with this reasoning, the object of this study was to ascertain the relative influence of stressful life events and social environmental variables, especially network structure support, on the self-esteem and trust level of Black females. One hundred and fifty-nine Black college females volunteered to complete six questionnaires concerning their attitudes, personality, and background. A significant canonical correlation was found for education level of parents/grandparents, mothers status (the predictor variables) and feelings toward racial discrimination, self-esteem, and trust (the criterion variables). The results of the stepwise multiple regression analyses supported the canonical findings. It was concluded that future research on social and personality development should take into account the background of the subjects from a network structure perspective, and must examine factors relevant to psychosocial development for both their predictive and mediating qualities.

The Contextualization of Affirmative Action A Historical and Political Analysis

One purpose of this article is to chronicle the progression of affirmative action. A second purpose is to show how affirmative action has benefited all of society and not just a select few. The authors of this article move from a critique of the history of affirmative action to an assessment of the current political climate. It is argued that a rollback of affirmative action practices will have long-term effects on the educational and job opportunities available to women and minorities, but more important, a rollback will seriously alter the playing field and call into question the notion that “all men are created equal.”

Epilogue What to a Black Person Is Affirmative Action

In the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are articulated as rights to which all “men” are entitled. These rights are placed within the context of equality. It...In the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are articulated as rights to which all “men” are entitled. These rights are placed within the context of equality. It is proposed in this article that the Declaration of Independence provides the material for Douglasss, Lincolns, and Kings reinterpretation and reiteration of the rights and principles of democracy and equality. Affirmative action is presented as a contemporary example of a rewrite or reinterpretation of the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, it is proposed that affirmative action is the means by which equity, rather than equality, can be realized.