Dissertation Information for James Hunter Meriwether NAME: - James Hunter Meriwether
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- History
SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1995)
ADVISORS: - Robert Dallek
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - None
MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected
Title: The African connection and the struggle for freedom: Africa's role in African-American life, 1935-1963
Abstract: The relationship between black Americans and Africa has been complex and ill-defined. This dissertation seeks to clarify the role that Africa played in African Americans' lives during the pivotal years between 1935 and 1963--from the bitterness over Italy's invasion and occupation of Ethiopia in 1935-36 to the heady years of the early 1960s when dozens of African nations gained their independence. It argues that during this period, African Americans experienced competing impulses toward Africa-- dissociation, disregard and association--and that variables such as domestic concerns and international influences affected which impulse came into dominance at different times.
In doing so, this dissertation examines the numerous obstacles that African Americans had to surmount, such as the negative, racist imagery of Africa, which inhibited the establishment of connections with contemporary Africa. It demonstrates how the relationship between African Americans and Africa served as an indicator of concerns and conditions within the African American community. This dissertation also addresses the changing nature of African American identities and the influence Africa had on them. Further, it examines the efforts of African Americans as a group intent on influencing the official policy of the United States toward the continent and countries of Africa. And it helps to explain the more widespread and enduring African American interest in Africa that emerged in the 1960s.
Through assessing the dynamic nature of Africa's role in African American lives during this period, the dissertation analyzes the relationship of black Americans with Africa as it evolved through the late 1930s to the early 1960s--years critical to both Africans and African Americans--in order to provide an international perspective on this period of American history.
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MPACT Scores for James Hunter Meriwether A = 0
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calculated 2009-02-01 20:00:54
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