“IT’S GONNA BE SOME DRAMA!”: A CONTENT ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE PORTRAYALS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ON BET’S COLLEGE HILL _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ by SIOBHAN E. SMITH Dr. Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2010 © Copyright by Siobhan E. Smith 2010 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled “IT’S GONNA BE SOME DRAMA!”: A CONTENT ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE PORTRAYALS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ON BET’S COLLEGE HILL presented by Siobhan E. Smith, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Jennifer Stevens Aubrey Professor Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz Professor Melissa Click Professor Ibitola Pearce Professor Michael J. Porter This work is dedicated to my unborn children, to my niece, Brooke Elizabeth, and to the young ones who will shape our future. First, all thanks and praise to God, from whom all blessings flow. For it was written: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). My dissertation included! The months of all-nighters were possible were because You gave me strength; when I didn’t know what to write, You gave me the words. And when I wanted to scream, You gave me peace. Thank you for all of the people you have used to enrich my life, especially those I have forgotten to name here. This entire process is a test of Faith, and now, more than ever, I believe. To Mama and Daddy: thank you for everything. This includes, but is not limited to money (!), emotional support and encouragement, prayers, laughs, and concern. As much as y’all worry me to death, I want you to know that I am blessed: first to have parents, second to have caring parents, and third, to have parents who were in the position to do all that you have done (and continue to do) for me, not just during the dissertation, but throughout my entire life. In the words of Celine Dion, “I’m everything I am, because you loved me.” I love you. To Aetna, Victor, and “Brookie Minner”: Sister, thank you for always loving me, caring for me, and getting up in arms for me whenever needed. You are still, even after all of these years, my “favorite” sister and my best friend. Brother, thank you for demanding that I hurry up and get done! And Brookie, thank you for all of those sweet hugs and kisses that kept Aunt Phan going. I love all of you. To Mother Clydia: Thank you for always pulling me off to the side and checking on me, just to make sure. You are an amazing woman, and my “special one,” too! I love you. To my Family: Thank you for the phone calls that always came just when I needed them, for loving me, and for supporting me in all of my endeavors. I love all of you. To my partner-in-crime for over 20 years, Celeste: Whether it was helping me figure out statistical procedures, coding materials, chart-formatting issues, or other random drama, in addition to just checking on me, supporting me, and loving me, you are my MVP. You are one of my very best friends. You possess powerful, unwavering Faith. I thank God for you, and I love you. To “my woman,” Leslie: I have never been so blessed by a room assignment! Thank you for refusing to even entertain my frustrations, worries, and fears because your Faith was just that strong. Thank you for laughing when I laughed and crying when I cried. I love you, I need you to survive. To The Blouses: Nicole, Shatoria, and Jestin, my girls!!! I am so proud of each of you. I do not think that it’s coincidental that we are all intelligent, motivated, and successful, with our whole lives ahead of us. Thank you for your support, the gift of your friendship, and your love. I love you. “Game, Blouses!” To my line-sister, Sonni: Sometime since pledging at Xavier, you stopped being my line sister and became one of my best friends. Though we didn’t talk much, when we did, you always encouraged me and believed in me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you. To my good friend, the coolest beautician a girl could have, Ms. Juanita: Thank you for being part of what made Columbia feel like home. For loving and supporting me, and being there every step of the Ph.D. way…and for the delicious Amish bread! Much love, always. To my faculty at the University of Louisville (with special shout-outs to Al Futrell and Dana Seay): thank you for welcoming me with open arms. You’ve kept me sane through the last few months of this process, and it is greatly appreciated. To my Mizzou family, all of the faculty, staff, and graduate students I spent my life with for the past four years, you are the best set of colleagues a girl could have. Thank you for making my decision to attend Mizzou one of my best. In particular: To the members of my cohort: I cherish the bonds we forged—often through fire. Thank you and God bless you all always. My “big sisters,” Disraelly, Denk, Sach, and Leslie: From that first campus visit, y’all love-bombed me, and I knew I was in good hands. Thank you for taking care of me, showing me the ropes, treating each one of my crises like it was your own, and spoiling me rotten since I met you. I love each of you, and I am so proud of you, too!!! My Mizzou “baby sisters,” Wanjiru, Sara, Angela, and Rachel: Thank you for the constant stream of love and encouragement. I am impressed by the scholars that you are becoming. I love you. To Jenny, Kratzer, Bekah, Scott Walus, Emily, Lars, and Ryan: For whatever reason, y’all just always (fiercely, endlessly!) supported me and strengthened my spirit. Thank you, much love and many blessings. To my cohort sister, Liz: Thank you for the “scary movie nights,” the laughs, the tears, and the wonderful food! I am constantly blessed by the gift of your friendship, and am so grateful that you are in my life. I appreciate you for the sanity maintenance! Love and blessings to you and your family. And to my advisor sister, Megan: My road dog, my homie, my sister, who talked me down from ledges and off of train tracks, more times than I can count. We were together for all-nighters, data disasters, revision ravishment, and more dissertation excitement than one girl could handle alone. I wouldn’t trade for another cohort sister, not for anything in the world. Don’t ever doubt your talents, skills, or abilities. You’re the best. Really. I love you. And lastly, but certainly not least, to my man, Johnny: When you said you wanted to go to grad. school with me, you really meant it, didn’t you?! Thank you for knowing when to coddle, when to push, but most of all, for always being there. For it was written: “For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12).” Thank you for lifting me up, for keeping me warm, never leaving me alone, and for not letting this process—or life in general—overpower or tear me apart. Thank you for having faith in me. I’ll always love you, and I am immensely grateful for all you’ve done. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I have to thank the best advisor “mother” a budding scholar could have, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, for her time, patience, guidance, intellect, and dry wit. Thank you for helping me through this process, as well as with all of the others that came with navigating the storm-tossed waters of graduate school. I am so blessed to have the chance to work with you, and I hope to one day be half the scholar you are. Thank you for knowing just what to say when (and how to say it), and for never, ever losing faith in me. Believe it or not, I will miss your “NO”s on my papers. Keep sparkling. Secondly, “thank you” to my dedicated, helpful, and insightful committee: Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz (my research “aunt”), Melissa Click (my other research “aunt”), Ibitola Pearce, and Michael Porter (who always had my back!) for seeing this thing through until the end. Thank you for making me better. Also, I want to thank my original committee members, Debbie S. Dougherty and Michael Kramer for stepping in when I needed you; I will always be grateful for your willingness to help me. I would also be remiss for not thanking my Master’s advisor, Renita Coleman, for her constant encouragement and support over the years. I also want to thank Jon Hess for helping me make one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.