Exploring How Black Male Students and Artists Navigate the Constraints of Urban Classrooms and the Music Industry

Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Educational Policy Studies Dissertations Department of Educational Policy Studies Fall 12-21-2018 "Soul In A Can": Exploring How Black Male Students And Artists Navigate The onsC traints Of Urban Classrooms And The uM sic Industry Garfield R. Bright Jr Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/eps_diss Recommended Citation Bright, Garfield R. Jr, ""Soul In A Can": Exploring How Black Male Students And Artists Navigate The onC straints Of Urban Classrooms And The usicM Industry." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/eps_diss/188 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Educational Policy Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Policy Studies Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, “SOUL IN A CAN”: EXPLORING HOW BLACK MALE STUDENTS AND ARTISTS NAVIGATE THE CONTRAINTS OF URBAN CLASSROOMS AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, by GARFIELD BRIGHT was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. _________________________________ Kristen Buras, Ph.D. Committee Chair _________________________________ __________________________________ Joyce King, Ph.D. Santa Davis, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Jennifer Esposito, Ph.D. Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________ William L. Curlette, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Educational Policy Studies _________________________________ Paul Alberto, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education and Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education and Human Development’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Garfield Roosevelt Bright Social Foundations of Educational Policy Studies College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University The director of this dissertation is: Dr. Kristen Buras Department of Social Foundations of Educational Policy Studies College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Garfield Bright ADDRESS: 2515 Northeast Expressway #W9 Atlanta, Georgia 30345 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2018 Georgia State University Educational Policy Studies MA 2012 Georgia State University African American Studies BA 2008 California State University at Northridge Political Science PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2015 Co-Facilitator--Professional Development DeKalb Alternative School Atlanta, Georgia 2013 Classroom Teacher, Sociology Black Star Educational Institute Atlanta, Georgia 2011 Instructor, GSU 1010: African American History and Culture Georgia State University 2010-2011 Writing Consultant, Writing Across the Curriculum Georgia State University 2008-2010 Classroom Teacher, Social Studies Environmental Charter High School, Lawndale, California 2008 Co-Teacher, The Politics of Hip Hop. California State University at Northridge PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS Muhammad, G. E. & Bright, G. (2015, December). “We Wish to Plead our Own Cause”: A Historical Perspective to Writing Instruction to Support the Voices of African American Youth in Classrooms. Paper session to be presented at the Annual Convention of the Literacy Research Association (LRA), Carlsbad, California. Bright, G., Avery, T., Myers K., & Davis, S. (2015, May). Books Not Bars. Invited presenter on research to performance, Youth Participatory Action Research Showcase. Presentation at the Annual Convention of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, Illinois. Bright, G., Avery, T., Myers K., & Davis, S. (2014, October). Books Not Bars. Invited presenter on research to performance, Youth Participatory Action Research Showcase. Presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, Illinois. Bright, G. & Davis, S. (2014, May). Black Educational Congress’ 25th Year Action Plan. Panel session at the Georgia State University Sources of Educational Excellence Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. Williams, B., Salter, D., & Bright, G. (2013, May). Beyond the Bricks: Challenges and successes. Panel session at the Annual American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, California. Lewis, B. & Bright, G. (2013, May). Briggs -Vs- Eliot: Confinement, Movement and Freedom. Panel session at the Georgia State University Sources of Educational Excellence Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. Gibson, E. & Bright, G. (2012, November). Hip Hop pedagogy as a means for literary engagement. Paper/workshop session at the National Council of Black Studies Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio. Bright, G. & Bradley, C. (2012, May). Word is Bond: Multimedia Literacy Project. Panel session at the Georgia State University Sources of Educational Excellence Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. Bright, G. (2011, March). Toward a More Perfect Union: Pedagogical Tools for Teaching Politics in the Age of Hip Hop. Panel session at the National Council of Black Studies Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. Bright, G. (2007, March). Cashtration of the Hip Hop Nation. Panel session at the National Council of Black Studies Conference, Houston, Texas. Bright, G. (2006, May). The Black Political Shift: From Electoral and Organizational Politics to Hip Hop. Panel Session at the National Council of Black Studies Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. Bright, G. (in progress). The independent black school movement. In K. Stanford, J. Young and A. Umoja (Eds.), Black Power Encyclopedia: From the Black Panthers to Stokely Carmichael. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Muhammad, G. E. & Bright, G. (in press). Toward history for instructional excellence: A review of literacy practices among early African Americans of the 19th century. In D. Hucks, Y. Sealey-Ruiz, S. C. Carothers, V. Showunmi & C. Lewis (Eds.), Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Diverse Contexts: Implications for Access, Equity and Achievement. Stanford, K. & Bright, G. (2017). Toward a more perfect union: Pedagogical tools for teaching politics in the age of hip hop. In K. Stanford and C. Jones, (Eds.), Dropping Knowledge: Hip Hop Pedagogy in the Academy, Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press. Stanford, K. & Bright, G. (2011). Toward a more perfect union: Pedagogical tools for teaching politics in the age of hip hop, International Journal of Africana Studies, 16(1), 102-116 PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 2013 American Educational Research Association (AERA) “Soul in a Can”: Exploring How Black Male Students and Artists Navigate the Constraints of Urban Classrooms and the Music Industry By Garfield Bright Under the Direction of Dr. Kristen Buras ABSTRACT “Soul in a Can” builds on research that explores Black male identity and containment within structures where racial power is distributed inequitably. This research responds to a need for more diversity regarding the range of Black male voices explored in academic literature. This arts-based qualitative research used a case study design to explore how Black male students and artists navigate the constraints of urban classrooms and the music industry. The following questions guided this exploration: How do contemporary professional Black male recording artists navigate the recording industry’s tendency to restrain their personal “voice” and creative agency in the process of commodifying their talents? How do Black male youth navigate classroom spaces to maintain their personal “voice” and creative agency? Are there similarities between the experiences of Black male artists and Black males in the education system and how they navigate the power differential they face? Data is comprised of participant interviews with six Black males including three students and three professional recording artists. Interviews were conducted in a two-phase process that respectively focused on participant rendered key metaphors and sound worlds. More specifically, the researcher employed a Critical Race Theory frame emphasizing two of its components—

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