Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 Race to Post: White Hegemonic Capitalism and Black Empowerment in 21st Century Black Popular Culture and Literature Regina N. Bradley Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES RACE TO POST: WHITE HEGEMONIC CAPITALISM AND BLACK EMPOWERMENT IN 21ST CENTURY BLACK POPULAR CULTURE AND LITERATURE By REGINA N. BRADLEY A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2013 Regina N. Bradley defended this dissertation on May 14, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: David Ikard Professor Directing Dissertation Maxine Jones University Representative Maxine Montgomery Committee Member Leigh Edwards Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii Dedicated to Eugene and Sara Barnett. Paw Paw and Nana Boo, “here me.” iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin my acknowledgements by shouting out my dissertation director David Ikard. Dr. Ikard, I had no idea what I was in for when I knocked on your office door back in 2008. What an incredible journey! You helped me step my game up and transition from a graduate student to a scholar. Thank you for investing your time, your red ink, and your support into my project. The gangstallect is real! Many thanks to Maxine Montgomery, Maxine Jones, and Leigh Edwards for their time and insight at various stages of this dissertation.