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Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: a 21St-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis- Educated in the Digital Age LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations Spring April 2012 Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis- Educated in the Digital Age Shani Byard Loyola Marymount University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons Recommended Citation Byard, Shani, "Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis-Educated in the Digital Age" (2012). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 243. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/243 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis-Educated in the Digital Age by Shani Byard A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the School of Education, Loyola Marymount University, in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education 2012 Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis-Educated in the Digital Age Copyright © 2012 by Shani Byard Loyola Marymount University School of Education Los Angeles, CA 90045 This dissertation written by Shani Byard, under the direction of the Dissertation Committee, is approved and accepted by all committee members, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am humbled and thankful to the most high. I am your instrument. Additionally, Asante sana! Thank you all for your guidance, support, wisdom, and love: Judith Byard (mom), Arthur McCoy (dad), Dr. Yvette Lapayese, Rev. Dr. Emmett G. Price, III, Dr. Jennie Spencer-Green, the participants in this research study, Jason ‘MPRVS’ Johnson, Kristin Parnell, Angela Scott-Hill, Denise Davidson, Janette Robinson Flint, LMU Cohort 5, Dr. Karie Huchting, Dr. Jill Bickett, Keisa Davis, Dr. Amy Shimson-Santo, Kiera Lewellyn, Joanne Griffith-Poplar, Ayana Cahrr, Rae Jones, Jason ‘Brother J’ Hunter, Michael Smith, George Vallecillo, Jewel Thais-Williams, Yvonne Johnson, Lauren Deck, Zina Jones-Warren, Arthur McCoy, Jr., Karen Kiss, Jade Smith, The Lucas Family, Kirtrina Baxter, Dr. Karen Komosa-Hawkins, Rev. Sadye A. Thomas, Rev. Leon Campbell, Dr. Maaskelah K. Thomas, Vincent Mickens, Village Health Foundation, Café Brazil, Agape International Spiritual Center, Self-Realization Fellowship Temple. ! iii! DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the beauty in the struggle. ! iv! TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iii! DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 African-Centered Pedagogy .........................................................................4 Critical Media Pedagogy ..............................................................................5 Rise Above the Noise (RAN) ......................................................................6 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................8 Educational and Digital Divides ................................................................10 A Proposed Solution ..................................................................................11 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................12 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................12 Research Question .................................................................................................13 Limitations/Delimitations ......................................................................................14 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................15 Introduction ............................................................................................................15 Eurocentrism ..........................................................................................................18 Media Influence as Mental Slavery .......................................................................19 Critical Pedagogy ...................................................................................................24 Critical Media Pedagogy ............................................................................29 Culturally Relevant Education ...................................................................34 African-Centered Pedagogy .......................................................................37 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ......................................42 Methods..................................................................................................................46 Critical Race Methodology ........................................................................46 The Curriculum ......................................................................................................49 The Sample ............................................................................................................50 The Setting .............................................................................................................53 Data Analysis and Interpretation ...........................................................................53 ! v! CHAPTER FOUR: MAIN FINDINGS ..........................................................................59 Profiles of Sample ..................................................................................................61 Curricular Component I: Intro/Community Building ............................................63 Curricular Component IIa: Media Stereotypes, History of Media Influence ........69 Curricular Component IIb: Written and Verbal Reflective Discourse ..................72 Curricular Component III: Practicing African-Centered/Media Literacy .............77 Curricular Component IV: Review of Learning/Closure .......................................86 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................89 Awareness of Mis-Education .................................................................................90 Building a Collective Self-Definition ....................................................................92 Clarity of Life Focus ..............................................................................................95 My Pedagogy .........................................................................................................98 The Blend of Pedagogies .....................................................................................104 Recommendations for the Field of Education in the Digital Age ........................107 APPENDICES A: Rise Above the Noise Group Affirmation ..................................................................110 B: Public Sale of Negroes ................................................................................................111 C: A Concise History of Black-White Relations in the USA ..........................................112 D: Core Concepts and Questions in Media Literacy .......................................................113 E: Cultural Practices and Methodology of ACP ..............................................................114 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................115 ! vi! LIST OF TABLES 1. Core Concepts and Questions in Media Literacy ..........................................................34 2. Cultural Practices and Methodology of African-Centered Pedagogy ............................39 3. Main Findings Chart ......................................................................................................60 ! vii! ABSTRACT Combining African-Centered and Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating the Minds of the Mis-Educated in the Digital Age By Shani Byard Since the slave trade, African Americans have been the most media-stereotyped race of people. From that time, multiple forms of media have been used to convince Blacks of their inevitable servitude and Whites of their supremacy (Burrell, 2010), as a means of transferring physical slavery to mental slavery (Akbar, 1998). Additionally, African Americans have been the victims of a Eurocentric educational system essentially designed to “mis-educate”
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