Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity Tamara L
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Antioch University AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses Dissertations & Theses 2013 Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity Tamara L. Stachowicz Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change Follow this and additional works at: http://aura.antioch.edu/etds Part of the American Studies Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Epistemology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Stachowicz, Tamara L., "Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity" (2013). Dissertations & Theses. 64. http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/64 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses at AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. MELUNGEON PORTRAITS: LIVED EXPERIENCE AND IDENTITY TAMARA L. STACHOWICZ A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July, 2013 This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled: MELUNGEON PORTRAITS: LIVED EXPERIENCE AND IDENTITY prepared by Tamara Stachowicz is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D., Chair date Lize Booysen, DBL, Committee Member date Katherine Vande Brake, Ph.D., Committee Member date Dara Culhane, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2013 Tamara L. Stachowicz All rights reserved Acknowledgements I am very grateful for the advice and support of my advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Carolyn Kenny for pushing me to do my best work, cheering me on when the challenges were great, and encouraging me to remain true to my research interests. I could not have completed the project without the additional resources provided by Dr. Lize Booysen and Dr. Katherine Vande Brake. Without their individual expertise in leadership and Melungeon scholarship, this dissertation would not have contributed to a body of knowledge that is practical and empowering to so many. Of course, all of my co-researchers helped research, write, and explain, their own stories. You have allowed me the privilege of examining and comparing our collective experiences and validated my personal journey toward identity and family heritage. Angela, you have always been there for me, I could never have completed the enormity of the project without your help. Joanne, your inside knowledge and willingness to debate and discuss the merits of various Melungeon theories and writings helped me understand context and passion in the journey of discovery. William, I hope I have earned your trust. You have modeled how true leadership and activism can be effective by the actions of even one person. Arlene, my sister, my friend—you have come with me on research trips for over 15 years. You help me believe in myself and understand the real priorities in life. It was you that took the brunt of my frustrations during this past few years and I’m grateful. To my mother, Sylvia, and my daughter Kateri, you are the roots and wings of my study. You give me purpose, and keep me grounded. Thanks for your willingness to be my guinea pigs. To Katie, Wilma, Anna, Keith, Connie, Logan, and Rachel, you opened your hearts and your homes to me. I am grateful for your time and input, and for your willingness to share such intimate pains and joys with me for this project. Special thanks to i my father and step mother, James and Judy Campbell, for your support and encouragement. I appreciate your efforts to understand why I would work so diligently for so long just to figure out who I am! To my son Josef, thanks for listening to me read papers out loud, sharing in the pride of professor comments, and for finding me additional resources on feminist writings. It has been a joy to share my scholarly progress with you as a peer and colleague. The depth of these findings and my growth as a scholar have been profoundly impacted by Darlene Wilson. Darlene opened her heart and home to my family and me, baking fresh cookies, sharing books, and making the best damned sweet tea I’ve ever had. Darlene, thank you for challenging me, confronting me, forgiving me, and accepting me. I am forever in your debt. The entire point of “going to the people” was spurred by Dr. Anita Puckett. She challenged me and insisted I go back to my anthropological roots and speak to the people. Thank you for your mentoring and kindness as I pursued this topic. I must also acknowledge the discourse, friendship, and comraderie of my study buddy, Dr. Kimberly Yost. Thank you for the late night discussions and willingness to share lodging at residencies and dispelling the imposter syndrome for me. Most of all, I need to thank my best friend, my other half, the man who has taken this journey with me for over 30 years—my husband Dr. David Stachowicz. You have not only given encouragement, but listened to me cry as stress mounted, and picked up the slack at home and with our family while I spent time (and money) traveling and researching. Because of you, I am at my best. I love you more than you will ever know. Thanks for knowing how important this research is to me and encouraging me to follow my dreams. ii Lastly, I want to dedicate this project to my brother, James Michael Campbell, who died before he could see me finish. He was always proud of his big sisters, and will always be remembered fondly as my “favorite brother.” I wish you were here Jimmy. iii Abstract The desire to claim an ethnicity may be in response to an institutional and systemic political movement towards multiculturalism where ethnic difference is something to be recognized and celebrated (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). Those who were a member of a dominant or advantaged group took that element of their identity for granted (Tatum, 1997). Identity work has included reflections and congruence between how individuals see themselves and how they perceive others to see them, including Optimal Distinctiveness Theory where one determines the optimal amount of individual distinctiveness needed to feel a healthy group and personal identity (Brewer, 2012). When most of the people one is surrounded by can verify and support an accepted identity construction, the process is less complicated, and attention is not drawn to the differences because there are very few, if any. As the dominant culture becomes increasingly bombarded with the celebratory aspects of an ethnic identity, it is likely that one will begin searching for one’s own (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). This study will present portraits of individuals who are considering an ethnic identity as they are searching for belonging and inclusion from the group with which they desire to identify. In short, through the use of portraiture, I intend to privilege the voices and experiences of several co-researchers as they describe their lives, explain whether or not they have accepted or rejected a Melungeon identity, how they came to that decision, and what it means in their lived experience. This dissertation is accompanied by the author’s MP4 video introduction, as well as 15 MP4 videos of the co- researchers who participated in this study (see the List of Supplemental Media Files). The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... i Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Supplemental Media Files ....................................................................................................x Chapter I: Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Position of Researcher ...............................................................................................................1 The Purpose of This Dissertation ...............................................................................................2 The Melungeon Identity Movement ..........................................................................................3 Racial Identification and Politics .........................................................................................4 Social Influence on Melungeon Ethnicity ............................................................................8 Melungeon Identity ............................................................................................................11 Discussion ..........................................................................................................................17 Philosophical and Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................19