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HIP HOP HELPS: SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION IN SOCIAL WORK ANDRAGOGY A Project Presented to the faculty of the Division of Social Work California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK by Yarin Gomez SPRING 2017 © 2017 Yarin Gomez ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii HIP HOP HELPS: SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION IN SOCIAL WORK ANDRAGOGY A Project by Yarin Gomez Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Maria Dinis, Ph.D., MSW ____________________________ Date iii Student: Yarin Gomez I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. __________________________, Department Chair ___________________ Dale Russell Date Division of Social Work iv Abstract of HIP HOP HELPS: SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION IN SOCIAL WORK ANDRAGOGY by Yarin Gomez Hip Hop is a transnational culture ignored in social work academia. A qualitative exploratory study with a social constructionist lens used a non-probability sampling method to recruit six Masters-level social work students in a stakeholder-engaged focus group. Subjects took the Rap Music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, to gage perceptions about the music genre. As part of the focus group, open-ended questions were presented about Hip Hop music video content with themes of institutional racism. Data analysis verified individual and collective processes of social identity construction, delineating social agency versus oppression, and exploring the educational merits of Hip Hop. A remarkable result was how students reacted to satirical manifestations of discrimination in the videos with both laughter and indignation towards misogynistic motifs. This study demonstrates the need to further investigate Hip Hop in social work andragogy through critical discourse to uncover personal bias. ____________________________________, Committee Chair Maria Dinis, Ph.D., M.S.W. ____________________________________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend thanks to my advisor, Dr. Maria Dinis, for the attention allocated to my research endeavors and the constructive advice throughout the entire project process. I could not have completed this project without her insight and oversight. My deepest gratitude goes out to my loved ones: my parents for their unconditional support, my siblings for their musical influences in my formative years and affection, and to my partner for being a major source of encouragement for this project. Finally, the biggest thanks go out to Hip Hop itself for being a source of inspiration for this research and major source of professional motivation. A special acknowledgement to some of my favorite lyrical wordsmiths: 2Pac, MF Doom, and Slick Rick. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 Background of Problem ............................................................................................... 3 Statement of Research Problem ................................................................................... 5 Purpose of Study .......................................................................................................... 6 Research Question ....................................................................................................... 6 Theoretical Framework of Social Constructionist Theory ........................................... 7 Application of Social Constructionist Theory ................................................. 8 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................... 10 Assumptions............................................................................................................... 11 Justification ................................................................................................................ 12 Delimitations .............................................................................................................. 13 Summary .................................................................................................................... 14 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 15 Hip Hop History ......................................................................................................... 15 African Diasporic Art .................................................................................... 16 Caribbean Causalities .................................................................................... 18 Latin American / American Indigenous Roots .............................................. 21 vii Postindustrial Emergence .............................................................................. 24 Globalization .................................................................................................. 28 Hip Hop in Social Work Practice............................................................................... 31 Hip Hop in Education ................................................................................................ 34 Pedagogic Qualifiers ...................................................................................... 34 Andragogic Qualifiers .................................................................................... 38 Gaps in the Literature ................................................................................................ 41 Summary .................................................................................................................... 49 3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 51 Research Question ..................................................................................................... 51 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 51 Exploratory Studies........................................................................................ 52 Qualitative Approach ..................................................................................... 53 Content Analysis ............................................................................................ 55 Study Population ........................................................................................................ 57 Sample Population ..................................................................................................... 57 Instrumentation .......................................................................................................... 58 RAP Scale ...................................................................................................... 58 Focus Groups ................................................................................................. 60 Intimate Technology ...................................................................................... 64 Data Gathering and Procedures .................................................................................. 67 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 68 Protection of Human Subjects ................................................................................... 69 viii Summary .................................................................................................................... 70 4. DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 72 Demographics of Study Participants .......................................................................... 75 Intimate Technology: Social Commentary and Initial Reactions .............................. 76 “Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)” ............................................. 78 “For Free? (Interlude)” ................................................................................. 79 “Blacktivist” ................................................................................................. 80 Emergent Themes in Systemic Discrimination .......................................................... 81 Social Identity ................................................................................................ 82 Social Agency Versus Oppression ................................................................. 90 Empowerment in the Context of the Black/White Binary ............................. 96 Educational Merits of Hip Hop ...................................................................... 99 Additional Findings ................................................................................................