THE EVOLVING ROLE OF FLORIDA BLACK MUSEUMS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES By DEBORAH JOHNSON-SIMON A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Deborah Johnson-Simon 2 To my mother, Leona Williams, who inspired my interest in museums 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge my parents Russell and Leona Williams, for having a firm belief in my abilities. I wish to acknowledge those who helped support me in my endeavor to write on this topic. I want to thank my students at Santa Fe Community College and the students in my African American Studies Senior Seminar for assisting with the research and to all the participants who agreed to be interviewed. I sincerely appreciate your candor about this subject of acculturation and attending Black museums. I also thank my dissertation committee for agreeing to work with me; my chair Dr. Allan Burns; and committee members Dr. James Davidson and Dr. Susan deFrance. In addition, I extend deep appreciation to Dr. Willie Baber, for academic guidance and personal support he extended me through his mentorship. Special thanks and sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Robin Poynor, for agreeing to serve as the external member of my committee. I appreciate funding from the Florida Education Fund, McKnight Doctoral Fellowship Program, the University of Florida AC-SBE Scholar (Atlantic Coast Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences), the Anthropology Department John M. Goggin Memorial Scholarship, and the UF/SFCC (University of Florida/Santa Fe Community College) Minority Professional Development Fellowship. To my dear Arizona museum friends Dona Dorsey and Chuck Harrison, thanks for telling me how important the research is. Your encouragement reinforced my desire to finish what I started. To my son and daughter-in-law, Paul III and Dierdre King, I want to thank you for all the love and support you have given throughout this doctoral process. I also want to thank my daughter Shari Jackson and my sister, Olive Mackey for all that you have done for me. Special thanks goes to my grandchildren; Paul IV, Lauren, DJ, DeShun, Xavier, and Anaya. May God bless all of you. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................11 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................15 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 1 THE EVOLVING ROLE .......................................................................................................19 Introduction.............................................................................................................................19 Identity....................................................................................................................................19 Black Identity ..................................................................................................................23 Identity, Culture, and Museums ......................................................................................25 Kwanzaa, Afrocentricity, Black Identity (Karenga, Asante) ..........................................26 Kwanzaa ..........................................................................................................................26 Museums.................................................................................................................................27 Museums and the Dominant Culture...............................................................................27 Museums in Historical Perspective .................................................................................28 Mainstream Museums and Anthropology .......................................................................31 Ethnic Museum Development .........................................................................................32 Black Museums Historically ...........................................................................................34 The Black Museum Movement .......................................................................................35 Defining the Black Museum (1988)................................................................................36 Research..................................................................................................................................38 Preliminary Research.......................................................................................................38 Culture Keepers Florida Independent Research..............................................................39 Relevance of the Study ...........................................................................................................40 Outline of Study......................................................................................................................43 2 CULTURE ACCULTURATION AND MUSEUMS ............................................................46 Acculturation ..........................................................................................................................47 The Herskovitz Frazier Debate and African American Acculturation............................48 Contemporary African American Acculturation.............................................................49 Socialization ...........................................................................................................................50 Racial/Ethnic Socialization Themes................................................................................51 Measurements of Racial/Ethnic Socialization.................................................................52 Museums.................................................................................................................................53 Culture and Museums......................................................................................................54 Museums in Historical Perspective .................................................................................55 5 Self Determination, Ethnic Identity........................................................................................57 Self Determination Theory..............................................................................................60 Racial/Ethnic Identity Theories.......................................................................................61 Black Identity ..................................................................................................................62 Socialization and Racial Identity.....................................................................................64 African Identity ...............................................................................................................67 Afrocentricity ..................................................................................................................68 Defining African American (Black Culture)...................................................................73 Discussion...............................................................................................................................74 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................76 IRB Approval #2006-U-0043.................................................................................................76 Methods ..................................................................................................................................76 Participants and Recruitment...........................................................................................77 Sampling..........................................................................................................................78 Instruments ......................................................................................................................81 Florida Black Museums Survey (FBMS).................................................................81 African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS-33) ................................................82 Procedures .......................................................................................................................83 Case Studies.....................................................................................................................83 Discussion...............................................................................................................................85 4 FLORIDA’S BLACK MUSEUM WORLD...........................................................................87 Museum Data and Analysis....................................................................................................87 Gathering Methods ..........................................................................................................87 The Interview Questions..................................................................................................88 Sample Population...........................................................................................................89