University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1976 A comparative analysis of the Black woman as transmitter of Black values : based on case studies of families in Ghana and among Jamaicans and Afro- Americans in Hartford, Connecticut. Lillian Anthony-Welch University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Anthony-Welch, Lillian, "A comparative analysis of the Black woman as transmitter of Black values : based on case studies of families in Ghana and among Jamaicans and Afro-Americans in Hartford, Connecticut." (1976). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3028. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3028 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BLACK WOMAN AS TRANSMITTER OF BLACK VALUES, BASED ON CASE STUDIES OF FAMILIES IN GHANA AND AMONG JAMAICANS AND AFRO-AMERICANS IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT A Dissertation Presented By Lillian Anthony-Welch Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Subject Area: Administration-Leadership-Human Relations August 1976 (c) Lillian Anthony-Welch All Rights Reserved 1976 A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BLACK WOMAN AS TRANSMITTER OF BLACK VALUES, •BASED ON CASE STUDIES OF FAMILIES IN GHANA AND AMONG JAMAICANS AND AFRO-AMERICANS IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT A Dissertation by Lillian Anthony-Welch Acting Dean School of Education August 1976 , THIS DISSERTATION IS DEDICATED TO MY MOTHER, ADELE ANTHONY PHILLIPS, who transmitted rich cultural values, TO MY HUSBAND, DESMOND SAMSON WALTER WELCH, for his lasting African and South American heritage that is strong and vibrant and powerful TO MY FAMILY, immediate and extended for the continuation ol our cultural heritage. iv A<’|- nowi.I'.dcmknt!: haa hlpaapd tun Ood With mi I abundance of r| enilft I I , m paguea mid fWmiilrtlPH Iipvp Who opened doora, given enconragpiftetl l mi, I Imit I III) alrength when hml atvength, So many that i cannot unnir linn, hut l l*p v know who I li*=»v me, «n<1 know I hat I am grateful in nil Hip ll.ll.S. To I Iip of lot ,, Unlveialty hip i Mlnneaota atTni'dlng Hip nppm t tin 1 1 y i p l i'll I I I I I at ill p I pc tta V with learhlng aludeula, ami hn I Iip ipcelpl nt iwn leapairh giant a, My gratitude lo extended to I hoae aerlnua arholaia Ml I Iip Inat 1 t ill P ill I Iip III ark World wlm Initialed me In I Iip woild ,d Brim I « i ah I j* with adlltonl Ilona in Iip aleadraal, lo Iip mnin i han eumppleul, and win ian coinage ami arholaiahlp l at tempt piI to PimilatPi hia. tllpilliig Mill i Irk !! I nidi py, Vincent Harding, he tone Mennell, and Ml land. To Ohlke II I «*i Oniwaorhl wlm Iiiipw nl l Iip reaearch and mmln poaaihle iiip In go In I Iip OoiiI pi piu p oil Npgrltudp. To Wlldn StPphpnann, Kdna .lohna, and Angle Wnml helonga m aperlal typed pagea, and iipvpi category; i hey iranacilhed Inppa, critiqued and Cniilgmi medical hlaloilan and Ini iiip down In any way. To hi a. doonne ol nl Omaha wlm wpip Richard Thill Inlk Ini Ini al I Iip Unlveialty Nehraaka Hip I aae t tat I on editorially. will log i»» read I lie dial! ropy ol d whn tolerate anti Iovp hip phmi i Iv Hip I li lenda I am urk v to have part leulai Trlmhla Mpn|amln, I'roreaan. nl way l am} one N lend In 1 *•«' e» ' hp wmii with hip Hip aeroud time n* rnp 1 Mown t d University who v research in Pepease, Ghana, who worked with me and cared for me when the frustration seemed intolerable. A special acknowledgment to the community of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst: The Ford fellowship program; the first dissertation committee for their assistance and finally and profoundly to the ones who persevered with me through the final process of the research, to Dr. Thomas Hutchinson for his ability to provide me the skills to "operationalize” fuzzy concepts, a sound methodology, research design, and his insistance that I was to remember that I was writing a scholarly paper and it was to be without "flair", when I was resisting the rigors of scholarship; to Dr. Ernest Washington for his scrutiny and advisement, which made it possible to use the data more meaningfully; to Dr. Eugene Piedmont whose dedication to the welfare of students I shall forever be in debt, without having met him I have known his compassion and that awesome gift of being able to be flexible without giving up one’s principle; to Dr. Joyce Ladner Carrington for her constant assistance and encouragement, whose advice and direction was invaluable, I am indebted to her especially for being specific in stating how the dissertation could be "drastically reduced" making it possible to keep the essentials; therefore making it readable; to Dr. Norma Jean Anderson and who in the role of Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs encouraged faith made possible the total process, in spite of many obstacles; whose profound, my in me made this work possible, her questions were always gratitude. and constituents: Finally, to the three Black women, their families, Carmen Terreano and Mrs. Queen Mother Adwoa Deda in Pepease, Ghana, Mrs. vi Elizabeth Bunckley in Hartford, Connecticut, my heartfelt gratitude. This research would not have been possible if they had not been willing to trust me with parts of their life, allowing me to question them and to participate in their lives. This part of their lives are representative of the millions of Black people to whom I shall be eternally grateful for I know that it is because of their lives, that I live. vii ABSTRACT A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BLACK WOMAN AS TRANSMITTER OF BLACK VALUES, BASED ON CASE STUDIES OF FAMILIES IN GHANA AND AMONG JAMAICANS AND AFRO-AMERICANS IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (August 1976) Lillian Anthony-Welch B.S. - Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo. M.R.E. - Pittsburgh Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pa. C.A.G. S. - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Ed.D. - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Directed by: Dr. Thomas Hutchinson The purposes of this investigation were to define (1) some of the viable cultural values of African people (the term "African people" refers to people of African descent living in the United States, the Caribbean, and on the African Continent) by focusing on the African Woman as one of the prime transmitters of those values, and with the data generated from the investigation (2) develop a model for studying the African Woman and (3) to develop a methodology to explore the relationship between values and culture of the Black community and the Black American Schooling system. The primary question became, does the woman transmit viable cultural values? began with an The research procedures utilized in the study from a pilot study identification of 17 African cultural values gathered conducting field case studies in Pepease, Ghana. This was followed by were centered primarily for comparison analysis. The case studies and constituents in Pepease, around women: The Queen Mother, her family and constituents, and an African- Ghana, a Jamaican Mother, her family in Hartford, Connecticut. American mother, her family and constituents viii In gathering data from the case studies the researcher used interviews and participation observation to record the findings. Data collected from each of the case studies were compared with the African norms and standards. The research finding were organized so that each category and its component parts produced typologies which could be analyzed. The comparative analysis of the three case study indices presented evidence for identifying and defining Black cultural values. Based on the concordance of the typologies the following Black Cultural Values were identified and defined: 1 . Oral Tradition 13. Education: Formal and Informal 2. Women 14. Personal Relationships 3. Older people 15. Fluent Speech 4. Religion 16. Name 5. Nat ure 17. Drama 6. Harmony 18. Hands and Fingers 7. Cleverness 19. Marriage, Family, Children 8. Ceremonies and Rituals 20. Community 9. History and Oral Tradition 21. Wigs, Dying Hair 10. Creativity 22. Superstition 11. Strength and Endurance 23. Color (not from in African Case Study) 12. Hospitality and Strangers The data developed in this study support the primary research question in the following ways: (1) the research question was supported in the affirmative, with qualifications, based on the study being exploratory, (2) the findings showed differences in the manifestations of ix the cultural values, among the three case studies. The results of this research provided three theories: (1) Theory: the Black woman is a Prime Transmitter of viable cultural values, theory (2) that viable cultural values exist, (3) theory that these viable cultural values transmitted have an African origin. The results of this research also provided enough information for a model for studying the African woman and a methodology to explore the relationships between values and culture of the Black community and the American schooling system. Based on the analysis of the data, the following general summarized implications were drawn relative to the research findings: Recognizing that this is exploratory in scope, the first implication is that there is need for more definitive research, using larger cross cultural groups for intra-cultural comparisons.