Journal of - Southern University New Orleans

48Journal of Urban Education: Focus on Enrichmentand the African American community (Marable,1992). Consequently, the changing politicaland social context of African Americancommunities has transformed the relationshipbetween African American Studies andthese communities, and has changed the roleof African American Studies in the academicand non-academic lives of college-age students.Today, many students enrolling in AfricanAmerican Studies courses receive an abundanceof descriptive information about thehistory, culture, and contributions of Africansand African Americans, but fail to receive thepractical skills, strategies, and techniquesneeded to combat the problems that existwithin African American communities (Hare,2001). Consequently, many students comeaway from these classes without understandingthat one of the primary goals of AfricanAmerican Studies was to equip students withthe skills, strategies, and theories needed toeffectively combat the problems that existedin African American communities (Hare,2007). In order for African American Studiesto continue its long legacy of preparing scholarsto combat the problems existing in society,African American Studies’ faculty andadministrators must provide students withthe skills, knowledge, and commitment toaddress the problems that exist in AfricanAmerican communities (Stewart, 1996). Similarto the late 1960s and early 1970s, students,faculty, and administrators must work togetherto ensure that the initial goals of preparingstudents to combat the social, political,and economic issues that affect AfricanAmerican communities is constantly stressed.The purpose of this research paper was toinvestigate the attitudes and perceptions ofstudents enrolled in African American Studiescourses and the impact that thesecourses had on students’ lives inside and outsidethe classroom. This purpose was addressedwith the following research questions:Why do students enroll in African AmericanStudies courses?What impact do African American Studiescourses have on students’ lives outside theclassroom?REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThis first question was developed to ascertainwhat factors influence students’ decisions toenroll in African American Studies courses.This question expands Johnson’s (1984) workon the factors that influenced student enrollmentin African American Studies coursesand the impact these factors had on students’participation in the courses. Johnson’s findingsindicated that students’ interest in theAfrican American experience was the dominantfactor that influenced their enrollment inAfrican American Studies courses. This workbuilds upon these findings to show severaladditional factors that influenced studentenrollment in African American Studies. Thesecond research question, which investigatesthe impact of African American Studiescourses have on students’ lives outside theclassroom, was developed to provide a moredetailed understanding and analysis for theresearch of Baldwin (1985; 1987). Several ofBaldwin’s (1985; 1987; & 1990) research studieson the African Self-Consciousness Scale(ASC) found that students who enrolled inAfrican American Studies courses had higherASC scores than African American studentsnot enrolled in African American Studiescourses.African Self-Consciousness ScaleAfrican American Studies has generatedmany innovative and meticulous epistemological(Asante, 1987; 1989; 1990; and Karenga,1993) and methodological approaches(Kershaw, 1992) in examining the experiences