Award Date

5-1-2012

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Sociology

First Committee Member

Michael I. Borer

Second Committee Member

David R. Dickens

Third Committee Member

Shannon M. Monnat

Fourth Committee Member

Murray G. Millar

Number of Pages

244

Abstract

This study examines the resources employed by the predominantly African American residents of Historic West Las Vegas, Nevada, to protest a street closure in their community. Previous studies of collective social action in the black community have stressed the involvement and resources of the black church. Instead, the residents of this community relied on cultural, social, and economic resources that did not depend heavily on the church. In this ethnographic case study, I combined participant observation, ethnographic interviews, prolonged engagement, photographs, and document analysis. I argue that the resources a community employs in social action can be analyzed using my community resources model (CRM). The CRM examines three factors: 1). the specific community; 2). the socio-historical context of the community; and 3). how the community identifies itself and how it is identified by the larger society. In doing so, I explain how this community was able to succeed in their protest action without a dependent reliance on the black church.

Keywords

African Americans; Church and social problems; City Planning; Ethnic neighborhoods; Neighborhood planning; Nevada – West Las Vegas; Political participation; Racism; Resource Mobilization; Social Action

Disciplines

African American Studies | Sociology

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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