Re-Collecting the Past: An Examination of Rural Historically African American Settlements across the San Joaquin Valley
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to examine three primary research threads: to reclaim an invisible or lost history, to explore reasons why that history remains invisible or lost, and to examine the processes whereby individual and collective memories are remembered, forgotten, recollected, or discarded in the process of understanding the past, the present, and the future. Towards that end, this dissertation examines the past and present in relation to almost two dozen rural historically African American settlements throughout the San Joaquin Valley. In addition to capturing a lost and forgotten history, contemporary issues, including water and poverty, are addressed. As this dissertation captures much of this invisible history, it also looks at the impact of that history, the impact of reclaiming that history, and how an historical absence or presence impacts individual and collective identity. After an extensive literature review of theory relating to practice, habitus, power, and identity, several chapters are dedicated to laying out the lost history of these communities. These chapters are followed by chapters that examine the contemporary lives of the people who continue to live in these communities. This blend of historical and ethnographic research provides a picture of the past, the present, and (in some cases) a vision for the future.