Cross-cultural dynamics among White-led nonprofit organizations in South Phoenix communities of color

McGee, Dwain Jeffrey (2018) Cross-cultural dynamics among White-led nonprofit organizations in South Phoenix communities of color. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text McGee_nau_0391E_11533.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (707kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

White administrators of nonprofit organizations are tasked with the challenge of making the right decisions when their nonprofit seeks to work in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. They utilize their personal worldviews and instincts to carry out the mission of their organization. The problem is that White administrators use their own cultural beliefs as their guide, which typically is counterintuitive to the cultural beliefs of Black and Brown people in the neighborhoods they wish to serve. This disparity raises issues, barriers, and sometimes conflict between both groups, which further divides efforts of collaboration. This study investigates the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes that exist and arise between administrators in a Whiteled nonprofit organization and residents in Communities of Color as they negotiate issues of trust, decision-making, and transformative practices through the context of a nonprofit agency’s mission and the neighborhood. By using portraiture, the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes were examined utilizing the factors whereby groups engaged in relationship-building efforts. Employing one-to-one interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents allowed the researcher to answer the research questions through the portraits. These questions were centered on the understanding of the roles that White administrators and Black and Brown residents carry out in collaborative process efforts. Based on their understanding of these roles, the research sought to find a collaborative process that works. The findings revealed through the data that the Black and Brown residents and White-led administrators in nonprofits can achieve true collaborative practices through a more democratic approach. By understanding Black and Brown residents’ Community Cultural Wealth, both groups can engage in this democratic approach which benefits the mission of the nonprofit and empowers the Black and Brown residents.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership College of Social and Behavioral Science > Sustainable Communities
Date Deposited:	10 May 2021 20:15
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5457

Actions (login required)

IR Staff Record View

Downloads