Graduate Studies
First Advisor
Patrick Jones
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Committee Members
Jeannette Jones, Kwakiutl Dreher, Laura Muñoz, William Thomas III
Department
History
Date of this Version
8-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Citation
A dissertation presented to the Graduate College of the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Major: History
Under the supervision of Patrick Jones
Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2025
Abstract
This dissertation examines the purposes and roles of Black media in Omaha during the post–Civil Rights Era. It asks how African Americans and their allies in Omaha developed innovative media forms, institutions, and communication strategies to amplify Black voices, build community, and advocate for Black interests amid the rapidly shifting political and social landscape of the time. The study focuses first on three traditional forms of media (newspapers, radio, and television) and then broadens the definition of media to include key Black cultural institutions. These include a dramatic arts collective, a historical museum and archive, a memorial foundation, and an Afrocentric bookstore. These institutions served not only as sites of cultural preservation but also mirrored the roles of traditional media, as platforms for activism, education, and community-building.
This dissertation also offers a nuanced view of how the civil rights and Black Power movements overlapped and diverged at the local level; often coexisting within the same community and sometimes even within the same institutions, yet pursuing distinct strategies in the broader struggle for justice and equality. Together, these efforts formed a complex network of institutions, leaders, and activists. Each form of media engaged with different, often overlapping, spheres of social and political life, aiming to establish a stable ground where Black voices could be heard and valued. Finally, the dissertation critically examines the limitations of these media forms and institutions, particularly their restricted reach and ongoing financial struggles. It highlights how operating within a capitalist system often constrained their ability to grow and sustain themselves, revealing the structural challenges faced by community-based media and cultural efforts.
Advisor: Patrick Jones
Recommended Citation
Galeazzi-Kelly, Elodie C., "Dreaming, Building, and Enduring Black Voices: Black Media in Omaha in the Post-Civil Rights Era" (2025). Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–. 352.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissunl/352
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Radio Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Television Commons, United States History Commons
Comments
Copyright 2025, Elodie C. Galeazzi-Kelly. Used by permission