Òṣun Consciousness: Unearthing Anti-Black Biases in the Homeless System Soul as reflected in the Sacred Histories of the African American Experience

Abstract

This qualitative research ceremony inquired into the meaning of the phenomenon of Black people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. It was performed within an Afro-feminine indigenous approach integrating principles from the Yoruba-Ifá spiritual cosmology. Within this framework, the phenomenon of Black people experiencing homelessness was privileged as the subject of the research inquiry, pivoting the research gaze away from it as object and toward an assessment of the homeless service delivery system itself through engagement by Black and non-Black homeless service providers. Several methods were created and modified to support the data collection, analysis, and interpretation processes. These included a critical arts-based inquiry applying genres from the Black literary arts Tradition; a multi-method research divination process that utilized motif coding with participant observation techniques; and the creation of Òṣun Consciousness as an interpretive research tool. Through the application of these methods, a descriptive statement emerged providing an ontological narrative yielding new insight into the meaning of homelessness as experienced by Black people in Los Angeles.