Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Frances Goldman

Abstract

Social marginalization and isolation of target populations are growing areas of concern for policy administrators. African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (AA LGBT) individuals are not permitted full political, economic, or moral citizenship and thus are in society but not completely of it. Legislation such as North Carolina's House Bill 2 (HB2) has the potential to dissolve the social contract connecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at the microlevel. The emerging U.S. trend of moving societally from universal access in microlevel institutions toward more market-based strategies poses a formidable challenge for this target population. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the impact of substantive public policy such as HB2 on the lived experiences of AA LGBT community members at the microlevel in North Carolina in order to provide positive social change via public policy and administration. The theoretical basis for this study was Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory with emphasis placed on the impact of HB2 at the microlevel. Data were gathered from 10 telephone interviews with members of the AA LGBT community who were 18-30 years of age. Data from the study were deductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Findings indicate that substantive policy has a considerable impact on minority target populations. Consequently, this study will assist in raising awareness amongst policymakers regarding the lived experiences of racial and sexual minorities because of public policy and contribute to the overall understanding of the spillover effects of substantive law regarding the lived experiences of minority target populations.

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