Black Male Initiatives On College Campuses Essay

More than 2,000 qualified young adults apply to participate in the annual Naval Academy Summer Seminar but only 850 of said applicants are selected to participate in each of the sessions. Knowing that the summer seminar deals with STEM and the Navy, I quickly applied myself so I can be one of those 850 selected young adults and participate in a science, technology, engineering, and math-loving atmosphere. I am interested in attending the Naval Academy Summer Stem program because I live and breathe science and engineering. I want to continue my path to higher education through the Naval Academy one day.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are experiencing low retention rates with first generation college students. The students are not graduating within a four to six year enrollment period, and or are not returning after their freshmen year. As the American workforce looks to colleges and universities to fulfill the workforce pipeline with educated diverse workers, HBCUs are in the spotlight to produce qualified minority graduates. Moreover, HBCU’s are looking to refine their methods of inclusion and buy-in, this will in-turn manifest a higher level of retention amongst first generation college students.

“The Black Studies Program: Strategy and Structure” was published Fall of 1972 in The Jounal of Negro Education. It’s contents are a relection on the years before when colleges and universitys were allowing African Americans to attend , but did not provide curriculum about or for African Americans.

The first main point the authors’ introduce is to recognize black males’ lived experiences. Black males have an experience unique to just them. Black men’s experiences of racism impact their education. They even face consequences for pursuing education. Those consequences could be social, educational, and economic. To understand these key issues, you must first look at the past. Black men have always had to overcome great obstacles. Low literacy, limited employment, high incarceration rates, have predisposed many black men to never being able to escape poverty. Further, being impoverished means a less chance that these men will go into higher education. Higher education is so expensive these days, and the underfunding of financial aid and other

Another major predicament that plays a large role in the amount of African Americans that do not receive a higher education is once they get to college, they do not have a typical or enjoyable experience once there. In today’s society, it is hard to imagine that there is still racism and segregation in schools and colleges today but the reality is, it still does very much exist. This is especially true when black students attend predominantly white universities. Even though most colleges promote themselves by talking about how diverse their

In 2010, Black females “earned twice the number of baccalaureate degrees than Black males (66% vs 34%). Also, 70% of Black men do not complete a college degree within six years,” according to “Deficient or Resilient: A Critical Review of Black Male Academic Success and Persistence in Higher Education.” Black males are usually a product of their environment which translates into their performance in college. Most of them will have friends and family who may discourage them and even encourage them to participate in illegal activities. Black males are not only prideful but they also put on a façade to the world that hinders their success. According to the same article, factors that contribute to a Black males success in college include “the ability to…becom[e] engaged on campus through leadership opportunities, the development of meaningful relationships with peers and mentors, and receiving ample familial and spiritual support.” In spite of the fact that, Black male students are often more successful at an HBCU because they feel more valued, they still have no chance to catch up with their female peers. They do not have the ambition and persistence to work hard particularly through the challenges that they face daily. They let their past failures, and their present obstacles define their future. Black males take the easy route and sell illegal drugs, commit robbery, gamble, rape and degrade women, and forget about the importance of their education, for a temporary relief. According to the article that is previously stated, “Black male attainment at HBCUs has declined by 6% in a single decade, and is currently hovering at 29%, in contrast with the 57% graduate rate of female counterparts.” In this article there is a study taken of 44 Black Males in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs at HBCUs. This

The research topic I plan to focus on involves studying the experiences of African American males who have formed mentoring relationships as undergraduates, particularly when the mentor is a Black male and the relationship takes place at Clemson or other PWIs in the south. In my opinion, these relationships can have a profound impact on a student’s ability to persist towards graduating from college. Though my research, I want to hear the experiences of Black males who have benefited from successful mentoring relationships with other Black men. As a mentor, I believe that establishing a strong mentoring relationship with Black males at a young age can greatly improve their chance of academic success. Furthermore, I believe that mentoring is a strong early intervention mechanism to prevent Black males from dropping out of high school and deterring them from pursuing degrees in higher education. At the same time, I would like my research interest to focus on African American males in the south, but I would like my scope to focus on mentoring relationships between black men; both structured and unstructured.

Over the years there has been a significant decrease in the percentage of African American male success in higher education. Not only does this effect society as a whole, but more importantly this effects the African- American community as well. The high percentage of uneducated African- American males will result in increased crime rate, shortened life span and overall hard life. However this epidemic can be stopped by looking at the contributing factors of why there is a decrease in African-American male success in higher education and how to change it. Throughout the paper I will be addressing the issues as to why there are not more black men in higher education, by looking at the contributing factors such as environmental

The U.S. Department of Education’s Digest of Education Statistics (2010) compiles data on educational trends and statistics in the United States. According to the digest, in 2009 African Americans earned about 10 percent of all bachelor degrees awarded. Furthermore, about 20 percent of African Americans currently hold a college degree. When compared to the same rates for the white non-hispanic population, African Americans are largely lagging behind. The challenges that African Americans are facing must be met by post secondary institutions if this group is going to continue on the path of economic and career prosperity. This need is discussed in the report Minorities in Higher Education:

Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).

The article that I will be examines is “Booty call sex, violence, and images of black masculinity” by Patricia Hill Collins. The author has examined the black experience and how the media misrepresents black men; these effects are still felt in the present. Collins was using different forms of media such as sport, film, and historic events. To help the readers to learn where hyper sexuality, violet, and criminal stereotypes of black male come from.

There have been many stories about discrimination. It has affected people of color. Those stories explained how bad it can be for outsiders. Stories like that have had a big impact on society. Two stories that are an example of that are “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples and “The F Word” by Firoozeh Dumas. The stories, “Black Men and Public Space” and “The F Word” are similar because both characters were discriminated against themselves, were not the only ones harassed, and each went through a tough moment.

Throughout my time at Penn, I have been part of the student-run organization Penn Education Society as well as worked on site at Huey elementary school. Given our responsibilities as research assistants will entail proofreading and coding interviews mainly, my previous experience with these two organizations may allow me to provide unique insights that others may not. Additionally, while I don’t have any official research experience, I have worked with a team on analyzing survey results from universities throughout the country. Although I didn’t know it at the time, we effectively coded the open-ended responses we had received.

While many of my peers stressed and sighed over having to complete this assignment, I looked forward to it. During this activity, I was able to experience first hand how diverse our campus is, I was able to tour the college, and most importantly, this activity required me to step out of my comfort zone and further strengthen my ability to interact with others. I took advantage of the resources available and participated in all of the workshops, events, and presentations I had the opportunity to. In brief, all events I attended were beneficial, yet by far, my favorite, and the most memorable, was Cookies and Current Events. Attending this event allowed me to have a better look at what is happening in the world around me. It allowed me to see different issues and events, issues many, including myself, due to busy lifestyle and hectic schedule, didn’t even realize are occurring. Completing my G.P.S requirement enabled me to become a more diverse person, it was influential to the utmost extent. I truly enjoyed attending the events and being able to experience everything Florida SouthWestern State College has to

To inform the class about the degree programs the Lehigh Valley campus has to offer.