Effects Of Current And Historic Social Constructs On The Educational Experience Of African American Males

These claims have been well documented. However, the connection to the graduation gap may be clearer with an answer of how other factors such as financial and other family problems brought about by poverty affect them. The rest of the book provides possible solutions to questions of invisibility such as respecting and valuing black students. Another solution is removing remedial programs for challenging curricula and supports that are appropriate.

“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.

Less than 4% of the total student population enrolled in America’s colleges and universities (one of the smallest subgroups based on race/ethnicity and gender.) According to the Schott Foundation, the graduation rate of Black males in CT is between 51%, whereas White males in CT have an 83% graduation rate—a 32% gap. Moreover, the achievement gap between Black women and Black men is the lowest male-to female ratio among all racial/ethnic subgroups. (Strayhorn 1). The disproportionate and devastating failure of Black males in the educational system has further ramifications in our social system as black males are over-represented in the criminal justice system: “African-American males represent approximately 8.6 percent of the nation’s K-12 public school enrollment but make up about 60 percent of all incarcerated youth” (Smith 2005). In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the academic crisis of adolescent black males, one must examine the research findings surrounding the Black-White achievement gap, black male standardized test scores, black male literacy achievement, and the socio-cultural achievement barriers that obscure black males’ self-perception of themselves as readers. “According to many standardized assessments, educators in the U.S.

Although the constitution says that all men are created equal, an African American’s chance of surviving in the job market is almost half of a white person’s. In order to even up the playing ground we need as much education we can get. We won’t stand any chance

Black males within American society struggle to be successful because of challenges arising from racism and oppression, lack of effective educational leadership, and adverse racial stereotypes. Toby S. Jenkins’, “Mr. Nigger: The Challenges of Educating Black Males Within American Society”, Bell Hooks’, “We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity”, and Tyrone C. Howard’s “Who Really Cares? The Disenfranchisement of African American Males in PreK-12 Schools: A Critical Race Theory Perspective” provide insight to understanding the challenges Black males face within American society and especially the educational system.

African American education systems and colleges faced many issues systematically and socially. The process of integrating colleges was a process faced with opposition because the idea that higher education was made for strictly for white upper-class men was still the underlying ideal. While equal opportunity was promoted in the light, behind the scenes, systematically money, policy, procedure hindered black education and equal opportunity. Realizing this injustice, black students sought to find their own solutions to social justice issues happening not only within higher education but their communities while leading by example.

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

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

For generations African Americans have been disadvantaged in America and effects of these injustices have made a lasting impression. Education is one of the leading problems in the black community. Though there have many reforms in education over the years, racial injustices still exist because no attention in placed on how legislature affects people of color. I was raised in a middle-class family of educators. My entire life I’ve been told to “stay in school, get an education, and work hard so that you can beat the system.” Recognizing the structural forces in my life has helped me understand my place in society. Being able to “understand everyday life, not through personal circumstances but through the broader historical forces that

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).

For blacks, the history of higher education typically points to segregated education. Before the Civil War, the social system promoted the belief that blacks wouldn’t get return on their time spent in higher education. Brown and Ricard (2007) noted that most North institutions were reluctant to allow black enrollment in colleges and universities, and in the South, where slaveholder’s were still powerhouse businessmen, slaves would never be allowed to become more educated than their owners. The reluctance of the White leaders to allow blacks to formally be accepted into higher education programs held blacks back from achieving what many aspired to, and were fully capable of, experience.

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

In my first memo, I focused on the core elements of my research topic, African-American males in higher education. Since our last meeting, I have taken time to reflect on your suggestions, and think about how to revamp my research questions and purpose statement. Most important, I have taken time to do self-reflection.

It is now over a century and a half since President Abraham Lincoln took the courageous step of issuing the emancipation proclamation that essentially laid the foundation for the freeing of African-Americans from slavery. Since then, African-Americans have been engaged in a never-ending struggle to effectively appropriate this hard fought freedom. The election of Barack Obama into the highest office of the United States is perhaps a significant enough achievement that speaks volumes of just how far African-Americans have come. However, a closer look at Americas social, economic and political fabric reveals a grim truth – that close to two centuries after gaining their freedom, African-Americans are still discriminated based on their racial identity. Of course the amount and form of discrimination is quite different from the total oppression of the slavery years, but still, for many African-Americans, it appears as though very little has changed. From housing to education to employment, African-Americans face numerous challenges that further taint the sacred values contemplated by the founding fathers of America. This essay takes a critical view at racial discrimination in schools with respect to African-American students.

Education has often been used as a tool to facilitate power. Who has been provided with an opportunity to pursue an education is interesting to analyze. Historically, women and racial minority men were not provided with