1. +
He is Me: The Persistence to
Graduation of the
African American Male
Scholarly Inquiry
Presenter: Michael Wood

2. +
It Starts Here
W.E.B. Du Bois, stated “We must
insist our leaders give our children
the fairness of a start which will
equip them with such an array of
facts and such an attitude toward
truth that they can have a real
chance to judge what the world is
and what its greater minds have
thought it might be”,
comprehensive reading gives
those greater minds the
opportunity for educational
success

3. +
Preparing the Underprepared
 What are the socioeconomic
barriers that African American
males face at the secondary
school level that does not allow
them to persist to graduation?
 What challenges do African
American Males face in regard to
retention and graduation from
postsecondary institutions?
 What role does the college or
university play in the facilitation of
degree completion for the African
American male?
 What must colleges and
universities do in order to increase
retention and graduation rates of
African American males?

4. +
The Challenge
“The African American male has
been described as an
„endangered species,‟ and the
successful African American male
is viewed as something of an
anomaly” (Wilson, 2000, p.176).
The images created of African
American males on our society
often confine them to
environments shaped by drugs,
crime, athletics, and academic
failure.

5. +
The System
African-American males are
disproportionately represented in
every aspect of the criminal
justice system, from being racially
profiled, stopped, arrested,
prosecuted, sentenced,
incarcerated, and placed on death
row (Weatherspoon, 2006).

6. +
The Result
Race: Black males continue to be
incarcerated at an extraordinary rate.
Black males make up 35.4 percent of
the jail and prison population — even
though they make up less than 10
percent of the overall U.S population.
Four percent of U.S. black males were
in jail or prison last year, compared to
1.7 percent of Hispanic males and .7
percent of white males. In other words,
black males were locked up at almost
six times the rate of their white
counterparts (Alexander, 2010) We
need less jails and more schools.

7. +
Education our Key
In an effort to enhance the
success of the African American
males many schools are turning
to and have implemented, tutorial
programs, leadership academies
and mentoring programs (Bailey,
2003). Each of these programs
are essential to the academic and
socioeconomic development.

8. +
Building Success through Literacy
Scholars have also focused on
several key indicators related to
the early literacy achievement gap
(Craig, 2003; Harris, 2003). Those
indicators include (a) the
language use of African American
children, (b) the literacy
experiences of African American
families, (c) the socioeconomic
background of students, and (d)
the methods of classroom
teachers.

9. +
Developing a New Mindset
Higher education has been
characterized as, one of the
greatest hopes for intellectual and
civic progress in this country. Yet
for African American males, it has
been part of the problem rather
than the solution (Boyer, 1997,
pg. 85)

10. +
Reviewing Past Success
Just as these gentlemen of color
before us, the best way to
improve economic opportunity
and to reduce inequity, is to
increase the educational
attainment and skills of its‟ people
(Bowen, Chingos, and
McPherson, 2009 p. 1).

11. +
Marching Towards Success
Fostering academic
achievement and promise
among African American Males
in public schools continues to be
a formidable task, (Bailey and
Bonner, 2006).

12. +
Challenging Ourselves
The Urban Prep mission is a direct
response to the urgent need to
reverse abysmal graduation and
college completion rates among
young men in urban centers,
particularly African-American
males. Urban Prep‟s tailored
curriculum is based on the
developmental stages and learning
styles of boys as well as the
unique challenges facing urban
youth the believe in 100%
Graduation rate among it‟s Senior
class (Urban Prep Academies,
2011).

13. +
Persistence
In 2007, 15% of African American
males had attained a college
degree, compared to 31% of
White males (American
Community Survey, 2001-2007).
How do we buck the trends that
face the African American male?
How does today‟s educational
institutions retain and graduate
African American males, which
will give him the tools for
leadership and success?

14. +
Staying Focused
Should society embrace, projects
like the Harlem Children‟s Zone,
as a means of assisting the
African American male student
throughout society. This ambitious
model combined community
investment and school investment
in such manner that has engaged
the community as stakeholders.

15. +
Secondary Success
According to Roach (2003), for a
real investment to be made from
society at large African American
males must be seen as a vital
asset to society and tied to the
growth of local economics and it
social order. “No people can move
forward when the majority of
those who should know better
have chosen to go backward”
(Woodson, p, 123).

16. +
Mentorship
Our students need and deserve
mentoring programs. The mentor
should play the role of:
1. Supervisor/teacher
2. Supervisor/guide
3. Supervisor/gatekeeper
4. Supervisor/consultant
(Sutton, 2006 p.,96)

17. +
Believing in Self
The African American Male must
develop himself through engaging
in:
• Study Groups
• Community Service
• Tutoring
• Mentorships
• Academic pursuits
• Faculty Involvement
• Family Involvement

18. +
Standing Together
For the African American male at
the collegiate level making a
connection with faculty members
is a critical component to their
overall success (Hughes, 2010).
The development of these
relationships encourages
academic success. We know that
students, faculty, and staff benefit
from engaging others with diverse
backgrounds (Hurtado, 1996;
Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-
Pederson, and Allen, 1999).

19. +
Developing Leadership
In order for students of color to
persist to graduation, the United
States educational system must
systematically change the huge
disparities in outcomes in regard
to graduation rates, related to
race/ethnicity and gender as well
as socioeconomic status (SES)
(Bowen, Chingos and McPherson,
2009 p., 224).

20. +
Summary
The African American Males persistence to graduation continues to be a socioeconomic and at
times a life long struggle to close the achievement gap. Their are several key questions yet to
be asked?
1. What are the key factors that will contribute to the success of the African American Male?
2. What are the obstacles to their success?
3. How will he overcome the obstacles?
4. What is and will be his greatest challenge, he will face in regard to persistence?
As educators we must ensure that each student share in the opportunity for success. This is a
shared learning experience that will enhance the African American males successes by
increasing his confidence and familiarity with education while uniting the school experience with
life experience by making it practical (Toldon, Fry-Brown and Sutton, 2009).