Are African-American Male Undergraduate Retention Programs Successful? An Evaluation of an Undergraduate African-American Male Retention Program

Fostering sense of belonging : a multi-case study of black male retention initiatives.

“…Black male collegians face societal, academic, and cultural dilemmas atypical of other college students that threaten their success (Brooks, Jones, & Burt, 2013;Smith, Allen & Danley, 2007;Strayhorn, 2008); some of the challenges include: underrepresentation (Davis, 1994;Palmer et al, 2014;Strayhorn, 2010); feelings of isolation (Cuyjet, 2006;Harper, 2013); stereotype threat (Fries-Britt & Turner, 2001); and gendered racism and hypersurveillance (Smith et al, 2011). These challenges are specific to historically White institutions (HWI; see Kim, 2002), which are colleges and universities that, upon inception, admitted only White students until laws and policies were established to allow enrollment of Black and other racially minoritized students.…”

“…Ellis, 2009). Based on the college experiences and inequities Black males face, Brooks et al (2013) argued for a complete overhaul of the approaches colleges and universities take in serving these students. Moreover, Harper (2009a) stated that institutional negligence is blame for some of the issues plaguing Black males.…”

“…In the same manner, several scholars have called for programs and initiatives that focus on increasing retention of Black male collegians, often known as Black male initiatives (BMI; Cuyjet, 2006;Barker & Avery, 2012;Brooks et al, 2013;Brooms et al, 2015;Harper, 2012;Harris, 1991;St. Léger, 2012).…”

“…Although a great deal of attention has been aimed at investigating the issues facing Black men in higher education, P-12, and society (Brooms et al, 2015;Brooks et al, 2013;Cuyjet, 1997Cuyjet, , 2006Harper 2009bHarper , 2010Harper , 2012Howard, 2013;Smith et al, 2007;Strayhorn, 2008), it is of utmost importance that research continue to explore ways in which these students are marginalized and faced with obstacles throughout their educational journey. Through these explorations, Black males, their experiences, and their perceptions can be better understood.…”

“…Attempts to improve the overall academic success and overall collegiate experiences of Black males have gained attention (Brooks et al, 2013;Harper & Kuykendall, 2012) and increased tremendously over the past 15 years (Brooms, 2016). Programs and initiatives tailored specifically for Black males are a vital part of enhancing the educational experiences of these students (Ellis, 2009;St.…”