What do young black males say about what stands in the way of their academic success? Rather than rely on scholarly researchers to answer this question, we talked with a number of black males between ages 13 and 22 in Washington D.C., and Milwaukee, Wis., to learn what they had to say. We did not approach this as a rigorous academic study but as a series of conversations to learn more about the perspective of this important group of learners.
As you鈥檒l hear, these young men rarely talked about schools or teachers as the cause of the gap. Rather, they attributed it to cultural, family, and community factors.
All of these young men want and understand the importance of a good education. They also talk about the importance of cohesive families, attentive parents, and positive male role models, as well as the dangers of the rap culture, poverty, and low expectations.
These interviews didn鈥檛 reveal anything that most people who work with black males in urban areas don鈥檛 already know. But they do reveal that the young men interviewed are clear that the challenge of educating black males is much bigger than the schoolhouse.
Khalil, 13, (above) is an 8th grader in Washington, D.C. He lives with both parents and three brothers.
鈥淲hen your parents are not doing good at home, sometimes that person will drop out of school to help their parents and go to the streets to make more money to have a roof on top of your head.
鈥淚f I don鈥檛 get a good education, my future would be like working at McDonald鈥檚 or working on the streets.鈥�
Jovante, 21, (not pictured) dropped out of high school at age 16 and is currently and chronically unemployed. He lives with his mother and one sister in Milwaukee.
When he entered high school, he lost his focus. Jovante knew that in the long run, his future would be better if he stayed in school, but 鈥渢he wait is hard.鈥� 鈥淲hat you see is what you want,鈥� and shoes and clothes became more important to him than high school. He did not want to depend on his mom to get what he wanted because he had watched her struggle and did not want to be the cause of her struggle.
鈥淚f I could have been graded on my conversations and understanding, I would have been an excellent student.鈥�
Prince, 13, (right) is an 8th grader in Washington, D.C. He lives with his mother, stepdad, and younger sister.
鈥淭he rap culture鈥� teaches young black males to live a life on the street and not worry about education. Without an education, 鈥淚 will be in the street asking for money.鈥�
Black males aren鈥檛 successful because of 鈥渄rugs and stuff. Their parents aren鈥檛 doing right. They see their parents and friends smoking and cursing. They do the same thing. They want to be just like their friends.鈥�
Prince also said a good family life and home environment are important for success in school, but a lot of young boys don鈥檛 have that 鈥渂ecause their parents weren鈥檛 there for them. If you don鈥檛 learn something when you鈥檙e young, when you grow up, it might be hard to change.鈥�
Devonte, 19, (not pictured) is a sophomore studying electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He grew up in Milwaukee and lived with both parents and one sister.
Black boys lack enough positive male role models, often having only 鈥渢he drug rats on the street.鈥�
Children need someone to ensure that they do homework or do the right thing at school. 鈥淭eachers do everything they can but they need parent involvement.鈥�
D鈥橝ngelo, 15, (not pictured) is a high school freshman in Washington, D.C. He lives with both parents, occasionally with a grandmother.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 take stuff seriously because we want to smoke, do alcohol, and steal (instead of spending time studying). If I don鈥檛 get my education, my future looks messed up, ugly, and poor.鈥�
Dominique, 13, (not pictured) is an 8th grader in Washington, D.C. He lives with his mother in transitional housing.
Without an education, Dominique said he 鈥渕ay become a drug dealer.鈥�
Black males aren鈥檛 successful 鈥渂ecause we don鈥檛 try our hardest, we fall into our environment. If we had more leaders and less followers, we would be on top.鈥�
Parents are the biggest factor in black males鈥� success because it means 鈥渢hey will be in a good environment and off the streets. If a parent had a bad childhood, then it鈥檚 passed down generations. Their parent might not be there for them, and they鈥檒l have no one to express their feelings to, and they鈥檒l get in fights.鈥�
Damon, 13, (right) is an 8th grader in Washington, D.C. He lives with his mother, grandfather, two sisters, and a brother.
Boys drop out of school because they鈥檙e 鈥渇ollowing what they see,鈥� and they do not see black males who are traditionally successful.
Black males also drop out of school 鈥渂ecause they want to be like what they see, what their surroundings are. All they think about is money鈥攍ike selling drugs and getting money. They try and make money the wrong way.鈥�
The biggest factor in determining what will make black males successful academically is 鈥渨ho they hang out with. If the people they hang out with are bad and do wrong things, I think they鈥檒l try to be like their friends, and they鈥檒l start being off task in school. They can still be good in school, but do bad stuff outside of school, and that makes them stop doing good in school.鈥�
Rasean, 13, (not pictured) is an 8th grader in Washington, D.C. He lives with his grandmother, grandfather, aunt, two sisters, one brother, three cousins, and his stepsister.
Boys drop out because 鈥渢hey think they can鈥檛 make it. They think they won鈥檛 amount to anything because they think whites are going to be higher than blacks.鈥� In his neighborhood, most of 鈥渢he guys around here, they went to jail,鈥� or 鈥渢hey drop out of school, for drugs and everything. They don鈥檛 really care.鈥�
鈥淲e think because we are from the 鈥榟ood鈥� we don鈥檛 have a chance to do something with ourselves.鈥�
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 got nobody to support them at home. They need a role model.鈥� Rasean also said it鈥檚 hard for black males to find success 鈥渂ecause they feel like the providers of the family. They have to protect their family.鈥�
鈥淲hen it all comes down to it, if I want to be in the streets, it鈥檚 me. If I want to get an education and be successful, it鈥檚 me.鈥� Without an education, Rasean said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 over, being out there on the streets. You鈥檒l go to jail or the grave.鈥� Despite that, black males 鈥渃an make a choice to be on the corner selling dope, or we can be in class, doing what we have to do, learning something.鈥�
Mikael, 20, (not pictured) is a sophomore majoring in international business at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He grew up in Milwaukee where he lived with his mother and one sister.
鈥淲e (black males) have been brainwashed and socialized to believe that the darker your skin is, the less capable you are.鈥� Black boys have experienced a progressive loss of hope.
Young black men are influenced negatively by rap music and its messages about the desirability of material things. 鈥淲hite kids listen to rap for entertainment; black kids are living it.鈥� That leads to many bad choices that interfere with educational success.
During our conversation, Mikael referred to 鈥淎 Salute to Gang Bangers,鈥� an open letter circulating on the Internet and allegedly penned by white supremacists that expressed gratitude to blacks for 鈥渟laughtering鈥� each other and 鈥渄oing a wonderful job of eliminating the black race.鈥� Said Mikael, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to like it, but I have to agree.鈥�
School success 鈥渟tarts at home. We don鈥檛 even need better parenting, we just need adequate parenting.鈥� Many black kids don鈥檛 have a sense of belonging, and 鈥渢he streets accept anyone.鈥�
Deon, 21, (not pictured) is an unemployed high school graduate in Milwaukee. Abandoned by his mother at age 5, he grew up living with various family members.
Children are 鈥減roducts of their environment. These kids get their morals from the culture and the neighborhood. Life outside of schools is your main life, and you adapt to that. All you see is all you know.鈥�
Remembering to do homework or reading for schools is hard 鈥渨hen you are trying to figure out where you are going to lay your head on a pillow that night.鈥�
Teachers who went 鈥渁bove and beyond鈥� made school meaningful for him. He recalled one middle school teacher who let him stay at her house when he was kicked out of his own home.
鈥淪he didn鈥檛 have to do that,鈥� but her actions strengthened his connection to school.
Dimitric, 22, (not pictured) is a high school graduate who is currently a truck driver. He grew up in Milwaukee and lived with his mother, stepfather, and many siblings. He is the father of a two-year-old girl.
鈥淏lack parents give up on their kids and let them do whatever. White parents follow the kids and make sure they do stuff even out of school. Black moms be more into street life, taking care of themselves instead of their child. There is no dad; white people have real families.鈥�
