Black Males in the education system have continually been a topic of interest and study. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, reports such as From Classrooms to Cell Blocks: A National Perspective by Tara-Jen Ambrosio and Vincent Schiraldi, show that there were more Black males in prison than in college. The media and the world of academia have birthed the notion that the commonplace for Black males is jail. However, progress has been made in the last 14 years.
Recently, scholars have sought more research and found that now there are more Black males in higher education than in prison. According to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, “The number of Black men in college is more than 1.4 million versus the 824,340 who were incarcerated.”
Many scholars of academia have put time into the research and retention of Black males to help them as they go through educational institutions. At UCLA, the Black Male Institute (BMI) conducts research, addresses the concerns of Black males in higher education, and creates a comfortable environment where they can both seen and heard. Donte Miller, third year Sociology major and BMI student, expressed what BMI means to him, “Home, a place to vent, laugh, and put in work all in one. BMI is a microcosm of being back at home, and we are just one big family.”
“Blacklimated” class held by the Black Male Institute at UCLA
There are 1.4 million Black males who are in college. Researchers have found that, “The raw numbers show that enrollment of Black males [in college] increased from 693,044 in 2001 to 1,445,194 in 2011.” As time progresses, the Black male student population continues to increase.
Implementing new changes has worked as there continues to be more Black males attending college every year, outnumbering the amount in jail. The state of Black males in education is not as detrimental as the media would lead people to believe. Instead, African American men are educating themselves and obtaining their degrees.
When asked what can be done to retain even more Black males in higher education Donte Miller says, “Outreach! There aren’t enough Black males going out or being sought out by people in higher education encouraging them to apply or letting them know they are capable. There also needs to be more culturally relevant education in which students are taught similar to what goes on in their lives as something they can relate to.” In order to encourage the path to higher education, it is intrinsic to outreach to Black males.