Initiatives for Black Males

Initiatives for Black Males

African American is a marginalized group in the U.S meaning that these people are left behind in many socio-economic operations. Education is among many areas of which the African Americans are unable to access because of the social and economic problems that they face. However, institutions in the U.S have realized the blacks are unable to access higher education. Black male Initiative is an example of an initiative created to help African American male youth who are willing to acquire higher education (Brooms, 2018). The focus of this paper is the BMI and how it has an impact on young black men.

Black male initiative (BMI) is a mentorship program that was developed to motivate and support the academic success of minority male students on campuses such as CSUN. BMI organization was created to address the growth of declining enrollment, academic underachievement, and academic disengagement for men of African American descent (Brooms, 2018). The program recognizes the struggles that male African Americans undergo that hinder their participation in high education. Research indicates that the population of African American men who are qualified for higher education but cannot attend because of social and economic problems as the lowest in statistics.

According to Black Male Initiative (2015), the specific goal for this program is to apply positive anti-deficit models and research-oriented intervention to develop a viable foundation for academic success and to enable the development of character to produce quality men who will contribute to the society at large. The program aim at allowing the black male to acquire an education that will help in building them into men of characters who can contribute positively to society. The specific goals for BMI include increasing the retention of minority students in college, increase the graduation rate for students, make graduate school/ professional program a viable reality for male students in CSU institutions and instill an overall commitment to achieving academic success.

AAI was begun in March 2005, when CSU convened civic education and business leaders in Los Angeles. Later a similar meeting was held in Oakland, and many more meetings followed. The meetings developed a strategy to educate and early preparation for college (The African American Initiative, 2018). These meetings motivated CSU  with its church partners to start the process of sharing resources to increase awareness about higher education and the process of preparing.

African American Initiative has since established different events in CSU. Such activities include the CSU super Sunday and Saturday. CSU Super Sunday, which is held in February, across California in more than 100 churches. CSU leaders use the pulp[it to encourage youth to enroll in schools to achieve higher education.  The leaders are helped by financial and admission experts to deliver tools that are necessary to prepare. CSU Super Saturday, which is a college affair that is meant to inspire preparation for students to attend college.

Benefits of the Black male Initiative

The BMI program has proved to be beneficial, especially for the minority groups, especially in California, because of the CSU institutions. The program provides black males with a learning opportunity. The underprivileged minority male students who are willing to attend college are given a chance to acquire higher education and graduate with diplomas and degrees (BMI, 2015).

The initiative has helped increase the retention rate for minority male students, especially in California. Research indicates that despite having a small number of minority male students joining college, a large group ends up dropping out of college, which means that only a few finish and graduate. The college drops out rate for the minority male students is high because of academic hardship and other challenges.

BMI instill an overall commitment to achieving academic success (BMI, 2015). The projects motivate the students to achieve more in academics. Besides enrollment, it is of great importance to the BMI to see the male students who benefit from the program achieve academic success. The program allows for the students’ followup, which is a commitment to the students. The program is a commitment that focuses on achieving the end goal, which is the academic success of the minority male.

The program help students in high school, and others prepare for college through the annual events. CSU Super Sunday and Super Saturday are events held by CSU to encourage the youth and those in middle and high school to prepare for college.  This program gives information on preparation, admission process, financial aid to those who are interested in joining college. It is estimated that in the last decade, over one million were reached by through the super Sunday events (AAI, 2018). The approach help students prepare for college by learning about college career paths and getting acquited with all necessary information.

Increasing the number of students graduation rate (BMI, 2015). Minority male students are known for having a small amount of graduating. Through the program, the number of students from minority groups has increased.  The number of black male students who have graduated through the program has risen,  increasing the number of graduate males in society.

The initiative provides enrolled students with an opportunity for professional development and leadership training. Students who enroll at CSU through the BMI get professional courses and acquire training that helps become better men (BMI, 2015). Male black students who get an opportunity to join CSU acquire professional skills that prepare young men for the corporate world. CSU engages male students in leadership training, making leaders for society.

BMI program can be termed as a blessing to those who it seeks to help. Some of the black males have big dreams of becoming people of substance in the community, but the dreams are crippled by challenges that hinder their education. BMI gives these young men from African American descent an opportunity to reach their dream by preparing them for college life from middle and high school and helping them enroll for college.