» Office of Academic Affairs » Current Initiatives » Black Male Initiative » History & Purpose

History and Purpose

---

In May of 2004, the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York unanimously approved its Master Plan 2004-2008. This comprehensive planning document included for the first time in the University's history a "Chancellor's Initiative on the Black Male in Education" which stated, in particular:

"It is a well-established fact that institutions of higher education in the U.S. do not successfully recruit, retain and graduate young African-American and Caribbean men. Myriad statistics discuss the disproportionately low percentages and numbers of young black men within higher education, public higher education and even at CUNY. Over the next four years, Chancellor Matthew Goldstein will oversee the development and implementation of a new University-wide program aimed at implementing some of the most effective practices in this area."

In the fall of 2004, Chancellor Goldstein established a University Task Force on the Black Male Initiative. He asked Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Selma Botman to identify faculty members and administrators with relevant knowledge and expertise to serve on the Task Force and charged it with developing recommendations that would include a series of action-oriented projects to help black males overcome the inequalities that lead to poor academic performance in the K-12 system, the attendant weak enrollment, retention, and graduation from institutions of higher education, and high rates of joblessness and incarceration.

During its six months of deliberations, the Task Force was presented with convincing evidence that black males in New York City and beyond face patterns of ongoing and distinctive discrimination in many aspects of their lives, most evidently in education, in treatment by the criminal justice system, and in employment. The discrimination they face has profound consequences for their well-being and security, and is manifested in unacceptably high rates of leaving school before high school graduation and imprisonment and unacceptably low rates of postsecondary degree completion and stable participation in the work force. These grim realities have adverse impacts on family members and communities.

In its final report to the Chancellor, the Task Force proposed nine major recommendations, including:

1. Provide strong University leadership on the challenges facing black youth and men;
2. Strengthen the school-to-college pipeline to enable many more black male students to move into higher education;
3. Increase admission and graduation rates at CUNY colleges;
4. Improve teacher education to prepare professionals for urban education;
5. Improve employment prospects for black males;
6. Contribute to the reduction of the incarceration rate for black men;
7. Establish an Institute for the Achievement of Educational and Social Equity for Black Males;
8. Involve experts in the implementation of the recommendations; and
9. Establish benchmarks and hold Colleges accountable for implementing these recommendations.

With the help of two grants from the New York City Council, the University has begun to implement some of these recommendations. Through the initial grant, 11 campuses were funded to provide demonstration projects designed to improve the enrollment and/or graduation rates of students from underrepresented groups, particularly black males. Funding was also allocated to increase opportunities for individuals without a high school diploma to enroll in GED courses oriented towards college preparation; to provide support for formerly incarcerated individuals to enroll in college; and to survey workforce development opportunities in New York City's construction industry. The second grant was used to support the continuation of most of the initial projects; to extend the initiative to all 17 colleges and to the Graduate Center; to expand a research project begun at John Jay College of Criminal Justice to other CUNY colleges; and to implement a community health survey at the Hunter School of Social Work. Though targeted towards black males, these projects do not discriminate based on race or gender and will serve as models for improving educational outcomes of all students. All programs and activities of the Black Male Initiative are open to all academically eligible students, faculty and staff, without regard to race, gender, national origin or other characteristic.

Funding was also allocated to support a major conference, "Black Male Youth: Creating a Culture for Educational Success," that was held in April 2006 and featured the renowned historian Dr. John Hope Franklin as keynote speaker; to launch a Distinguished Speakers Series that in October 2006 featured Dr. Shaun R. Harper, a researcher at the Pennsylvania State University who shared his research on black male collegians and success; and to conduct an on-line survey to identify black male initiatives at other colleges and universities around the country. Finally, funds are being used to help establish an Institute that will ensure that the University's intellectual and organizational resources are marshaled to address the issues raised by the Task Force and will position the University as a clearinghouse for information and research in this area.

For information about the Black Male Initiative, please contact Elliott Dawes, Director of the CUNY Black Male Initiative, at 212 794-5651, or Elliott.Dawes@mail.cuny.edu.