photo courtesy Pexels
An article in UCONN Magazine profiled assistant professor in the Neag School of Education Dr. Erik Hines, who is faculty director of a new, innovative black male learning community at UCONN. Dr. Hines explained that the graduation rate for black males at UCONN was at 55 percent (nationally for black males it is 43 percent), compared to the average overall UCONN graduation rate of 83 percent.
In the interview, Dr. Hines said: “I live and breathe being an African-American man every day. Sometimes I do get those looks; I have been searched unlawfully; I have been questioned about my intellect. I stick with data and I look at the bigger picture: How do we as a community, how do I as a professor, a father, a teacher, a mentor, an African-American male, help other young men be successful, transcend some of these issues, and not get too bogged down?… All I think about now is solutions for improving the graduation rate for black males, recruitment of black males in STEM and career fields in which they are underrepresented, and how we help first-generation and other vulnerable populations be successful, too… Imagine an educational pipeline from pre-K all the way to graduate school. We are trying to make sure that we close all the leaks in the pipeline.”
When I arrived at UCONN in the late 1970s (albeit one of the graduate programs), we needed to develop systems of support to manage the nagging and ever present micro-aggressions in the classrooms. The article points out that today, out of the 18-19,000 students on the Storrs campus, between 450-500 are black males. Wow. I take my hat off to Dr. Hines and know that his work will not be in vain.
Like Dr. Hines I was born and reared in Florida, but I grew up during the waning years of Jim Crow. I have vivid memories of “separate-but-equal” water fountains and rest rooms. I have other memories of messages that suggested that black people were less suited to function well in society, so we should aim low, find a trade, and work to support other people – not even yourself.
I’ve spent all of my adult life trying to provide black boys and men of color the kind of supports I wish I had during my growing up years. I survived a rugged environment. An environment of poverty that was normalized; we did not recognize ourselves as poor. I grew up with my mother and father in the same house, my siblings were together, and my father awoke every morning and went to work at Southern Bell. Even so, the outlets for black men and women were limited.
I played sports growing up, which helped to guide my steps through junior high and high school. They did then, and continue still today to create natural and instinctual mentor/mentee relationships with coaches. My relationships with coaches and teachers inspired me to do better. It was also my love of my church and the learning that took place there. Church was one of the first places that provided leadership opportunities for black men. In short, one of the things I learned in church as well as in my community was the importance and requirement to give back. It was my responsibility to work for the improvement of Community; by doing so, I would have an opportunity to uplift humanity.
If one had access to a better life, it came via a Historical Black College (HBCU). One most poignant message there was that we must help ourselves and each other. I heard we must be prepared to function well in society, and black schools and universities would help us.
After graduate school at the UCONN School of Social Work, in addition to working for the state I started a program in Hartford called Always on Saturday. The aim was to develop skills of young black and Latino boys that would enable them to succeed by choice and not by chance. Over time, I have been directed by a legacy of giving from friends in a much broader community. I’ve developed friendships with people of many racial and ethnic groups and with those different from me in every way. Thus, I love being with open minded, god-loving people who realize they have glass houses too.
Dr. Hines seems to understand the barriers confronting black men at every age and stage of life in America. While America can be a beautiful place to live, it can also be harsh; and, so can UCONN.
It would be great if we did not have to parse life by race, gender, class, and at times by age. After all my years, I understand why it’s difficult for some Americans to understand why programs to help black boys and men (and others) are necessary. When people live most of their lives in a homogenized community, or in neighborhoods of privilege, the need for diversity, inclusion, and adding the kinds of supports that have been normalized to them can be viewed as an add-on for others. The thought that others are getting something extra can be at times insulting to those whose life experience had these supports built into everyday living.
But we must address the fact that the numbers for black men almost always seem to lag. We are not naturally slow, lame, or lazy. When and wherever we have been given the right tools, nurtured, and supported we thrive.
Thanks to current President of UCONN, Dr. Susan Herbst for hiring staff and giving a green light to support success and intellectual competitiveness at all levels and in every way.