Connecting with my Brothers: exploring Black men’s community, bonding and identities in college

ABSTRACT

The current study relies on in-depth interviews with 65 Black males to explore their experiences in a Black Male Initiative (BMI) program at three different higher education institutions in the US. In discussing their narratives, the students articulate the qualitative contributions that BMI had on their sense of self and connectedness on campus. In particular, BMI helped the men formulate a micro-community, which was centered on their shared experiences and cultural familiarity and provided opportunities for them to learn more about themselves. The research findings detail the men’s bonding experiences, including ways their identities matter in how they relate to one another, connect and engage with other Black men, and learn about their race and gender identities. These findings challenge deficit projections of Black male students as underachieving and uncaring about their education (and future) and highlight some benefits they attribute to and accrue from being in community.

KEYWORDS:

• Black males
• higher education
• BlackCrit theory
• student engagement
• identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this study, I use ‘Black’ as a racial designation intended to denote individuals who identify as having African descent (e.g., African-Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, African American). As it relates to the discussion of students in the study, all of the students identified as U.S.-born Black or African American, based on racial classification and categorization in the United States.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Derrick R. Brooms

Derrick R. Brooms is faculty in Sociology and Africana Studies at the University of Cincinnati and serves as a youth worker as well. His research primarily focuses on Black boys and men's lived experiences, identities and representation as well as their pathways to and through college.