Abstract
This multisite qualitative study explored the narratives of Black male college students’ engagement experiences in a Black Male Initiative (BMI) program across three different campuses. To better understand the students’ narratives and experiences, sense of belonging was employed as a theoretical frame to investigate how the participants made meaning from their engagement. The findings suggest that the BMI program provided students with a unique cultural community that enhanced how they felt valued and their persistence in college. In particular, students identified bonding with their Black male peers and learning from Black men connected to the program as central components of the BMI community. That deepened their sense of self and deepened their sense of mattering.
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Notes
I use the terms Black and African American interchangeably to denote those persons who identify with having African descent. Additionally, in concert with critical race scholars, I capitalize Black(s) and Students of Color to reposition individuals and groups who often are minoritized within dominant culture. I capitalize these terms in order to speak to the continuous and ongoing racial marginalizing they experience within society (and across social institutions) and as a way to affirm their experiences, voices, and humanity.
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Brooms, D.R. Not in This Alone: Black Men’s Bonding, Learning, and Sense of Belonging in Black Male Initiative Programs. Urban Rev 51, 748–767 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-019-00506-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-019-00506-5