By Drs. Erik M. Hines, Donna Y. Ford, Edward C. Fletcher Jr, Renae D. Mayes & Tanya J. Middleton
Social media is neither honest about nor friendly toward Black males in P-12 and higher education. The hostility is blatant and polemic. Our work challenges these deficit-oriented narratives. We see the brilliance and potential in our Black males at all stages of their academic development, even before entering preschool and kindergarten. 
Dr. Erik M. Hines
First, let us recognize the brilliance that Black boys and men contribute to the innovation of the United States and abroad. One of our historical pioneers, Garret Morgan, created what is now known as the gas mask and the traffic light. More recently, Moziah “Mo” Bridges, a young entrepreneur, created a bowtie company. It is clear that Black males possess gifts and talents that have added value to improving the quality of life globally. Moreover, Hines, Fletcher, and Moore (in press) have noted, “Since the early 2000s, Black men and boys have garnered increasing attention in the education theoretical and scientific literature” (p. 1). Scholars and numerous peer-reviewed journals have dedicated special issues on the topic of Black men and boys. These special issues include the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering (Hines, Fletcher, & Moore, 2023) as well as:
…Urban Education (Gordon, 2003), The Journal of Men’s Studies (Moore & Herndon, 2003), Teachers College Record (Jackson & Moore, 2006; Warren, Douglass, & Howard, 2016), American Behavioral Scientist (Jackson & Moore, 2008), Boyhood Studies (Fergus & Bennett, 2018), The Journal for Specialists in Group Work (Steen & Hines, 2020a, 2020b), Professional School Counseling (Moore, Hines, & Harris, 2021), School Psychology Review (Woods, Heidelburg, Collins, Murphy, & Graves, 2023), and the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (Burt, Hines, & Moore, 2023)... (Hines, Fletcher, & Moore, in press, p. 1).
In schools across the nation, there has been a heightened awareness of the need for students to earn postsecondary degrees – as there is substantial evidence that it leads to better labor market outcomes and a higher quality of life. At a societal level, the United States’ economy depends on a skilled workforce, particularly given the rapidly changing technological landscape. Yet, there are still large disparities in postsecondary degree attainment for Black males (Espinosa et al., 2019; Monarrez & Washington, 2020). In the P-12 education system, Black males have lower graduation rates in high school, are underrepresented in accelerated programs (e.g., gifted and talented); conversely, they are significantly overrepresented in special education, and in-school discipline and suspension rates (Ford & Moore, 2013; Hines et al., 2021; Reeves, 2022; Villavicencio, 2023). To note, Black males have the highest unemployment rate in the nation. In postsecondary institutions, they often have difficulty with:
● the transition from high school to college, support from faculty,
