Helping Black men succeed in college
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis is all too familiar with the challenges African American men face, especially those seeking a college degree.
The troubling deaths of the long list of African Americans who have died at the hands of police culminating with the murder of George Floyd highlight racial discrimination facing not only African Americans in general, but Black males specifically.
In 2015, the Hooks Institute created the Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI) to increase the retention and graduation rates of African American males attending the University of Memphis.
The program has been sustained by grant funding and the generosity of individuals, corporations and community organizations. The Hooks Institute recognizes systemic changes to create quality schools for African Americans and the removal of economic, health and other disparities are badly needed. While we eagerly await such changes, the Hooks Institute has started where it is: with university African American male students who need our help now.
HAAMI members are immersed in academic, cultural and mentoring experiences that help them progress toward the goal of earning a college degree. HAAMI members face barriers and challenges just like other African American men.
Yet they persist, being fully aware of their potential and the impact they can make in the world. They persist despite facing challenges such as financial difficulties, access to transportation, family responsibilities, and having to work multiple jobs while balancing a college course load.
They become agents of change by joining organizations such as the campus chapter of the NAACP. They become university representatives by joining the Student Ambassador Board.
They commit to scholarship and service by joining fraternities. They broaden their horizons by taking their first flights to represent HAAMI at African American student leadership conferences and to study abroad.
They not only persist but thrive
HAAMI members are achieving academic success as well. Of the 57 HAAMI Members, for the 2019-20 academic year, 14 earned Dean’s List status for the Spring, 2020 semester, even after having to abruptly adapt to all online learning because of COVID-19. HAAMI members are scholarship recipients.
HAAMI graduates have returned to the University to earn Master’s’ degrees. HAAMI alumni have worked in corporate positions, teaching, and in the nonprofit sector. These African American
students are future husbands, partners, parents, community leaders, corporate and elected officials.
HAAMI members are supported by Hooks Institute staff, University of Memphis faculty and staff, community volunteers, and each other. We see the students’ hard work, perseverance, academic accomplishments and potential.
Sadly, we also question how many African Americans never realize their potential and never experience the joy of personal success, empowerment, and career accomplishments. Such losses are not sustainable by Memphis or the nation.
The courage of the Memphis State Eight, the first Black students to integrate the University of Memphis in 1959, the Civil Rights Movement, the #Blacklivesmatter movement, the murder of George Floyd, and civil rights protests of the past and today demand equity and first-class citizenship for African Americans.
While HAAMI students know they face risks as African American men, those risks have not deterred them. As we continue to raise our hands to protest injustices, we can also bring them together to applaud the scholastic achievements of African American men, like those in HAAMI, who are striving to make their dreams come true.
Rorie Trammel is associate director of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change and director of the HAAMI Program.