Black Male Success in Higher Education: How the Mathematical Brotherhood Empowers a Collegiate Community to Thrive - Paperback

by Christopher C. Jett (Author), Duane Cooper (Foreword by), Erica N. Walker (Afterword by)

For more than 175 years, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played a significant role in educating Black students. This book examines the experiences of a cohort of 16 Black male math majors at Morehouse College referred to as "the mathematical brotherhood." Through the lenses of Black masculinity and critical race theory, the author employs an asset-based approach to tell a captivating story about this cohort within a racially affirming learning community. Readers will hear how Morehouse empowers the students, as well as how they navigate and manage ongoing racial challenges, mathematical spaces, and society. Amplifying the voices of the participants, the study showcases the nation's top producer of Black male math majors, extends the knowledge base regarding HBCUs' multigenerational legacy of success, and makes a significant contribution to the growing body of discipline-based education research. The author provides recommendations for families, educators, policymakers, and researchers to improve Black boys' and men's mathematics achievement and academic outcomes.

Book Features:

• Centers Black males' cautionary tales about navigating school and society not only in their college years, but also in their formative years.
• Provides insights regarding Black males' persistence in mathematics.
• Includes ethnographic data that brings a math learning community to life.
• Draws upon race-related frameworks to document Black male success in college.

Author Biography

Christopher C. Jett is an associate professor of mathematics education in the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State University. He received an NSF CAREER award, the 2019 Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Early Career Award, and a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).