Historically, education has played a central role in the lives of Blacks. Although Blacks continue their penchant for education, Black males have not fared as well in the educational pipeline. Data for this study emerged from a qualitative investigation of factors that promote success for academically underprepared Black males at a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Although all of the participants persisted to graduation, the participants discussed challenges that threatened to impede their academic success. This article discusses those challenges and outlines recommendations for the ways in which colleges and universities can work more effectively toward preventing attrition for Black males in higher education, particularly at HBCUs.

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Purpose This study aims to better understand how students’ academic strains and multilevel strengths relate to their math achievement, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented students of color and girls given the need to broaden science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) participation for these groups. Design/methodology/approach National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 data was used for a historical examination of the various student academic strains and multilevel strengths that relate to math achievement in high school. T-tests and chi-square tests were conducted to examine differences in strains and strengths across policy-relevant student subgroups. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to examine how students’ strains and strengths related to their math achievement and the relative importance of each of these factors. Findings The findings suggest that both the academic strains and multilevel strengths that students’ experience in middle school are related to their high school math achievement and the prevalence of these factors varies across different policy-relevant student subgroups. Furthermore, the relative importance of these factors on achievement differs. Originality/value Studies which focus on either students’ academic challenges or their adaptive strengths fall short of a more nuanced discussion about how both factors relate to math outcomes. This study addresses this limitation and emphasizes that stakeholders who are interested in STEM diversity should consider holistic strategies for alleviating gender and racial/ethnic discrepancies in secondary math achievement.

This article encourages community college leaders to employ ethical paradigms when constructing and considering alternative courses of action in decision-making processes. The authors discuss four previously articulated paradigms (e.g., ethic of justice, ethic of critique, ethic of care, and ethic of the profession) and propose an additional paradigm-the ethic of local community. The ethic of local community is a communitarian and utilitarian frame embodied by the philosophical underpinnings and mission of the community college. Questions designed for praxis are proffered following a discourse on how each paradigm is defined and described in extant literature.

Background/Context The current debate about historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)—whether these colleges are needed in a society that “seeks” equality—is not new but is the product of a continuing controversy that dates back to the close of the Civil War. Since then, each landmark in the history of HBCUs has occasioned renewed discussions of the role of these colleges, with implications for the role of Blacks in society. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article will examine the legal and social forces that have had an impact on the development of HBCUs. In exploring this history, the authors will employ Derrick Bell's notion that most Whites will only accommodate the interests of Blacks in achieving racial equality when it is in the best interest of middle- and upper-class Whites—interest convergence. Research Design This study is historical in nature, drawing on legal cases, archival documents, legislative decisions, and past research related to the funding, classification, and state of HBCUs. Conclusions The authors found that in all but a few cases, legal court decisions, laws, acts, and state and federal decisions as they pertain to HBCUs also had intentional or unintentional benefits for White students and historically White institutions.