Toby Jenkins argues for including the roles of advocates and agents in higher education's conversation about social justice.

The underachievement, lack of inclusion, and backward progression of African American men within American society, and particularly within the educational arena, has once again surfaced as a trend that demands immediate attention. However, the challenges of reversing the negative circumstances facing African American men requires transforming a broad array of social, political, economical, psychological, and educational issues that are deeply rooted in the very power structure of America. On one hand, the society espouses rhetoric of concern and desire to elevate Black males, but, on the other hand, practices a policy of oppression, prejudice, and disregard. Put differently, the experience of the Black man in America seems to be one in which he is called "mister" but is treated with a "niggardly" regard. And the result is the positioning of Black males at the lower rungs of society and their experiencing underachievement in almost all aspects of life.

Through the article, I share the theoretical foundations, structure, knowledge acquisition, and outcomes of a cultural leadership course. The process for course development integrates several theories and research methods into practice: L. Dee Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Portraiture/Phenomenology. This course has been piloted at two universities and represents a partnership between the Student Affairs Division and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences at both institutions. This article explores the importance of culture, examines knowledge production on leadership outside of traditional academic venues, and paints a portrait of culture and leadership in the lives of college students.

Black creative educational experiences (BCEEs) are participatory, performative cultural experiences created by or for students, centering Black artistic expression, aesthetics, and engagement. Using African-centered frameworks, we provide a methodological guide for examining BCEEs in education research, which includes centering Black “ways of knowing,” validating creative expressions cultivated by and for Black people, acknowledging the influence of Black creative expression on research and practice, considering researcher positionalities as observers and cultivators of Black creative expression, and viewing Black creative expression as knowledge production. We found BCEEs are democratizing educational experiences rooted in intellectual and expressive freedom (freedom of movement/voice/tongue), and community building. BCEEs should be centered in education research, particularly postsecondary education, and prioritized in institutional programming, curricula, and high-impact practices.

The purpose of this research study was to explore how students of color at predominantly White institutions define and articulate their culture. Additionally the study was concerned with understanding why their culture and cultural engagement is important to them. Of particular interest is how students perceive the effect of cultural experiences on their cultural growth and cultural efficacy development. Qualitative methods were used in this study. The study was methodologically driven by the traditions of phenomenology and portraiture. Data collection included two components. In the first phase, two group interviews of nine students (18 total) were conducted at two large public institutions. The interviews provided a starting point for students to explore their thoughts about culture and to discuss cultural engagement in college. The second component involved students in writing cultural self-portraits. The portraits were personally narrated written reflections sharing students' life stories, ideas about culture, opinions of culture in college, and thoughts on the importance of culture.The data revealed that to college students of color, culture included more functional life tools than ritualistic pracBrought to you by | HEC Bibliotheque Maryriam ET J.