Issue 27(1)
African
American Men in College.
(2006). Michael J. Cuyjet (Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 384.pp.,
$38.00. ISBN # 0-7879-6460-3.
Review by: Joy
Gaston Gayles
Educational
Leadership & Policy Studies
Florida State
University
Academic
advisors interested in learning more about issues, challenges,
and the experiences of various subpopulations of African American
males on college campuses will find Michael Cuyjet's book, African
American Men in College a must read. As a follow up to his
1997 New Directions for Student Services volume, Helping African
American Men Succeed in College , the current text provides
updated and expanded information concerning African American males
in college. The authors offer several recommendations for improving
the recruitment efforts, campus climate, and retention of African
American males in higher education.
A
strength of the book is its organization. Part I of the text delineates
issues and challenges faced by African American males. Part II
highlights several best practices that can be incorporated on
college campuses across the country to enhance the collegiate
experiences of African American males. Often issues are presented
in the literature with little to no discussion of practical solutions.
Cuyjet offers nine examples of programs, activities, and efforts
to enhance the experiences of African American males that are
certainly encouraging and can be useful for administrators, faculty,
and staff looking for alternatives on their respective campuses.
Cuyjet
opens the book by discussing the importance of disaggregating
data on African Americans in college in order to obtain a true
understanding of the successes and failures of these students.
Often the experiences of African American females mask potential
problem areas for African American males. Throughout the text
a number of behavioral terms are explained. For example, "cool
pose is a distinctive coping mechanism that serves to counter,
at least in part, the dangers that black males encounter on a
daily basis" (p. 16). In chapter 6, Watson distinguishes religion
from spirituality and defines two key terms related to the role
of spirituality and religion in the lives of African American
males.
Creative
soul force is an element of spirituality that creates cultural
nuances that assist African Americans in adapting, transforming,
and transcending reality through creative construction of Black
culture...Resistant soul force allows individuals to overcome
human oppression through creating, transforming, and transcending,
so one's spirit can survive and thrive (p. 114)
The
book provides a detailed description of issues pertaining to various
subpopulations of African American males such as student athletes,
gay men, and members of Black fraternities. However, the book
does not provide such an analysis for high achieving African American
males, African American males with disabilities, or African American
males in graduate and professional schools. The text also covers
the experiences of African American males at HBCUs and community
colleges. A few chapters reported findings from empirical data
on African American males, though the sample sizes were small
and authors were unable to generalize findings to the larger population
of undergraduate African American males in higher education.
Overall,
I recommend this book to any advisor who wants a deeper understanding
about the college experience of African American males and how
to help them succeed. Advisors can use the information in this
book to increase their knowledge and awareness about African American
males, thus increasing their capacity to advise them from a holistic
developmental perspective.
Reference
Cuyjet,
M. J. (Ed.). (1997). Helping African American men succeed
in college . New Directions for Student Services, n. 80.
San Francisco ,
CA :
Jossey-Bass.
