James Earl Davis – författare

In this groundbreaking and timely volume Vernon Polite and James Earl Davis have brought together the perspectives and research findings of eminent scholars who study the educational and social lives of African American males. The result is a volume that brims with new outlooks and viewpoints-a refreshing departure from pervasive and oftentimes stereotypical literature about the African American male experience-and gives the reader access to prevalent issues affecting this population today. Thoughtful attention is paid to broader outcomes such as educational attainment, job procurement, and quality of life. These topics are discussed against the backdrop of student background and schooling with the overall aim of improving the academic and social outcomes of this population. Chapters range from explorations into identifying giftedness and responsive teaching styles to educating African American males in the suburbs. The contributors to this volume offer differing methodologies and foci to document how the social and educational worlds of African American males cross, and the editors suggest policy implications that derive from these studies. This eloquent, engaging, and accessible volume has much to offer its readers and is especially important to people concerned with the well-being of African American boys and men.

This book’s predecessor, Black Sons to Mothers: Compliments, Critiques, and Challenges for Cultural Workers in Education (Peter Lang, 2000), sparked a decade of meaningful scholarship on the educational experiences and academic outcomes of African American males. Black Sons to Mothers proffered seminal contributions to the academic literature on the achievement gap, differential instruction, and minority schooling, and inspired further research – countless books, articles and reports written since about the educational challenges and successes of African American males directly reference the work.Educating African American Males: Contexts for Consideration, Possibilities for Practice continues, extends, and advances the research and conversations introduced in Black Sons to Mothers. The chapters in this volume were commissioned by the Alphas in the Academy Committee (AAC) of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. The AAC addresses issues incident to collegiate life, employment in higher education, and postsecondary performance among African American males. This book reflects the fraternity’s unshakable commitment to improving the contexts and outcomes of African American males in educational settings, and identifies important new territory for the next decade of scholarship on this critical topic.