Let’s Talk Education- Educating Our Young African American Men

WHUTDC32. (2012, November). Let’s Talk Education- Education Our Young African American Men. Retrieved from youtube.com.

In this panel discussion, they focus on the current issues plaguing education, especially for our young African American men. On the panel are Wade Boykin of Howard University, Dr. Anthony Hill of Catholic University of America, and Yasun Froe a young African American mentor. The speakers discuss closing the achievement gap, the critical need for mentors and positive social influences. In their discussion, they touch upon the realities of education for our young African American men, the lack of resources in the schools, the teacher perceptions they must battle, as well as curriculum that is not relative to their daily lives. Upon examining these issues, they discuss their frustrations with the simple dimension solutions that have been posed this far and talk about the need for broader, multidimensional solutions that involve multiple key players. One thing they kept coming back to was the critical need for mentors that have the ability to show young African American males what their future can look like in a professional setting. They also discuss the importance of mentors helping young African Americans define their goals and values, and helping shape them to value education. While this video does not directly discuss the disproportionality of African Americans in Special Education programs, it does talk about solutions, that if implemented could reduce the number of students being referred.