The State of the African American Male in Michigan: A Courageous Conversation

Resources

Papers

The State of the African American Male in Michigan

Commissioned Papers

To ensure the success of the summit, commissioned papers are being provided, focusing on specific issues. These papers serve as points of departure for the various focus groups to begin disentangling the respective conditions to be addressed during the summit. Leading scholars who have demonstrated expertise in the designated focus areas were commissioned to prepare these papers free from academic jargon and colloquialism, deeming each paper useful for a diverse audience. Commissioned papers address the nature of the issues from a national and state context as well as recommendations for policy and practice.

Papers are listed by Author. Papers are Adobe Reader documents, which may only be read on-screen.

Discussion Topic	Issues	Paper Author: Title

Pre K-12	School Violence	Adams: The State of Public School Violence
Health Issues	HIV AIDS	Anderson: African American Men and HIV AIDS
Pre K-12	Arts	Bridges: Empowering Through the Arts
Higher Education	Access to Higher Education	Brown/Dancy: African American Male Collegians
Pre K-12	Technology	Jones/Copeland: Access to Technology
Pre K-12	Math and Science	Dantley & Leonard: Black Males in Science and Mathematics
Socio-Emotional Issues	Identity/Gender	Davis: Uneasy Ties: Race, Gender Identity and Urban Education Reform for African American Males.
Pre K-12	Achievement Gap	Harmon & Ford: African American Male Underachievement
Higher Education	Affirmative Action	Nelson: Roots of Black Americans and Michigan
Pre K-12	High School Reform	Polite, Price, & Lisle: Michigan High School Graduation Reform
Social Issues	Profiling	Smith: Racial Battle Fatigue
Social Issues	Arts and Culture	Spiller & Land: The Omnipresent Influence of Hip-hop Culture
Pre K-12	Literacy	Whiting: Black Males in Special Education
Higher Education	Leadership and Counseling	Zamani-Gallaher & Callaway: Educating and Counseling AfAm Males

Focus Group Questions

Delegates will be assigned to tables according to their selected topics of discussion. See the Registration Form for the available topics. There will be two opportunities during the summit where delegates will engage in focus group discussions. Delegates are asked to actively participate sharing their particular knowledge, expertise, and experience as they address the following focus group questions:

Focus Groups I

Question 1: What new knowledge is needed about the challenge?

Question 2: Based on what is known about the challenge, what realistic recommendations can be made to impact policy and practice in Michigan?

Focus Groups II

Questions 3: What are the implications for the proposed policy and practice recommendations for the State?

Table Discussions

This document outlines the various categories and sub-groups for possible discussion. Discussions will be broken out by specific tables, with table assignments being given out via e-mail prior to the Summit, as well as at the on-site check-in at the Summit.

Facilitators

Selected delegates will act as facilitators at each table. The purpose of the facilitator is to ensure that all voices are heard and make sure that all focus group questions are addressed.

Timely information

The Washington Post is publishing a series titled "Being a Black Man".