Analysis: Fighting for the Future of Black Men – Southern University’s Role - Higher Education

Analysis: Fighting for the Future of Black Men – Southern University’s Role - Higher Education: Over the past ten years there have been a myriad of programs aimed at uplifting Black men. Some of these programs focus on youth, some on college students, and others focus on older adults. Step by step, these programs attempt to chip away at the impediments standing in the way of some Black males’ success.

Ron Mason, president of the Southern University System in Louisiana, is taking a comprehensive approach to uplifting and empowering Black men. In 2012, he launched the Five Fifths Agenda for America, a national effort to reclaim and develop Black male human capital that has four goals. First, Mason wants to increase the number of Black males with bachelor’s degrees. Next, he wants to increase the number of Black male teachers and graduates in the sciences. Then, he wants the nation’s Black colleges to serve as institutional homes for long-term systemic change for America. And, lastly, he wants to facilitate a truthful, national conversation about the relationship between Black men and America. He plans to meet this last goal by focusing on research as well as advocacy.