1 00:00:01,966 --> 00:00:05,000 JUDY WOODRUFF: Enrollment in higher education suffered across the board during the pandemic. 2 00:00:07,033 --> 00:00:10,100 Community colleges faced the sharpest declines overall. More than 700,000 students, 3 00:00:12,566 --> 00:00:16,333 many of them lower-income, dropped out or delayed school. That is a 13 percent drop from 2019. 4 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:24,100 Black male students left in droves, down 21 percent. Even before the pandemic, 5 00:00:25,533 --> 00:00:28,633 there were concerns about Black men completing their degrees. 6 00:00:28,633 --> 00:00:33,300 Stephanie Sy reports on efforts in California to reverse that trend. 7 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:36,266 It's part of our latest series on Rethinking College. 8 00:00:36,266 --> 00:00:41,233 STEPHANIE SY: Every morning, Chris Adams is in the zone studying for the LSAT like his life 9 00:00:43,633 --> 00:00:47,133 depends on it. For the 34-year old recent UCLA graduate, law school wasn't always in the cards. 10 00:00:49,066 --> 00:00:51,100 CHRIS ADAMS, UCLA Graduate: My parents moved a lot when I was young, 11 00:00:51,100 --> 00:00:54,100 so I went to different schools, and just being in different environments where 12 00:00:54,100 --> 00:00:58,166 they probably didn't understand where I came from or who I was. 13 00:00:58,166 --> 00:01:00,300 STEPHANIE SY: You were a child. 14 00:01:00,300 --> 00:01:04,266 CHRIS ADAMS: Yes. I was looking for guidance, didn't really know how the academic settings 15 00:01:06,333 --> 00:01:08,433 would be, didn't really know what to expect, didn't have, like, good studying habits. 16 00:01:08,433 --> 00:01:13,133 STEPHANIE SY: Adams' school trouble led to him being arrested at 16 and juvenile detention. 17 00:01:15,033 --> 00:01:18,800 He dropped out of high school and became a dad. His educational prospects dimmed. 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,800 CHRIS ADAMS: What's more important ,taking care of your family, paying the bills, or going to school? 19 00:01:26,133 --> 00:01:29,533 STEPHANIE SY: His local community college in Sacramento offered a gateway back into education. 20 00:01:31,533 --> 00:01:34,800 Everything changed when he met Edward Bush, the president of the college. 21 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:36,866 EDWARD BUSH, Co-Founder, African American Male Educational Network: Every 22 00:01:36,866 --> 00:01:40,333 student has the potential to succeed in college, when given the correct support 23 00:01:40,333 --> 00:01:42,833 and tools necessary to be successful. 24 00:01:42,833 --> 00:01:47,800 So, with the situation with Chris, he had the passion, he had the intelligence to be successful, 25 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:51,866 but was struggling just because he didn't have practical tools. 26 00:01:51,866 --> 00:01:54,566 STEPHANIE SY: Chris Adams found a mentor in Bush. 27 00:01:54,566 --> 00:01:56,833 CHRIS ADAMS: I want to do all these different things. And he 28 00:01:56,833 --> 00:02:01,100 listens and he just gives me a nice little plan on how to achieve that. 29 00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:02,400 STEPHANIE SY: He gives you a plan? 30 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,066 CHRIS ADAMS: He gives me a plan. 31 00:02:04,066 --> 00:02:07,333 Put in those hours. How many units it says that you are completing, 32 00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:10,800 that's how many hours you should be spending. If it's three units, 33 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,900 spend three hours studying. I never thought about it like that. 34 00:02:13,900 --> 00:02:18,900 STEPHANIE SY: He graduated with honors from Cosumnes River College and transferred to UCLA. 35 00:02:20,866 --> 00:02:23,200 EDWARD BUSH: Black males are not the thing that need to be fixed. It's the 36 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,600 structures in which they interface with that needs to be disrupted and changed. 37 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,033 STEPHANIE SY: Bush co-founded A2MEND in 2006, 38 00:02:31,033 --> 00:02:35,833 with a mission of fostering success for Black men at California's community colleges. 39 00:02:35,833 --> 00:02:39,500 EDWARD BUSH: We focus on not only providing support to the student, but I think, 40 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:44,500 most importantly, we look at structures that have been barriers for our students. 41 00:02:45,900 --> 00:02:47,900 STEPHANIE SY: Students and educators from across 42 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:51,133 the state recently attended A2MEND's annual conference in Los Angeles. 43 00:02:51,133 --> 00:02:53,200 AMANUEL GEBRU, Executive Director, African American Male Educational Network: If this 44 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:57,066 is your first time here, I just want to tell you, this is a different kind of conference. 45 00:03:00,233 --> 00:03:02,233 (LAUGHTER) 46 00:03:02,233 --> 00:03:05,833 STEPHANIE SY: It was as much about networking and learning as it was a celebration. 47 00:03:05,833 --> 00:03:08,300 HILL HARPER, Activist: Oftentimes, people want to focus on, 48 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:12,133 oh, the U.C. or the state system or these private schools or this or that. 49 00:03:12,133 --> 00:03:14,066 It's about community colleges. 50 00:03:14,066 --> 00:03:16,000 (APPLAUSE) 51 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,833 STEPHANIE SY: This year was the first in-person gathering since the pandemic, 52 00:03:19,833 --> 00:03:23,200 which took a disproportionate toll on communities of color. 53 00:03:25,766 --> 00:03:29,066 The racial inequities that were laid bare by the pandemic are also at play in education, says Bush. 54 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,000 EDWARD BUSH: Many of our students can go entire K through 16 and not have one Black male teacher. 55 00:03:36,900 --> 00:03:41,133 And that's not the case for other ethnic or racial groups. And so because there's 56 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:46,266 a lack of connection, they don't have the same information poured into them over a period of 57 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,633 time. And so that creates a gap in opportunity and knowledge necessary to be successful. 58 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:56,966 STEPHANIE SY: Seventy percent of Black men in California pursuing higher education attend a 59 00:03:56,966 --> 00:04:01,933 community college, but degree attainment and completion lag behind other groups. 60 00:04:03,333 --> 00:04:06,533 A recent analysis by the Education Trust found about 61 00:04:06,533 --> 00:04:11,533 27 percent of Black men held a college degree, compared to just over 44 percent of white men. 62 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:18,500 That has impacts beyond the ivory tower of college. Higher levels of education 63 00:04:20,466 --> 00:04:23,500 often mean higher incomes, more spending power, and less likelihood of incarceration. 64 00:04:24,933 --> 00:04:27,733 Bush also explains the Black male achievement gap as rooted 65 00:04:27,733 --> 00:04:31,100 in historical discrimination and psychological. 66 00:04:31,100 --> 00:04:36,100 EDWARD BUSH: There's a lot of internalized negative stereotypes about who we are. 67 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,700 For example, like, you get on the elevator and someone is in there and they clench their purse. 68 00:04:41,866 --> 00:04:44,000 Or you're walking down the street, 69 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,800 someone will go on the other side. These are daily occurrences that sometimes we put 70 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:51,600 in the back of our mind because the totality and the weight of it is difficult to carry. 71 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,000 STEPHANIE SY: During the pandemic, community college enrollment suffered broadly. But 72 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,800 Black men saw the steepest decline, continuing a downward trend that 73 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,066 Compton College has put resources toward fighting. 74 00:05:04,066 --> 00:05:08,533 With most classes still taught virtually under pandemic protocols, the campus was 75 00:05:08,533 --> 00:05:13,266 largely empty. But college President Keith Curry is particularly concerned 76 00:05:13,266 --> 00:05:18,266 about the absence of Black men in enrollment figures and in other metrics of success. 77 00:05:19,466 --> 00:05:20,966 KEITH CURRY, President, Compton College: My data 78 00:05:20,966 --> 00:05:22,933 is showing that the Black men are not doing well in retention 79 00:05:25,266 --> 00:05:27,900 within a particular course, they're not doing well in persistence, coming back next semester. 80 00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:31,833 They're not doing well in regards to graduation rates. We have to do something different. 81 00:05:31,833 --> 00:05:36,533 STEPHANIE SY: Compton College is located just south of downtown Los Angeles. 82 00:05:36,533 --> 00:05:40,533 The area has seen the Black population decline in recent years. 83 00:05:40,533 --> 00:05:45,533 But Black male enrollment at the college has fallen even more. Enrollment of 84 00:05:47,533 --> 00:05:50,666 African-American men plummeted from 919 in the fall of 2019 to 269 in the fall of 2021. 85 00:05:55,266 --> 00:05:58,233 KEITH CURRY: It might not affect all of our groups on campus, 86 00:05:58,233 --> 00:06:01,100 but the -- particularly, the Black and male of color students 87 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:06,100 are our priority based off the data. So, what can we do as an organization to fix that? 88 00:06:07,533 --> 00:06:09,500 That's the key to it, is just really being thoughtful for it. 89 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:11,600 STEPHANIE SY: Using pandemic relief funding, 90 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,600 he created the position of director of Black and males of color success at Compton College. 91 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:17,933 ANTONIO BANKS, Director of Black and Males of Color Success, Compton College: 92 00:06:17,933 --> 00:06:21,733 But, for these individuals, oftentimes, it was just one person at the campus saying, hey, 93 00:06:23,733 --> 00:06:27,100 I'm going to take you under my wing and show you this is where financial aid is, 94 00:06:27,100 --> 00:06:30,633 this is where orientation is, this is what you need to do to get this resource. 95 00:06:30,633 --> 00:06:34,000 STEPHANIE SY: Antonio Banks' role is to develop a system to 96 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,100 help Black male students navigate Compton College. 97 00:06:39,133 --> 00:06:42,400 With more than half of its students food- and housing-insecure and nearly a quarter 98 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:47,400 experiencing homelessness, he also tries to find ways to help with stressors outside college. 99 00:06:48,766 --> 00:06:51,666 ANTONIO BANKS: One of the biggest prohibitive factors for 100 00:06:51,666 --> 00:06:54,800 Black men and men of color in community colleges have 101 00:06:56,866 --> 00:07:00,466 historically been food insecurity, right, housing insecurity and transportation issues. 102 00:07:02,366 --> 00:07:04,066 The market that we're in right now is only exacerbating these issues. 103 00:07:04,066 --> 00:07:05,433 STEPHANIE SY: High prices for everything, 104 00:07:05,433 --> 00:07:07,500 ANTONIO BANKS: High prices for everything. 105 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:11,100 STEPHANIE SY: Banks attended the A2MEND conference with Compton College students. 106 00:07:11,100 --> 00:07:16,100 Organizers hope the kind of mentorship opportunities at these events lead to more Black 107 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:21,466 men in college reaching their full potential, the way connecting with Dr. Bush did for Chris Adams. 108 00:07:23,433 --> 00:07:27,533 When you look at your impact on his trajectory, what do you feel? Is it pride? 109 00:07:29,500 --> 00:07:32,833 EDWARD BUSH: It's, I mean, he has a 3.9 GPA, right? He is about to have his choice of law 110 00:07:34,733 --> 00:07:37,333 school. I really take credit for it, because it was already inside of Chris. 111 00:07:37,333 --> 00:07:42,333 CHRIS ADAMS: It's really somebody validating what you have been doing and telling you, 112 00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:45,533 leading you in the right direction. 113 00:07:45,533 --> 00:07:49,300 STEPHANIE SY: And he's now doing that for his own 15-year old son. Keith was recently 114 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,866 accepted into a top high school that Chris hopes will put him on the track to college. 115 00:07:57,333 --> 00:08:01,800 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Los Angeles.