Ecologies of Hope: Understanding Educational Success Among Black Males in an Urban Midwestern City

The American Psychological Association\u27s Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black Children and Adolescents (2008) called for resilience frameworks particularly designed to understand African American development. Thus, the present study explores the lives of seven academically successful Black males in an urban midwestern city. Using a Critical Race Theory framework, the researchers center the counterstories of men of color who matriculated through college from a failing high school in a challenging urban community. Using constant comparative analysis, two critical themes emerged: extended family and extended kinship support networks. A synthesis of these themes resulted in an emergent framework entitled Ecology of Hope, which advances resilience theory (APA, 2008) through centering the strengths vested within African American families, community organizations, and social networks