African American males in higher education: Where are they? And why?

Little attention has been given to the lack of African American males in significant numbers in college and universities. African American males are not found in representative numbers in postsecondary institutions in proportion to any other group. African American males students make up 2.1 % of the United States population; in contrast they only represent .04% in postsecondary institutions (Anderson, Carter, Malizio & San 1989). This paper will explore some of the reasons for this phenomenon and the resulting impact on both the educational system and society at large. It will address the following questions: (1) Where are African American males in America\u27s higher education system? and (2) Why are there so few in proportion to other groups? In order to answer these questions this paper is divided into the following discussions: (1) the relationship between African American males and (a) Caucasian males (b) African American females; (2) the social and demographic indicators and trends in elementary and secondary education; (3) the social and demographic indicators and trends in higher education; (4) the historical perspective of African American males in academia; and, (5) recommendations