: Is It Really a Man's World? Navigating Being a Black Male in STEM

• In Event: For Us, by Us: The Power of Black STEM Counter-Spaces to Foster Holistic Well-Being and Learning

Abstract

The underrepresentation of African Americans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree programs and professional spaces has been a national concern for years. However, the presence or rather absence of African American men in STEM has not received widespread attention. In fact, African American women earn STEM degrees more than African American men across every degree level (NCES, National Center for Education Statistics. Moreover, African American men only represent three percent of the scientists and engineers working in the field (NSF, 2013). To address and explore this issue, the College of Science and Technology at one of the most prominent historically Black colleges and universities assembled a group of 25 African American males including STEM industry professionals, STEM undergraduates, STEM faculty, and alumni to engage in discourse about their lived experiences in STEM. This counter-space was a virtual seminar called Inspiring Minds that sought to learn more about (1) the Black male experience in STEM and (2) strategies to improve the Black male experience in STEM from the 25 panelists. In addition to the panelists, African American boys in middle and high school were invited into this space to gain an awareness of the challenges they may potentially face in their STEM future, why they may face such challenges, and how to navigate impending challenges. To this end, the structure of this virtual counter-space was multigenerational and interdisciplinary; therefore, unveiling the deep-rooted systemic issues that have and continue to function as barriers to increasing the representation and success of African American men across all areas of STEM.

The Inspiring Minds seminar created an atmosphere that impacted Black male STEM learner’s motivation and engagement in several ways. Hearing the shared racialized experiences and successes of the established panelists charged the undergraduate panelists with a greater drive to pursue their STEM degrees and to enter into STEM professional spaces because they were able to see that it is possible to successfully navigate racism and stereotypes as Black men. They felt more equipped with the tools and mentoring support to engage in STEM learning environments and experiences. Moreover, this counter-space painted a clear picture that racism is permanent and ubiquitously experienced by African American males, as it is not isolated to overt matters of police brutality but covertly diffuses into professional STEM spaces.

While the sharing of experiences and exchange of strategies occurred through a virtual platform, the potency of the discourse was not diluted. The inaugural Inspiring Minds seminar allowed African American men across the nation to assemble and engage in deep, meaningful conversation which would have been a challenge to accomplish in a face-to-face format due to time and financial constraints. Moving forward, the seminar will continue to be offered in a virtual or hybrid format as such formats will lend to diversity of the professional STEM spaces from which we draw the panelists.

Author

• Angela M. White, North Carolina A&T State University