Unintended Consequences: African American Male Educational Attainment and Collegiate Perceptions After Brown v. Board of Education

The nexus between educational attainment and collegiate perceptions for African American male undergraduates after Brown v. Board of Education et al.'s are explored in this study. Terenzini Transitions to College interview protocol was used to assess participants' precollege, in-class, and out-of-class experiences in college. A sample of eight African American men representing diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and precollege experiences was interviewed to gauge their sensemaking in two different collegiate contexts. Trustworthiness techniques support the following emergent themes in this study: (a) socially diverse experiences matter; (b) participants' manhood and behavior are shaped differently in different collegiate contexts; and (c) faculty-to-student interaction matters. The implications of these findings and the in-class and out-of-class experiences of African American men in higher education are discussed.