The African American Male Education Network and Development (A²MEND) organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by African American male educators who utilize their scholarly and professional expertise to foster institutional change within California’s community college system to increase success of African American male students.
A²MEND was formed in 2006, after six emerging African American male administrators met one another at UCLA where they attended an annual professional development conference for new college administrators. While striking up a dialogue about the difficulties facing African American males, particularly in higher education, they realized that very few people were addressing this issue and thus was overdue for action.
Since establishing the organization, A²MEND has served as the premiere nonprofit solely focused on addressing the lack of educational success of African American male students in community colleges. Each year, A²MEND hosts the African American Male Summit in Los Angeles – drawing nearly 1,000 students, faculty, staff and administrators – for the purpose of fostering African American male success in community colleges.