Last month, six student mentees joined seven A²MEND board members on an extraordinary trip to East Africa as part of the organization’s Africa Study Abroad Program. A²MEND’s excursion program enables board members to escort student mentees to Africa each summer to connect them with their ancestral homeland. For this year’s trip, the student mentees traveled to the African countries of Kenya and Tanzania.
While in Nairobi, the A²MEND students and mentors visited Nairobi National Park, where they experienced a safari to enjoy an up-close look at African wildlife in their natural habitat. They also toured the Nairobi National Museum that showcases Kenya’s rich history of art and culture.
A2MEND student mentees and mentors shown on a tour at the Nairobi National Museum in Kenya.
In Mombasa, the A²MEND group visited the Fort Jesus Museum nestled along the coastline near the Old Town. The museum displays various artifacts from the era where Mombasa served as a transit point for the slave trade and commodities. Also in Mombasa, the group spent time at the Maasai Market, an open-air market that sells colorful artwork, goods and food.
The A²MEND group additionally spent time at Swahili Beach, where they learned about Africa’s coastal marine life and observed archaeological artifacts from the Indian Ocean. They also rode camels along the coastline and participated in mental health practices, like sound healing and yoga, during their morning visits to east African beaches.
A²MEND’s student charter at Solano Community College is establishing a growing presence on campus these days. The student charter has hosted a series of events and workshops for the college’s students and faculty over the past year. The activities have sparked dialogue about the systemic challenges Black males endure in higher education.
A²MEND’s student charter has been championed by Shanan Danley, an outreach and retention specialist for Solano Community College. To help expand the student charter’s reach at the college, last year Danley used his outreach skills to source new leadership for the organization. “I’ve always been able to connect people with the right people,” said Danley. “I believe in networking.”
Danley enlisted the leadership of Edward Russell Jr., a seasoned student engagement specialist for the Vacaville Unified School District. Russell originally attended Solano Community College during the ‘90s, but he recently returned as a student to complete his college credits to earn an associate’s degree. Realizing he could use his student engagement expertise to help guide A²MEND mentees, Russell accepted the new role of leading the student charter.
Both Russell and Danley assisted the student mentees with organizing regular events, like thought-provoking workshops and Black film screenings, that encouraged dialogue about the Black male experience. While the campus events have been impactful, Russell credits A²MEND’s annual conference for having the biggest effect on the student mentees. “The greatest thing that we were a part of was the A²MEND conference held earlier this year,” said Russell. “That was the first time we were around other Black men who were in position of power in education.”
Pictured at an A2MEND event at Solano Community College are (from left, standing) Munir Omar, A2MEND President; Shanan Danley, Outreach & Retention Specialist for Solano Community College; and Edward Russell Jr., A2MEND mentor; (from left, kneeling) Scott Ferguson, Student Government Activist; and Moses Yebleh Jr., A2MEND Treasurer.
Russell’s own history as a child attending public schools where he never had a Black teacher armed him with a level of sensitivity about the plight of young African American male students. He believes that the lack of Black staff representation in the K-12 public school system affects African American young men in such a detrimental way that discourages them from pursuing traditional pathways of success, like higher education. “The student population at Solano Community College is roughly 10,000. But the African American male population here is less than 500, which is a huge concern,” he said. “Juxtapose that with the Solano County Juvenile Justice Probation Department. Ninety-five percent of the juveniles are Black. We need to change these numbers and present it to those in positions who create policy change to take notice that we have a problem.”
Both Russell and Danley hope that A²MEND will remain a steady force at Solano Community College by continuing their student engagement efforts. “Our plans are to build something that’s sustainable for the next group of Black men on campus,” said Russell. “They’ll be able to make the next generation of students enact change that we haven’t seen before.”
While A²MEND has made an impact on hundreds of lives of African American male college students across California, thousands of Black men in community colleges have not been able to benefit from a mentor simply because of our organization’s limited service capacity.
To address this concern, A²MEND has partnered with MentorAndMatch.com to provide the technology infrastructure for the organization to scale its mentorship program. With this technology infrastructure, A²MEND has expanded its mentorship program and has set a goal to provide a mentor to everyAfrican American man enrolled in a California community college. Students will be matched with a mentor in our system based on similar educational and career interests. In addition, A²MEND will provide both mentor and mentee training that ensures that they receive maximum benefits for being a part of this game changing initiative.
Aligned with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office “Vision for Success” as well as the subsequent “Call to Action” in response to institutional racism that was prominently brought into focus by the killing of George Floyd, the A²MEND Statewide African American Men Mentorship Initiative was created with the following outcomes in mind:
Improve educational outcomes (e.g., educational persistence, graduation or transfer rates) to close and eliminate opportunity gaps.
Create a greater sense of campus connection and belonging.
Develop a better understanding of career and academic options.
Increase knowledge on how to navigate their academic journey.
Provide additional academic and social support.
If you are interested in encouraging the success of African American male college students, please consider becoming a mentor by visiting here.
A²MEND presented $50,000 in scholarships to student mentees during the organization’s annual summit held earlier this year. The scholarship funds are annually donated to deserving students who are currently mentored through the organization.
A²MEND scholarships provide mentees with financial support for tuition, books and living expenses. Scholarships are awarded to students with special qualifications, such as academic achievement, artistic abilities, demonstrated leadership and/or athletic talents. Scholarships also are awarded to students who are in a particular field of study, are members of underrepresented groups or demonstrate a financial need. The students will use the funds to pursue their studies in community colleges or further their education at four-year universities.
Since launching the scholarship program a decade ago, A²MEND has awarded more than $500k in scholarships to African American students.
