Realizing the Intended Outcomes of Brown
- 1 March 2008
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in American Behavioral Scientist
- Vol. 51 (7), 1030-1053
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207312004
Abstract
Equitable access to social mobility and advancement through education were among the intended outcomes of the Brown v. Board of Education case and related legislation. Despite this, scholars have illuminated the ways in which colleges, universities, and schools continually disadvantage African American male students. Although the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that many of the goals and promises of Brown remain unfulfilled, a different perspective is offered in this article. Specifically, ways in which high-achieving African American male undergraduates gain, negotiate, and benefit from access to powerful social networks on predominantly White campuses are presented herein. Findings from interviews with 32 high achievers at six large public research universities show a clear nexus between campus leadership, active out-of-class engagement, and the acquisition of social capital. The ways in which the participants leveraged their access to social networks and activated their social capital for goal actualization during and immediately after college are also discussed.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Forward Glance in a Mirror: Diversity Challenged—Access, Equity, and Success in Higher EducationEducational Researcher, 2005
- The 50th Anniversary ofBrown: Is there Any Reason to Celebrate?Equity & Excellence in Education, 2004
- Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of EducationJournal of American History, 2004
- Silent CovenantsPublished by Oxford University Press (OUP) ,2004
- The Power of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision: Theorizing Threats to Sustainability.American Psychologist, 2004
- Collegiate Desegregation as Progenitor and Progeny of Brown v. Board of Education: The Forgotten Role of Postsecondary Litigation, 1908-1990The Journal of Negro Education, 2004
- Applications of Social Capital in Educational Literature: A Critical SynthesisReview of Educational Research, 2002
- No Services Needed?: The Case for Mentoring High-Achieving African American StudentsPeabody Journal of Education, 1999
- The Promise of Brown and the Reality of Academic Grouping: The Tracks of my TearsThe Journal of Negro Education, 1994
- Social Capital in the Creation of Human CapitalAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1988