Gathering
Grapples with Minority Male Drop Out Situation
The standing-room-only crowd, numbering nearly 300, in
Houston Community College's West Loop Center auditorium March 31 had
arrived with a purpose. That purpose: to address the staggering high
school dropout rate and diminishing presence of Hispanic and
African-American males on college campuses.
Dr. Michael P. Williams, chairman of the HCC Board of Trustees and also
chairman of HCC's Minority Male Initiative, said the College hosted the
event "in order to bring together local academic, government,
corporate and community leaders to discuss how we, as a community, can
change the education culture of the African-American and Hispanic youth
of the greater Houston area."
"We want to explore the ways in which we may encourage, assist and
mentor young minority males to complete their high school education and
to go on to institutions of higher learning," he said, adding:
"This objective is imperative to the growth of our community, not
only economically, but as a society as well. The education of minority
young men, a formidable portion of the population, is essential to their
full participation in a stable and prosperous society."
The forum opened with some somber statistics from the Justice Policy
Institute, Northwestern University and HCC's Institutional Research
Department: Today, we live in an America where we have more minority
males, ages 16 to 24, in jail, prison or a juvenile justice institution
than in institutions of higher education.
· In 1980, there were 143,000 black men in prison and 463,700 enrolled
in college.
· In 2000, there were 791,600 black men in prison and 603,032 enrolled
in college.
· In 2002, the number of Black men in prison grew to five times the
rate it was 20 years ago.
The centerpiece of the event was a panel discussion, moderated by KPRC's
Jerome Gray, followed by a Question and Answer session from the
audience. Panelists included: Ed Apodaca, Vice President for Student
Services and Enrollment Management, University of Houston -Downtown; Dr.
Frazier Wilson, Vice President/Manager, Shell Oil Company
Foundation/Social Investment; Mark Williams, President, 100 Black Men
Houston Chapter Inc.; Dr. Ron Brown, Interim Vice Chancellor Student
Success, Lone Star College; Dr. Tatcho Mindiola, Jr., The Center for
Mexican American Studies (CMAS), University of Houston; Roynell Young,
Founder & CEO, ProVision Middle School.
"Our goals for the forum included developing a community network to
collectively address the educational issues of our region," noted
Dr. Charles Hebert, coordinator of HCC's Minority Male Initiative and
Special Assistant to the Deputy Chancellor.
"While we certainly did not solve every problem, I believe the
forum was a large first step forward," he added. "We hope this
cooperative endeavor will serve as an information source for other
educational, corporate and community leaders in the area."
About HCC
HCC is one of the country's largest singularly-accredited,
open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees,
certificates, workforce training and lifelong learning opportunities for
65,000 students each semester. HCC is composed of six colleges that
serve the greater Houston area's diverse communities by preparing
individuals to live and work in today's increasingly international and
technological society. To learn more go to hccs.edu.
